day 17 of 18 new year's eve

Day 14/18 was a Sunday. Why didn't I do significant walking? Don't remember but I didn't.

Day 15/18 work day. At lunch I ran errands and didn't walk. Another disappointment.

Day 16/18 work day. Brought lunch. Nothing happening at work—everyone was off. Phones didn't ring. Emails didn't ping. Went to the movies after work to see Into The Woods. Broadway musicals on film are not what they used to be. Another day of not walking.

Pathetic, isn't it. That's five of the 18 days I didn't walk, with three in a row. Clearly, I failed at this challenge.

New Year's Eve was Day 17. Bonnie and I went to the Allentown Comfort Suites and did the end of the year volkssport paperwork and change the stamp to 2015. Then we headed off to Trexler Park to walk. We did the General Trexler loop, the longer one, and then did the extension loop that goes out to Tilghman and Cedar Crest Blvd. So basically it was a figure 8. I'm not sure what the mileage was.

Then in the afternoon I took Eryn's kids to The DaVinci Center. All three of them. At once. They appeared to have a great time. Actually it went really, really well until the last 15 minutes when I told the 6-year-old Bubba that it was time to go. He didn't want to go and had a major meltdown. The kind where when you see it happening to other people you judge them as horrible parents. The big kids said he does it all the time. Often he's successful. I never thought when we were going over the rules in the car, that when Aunt Gayle says it's time to go, we go would be one of them. Next time it will be.

The girl-child had my camera and took about 150 pictures. We were on the second floor when a voices goes "Aunt Gayle, the camera stopped working." No, the battery was not "exhausted". It goes on, the screen is dark, but you cannot push any buttons. Guess I'll be using my iPod to take pixs.  It will finally get used after three years. One of my challenges for 2015 is not buying anything but necessities. (Real food, laundry soap, ect. Clothes, shoes, cameras, snacks or other non-nutritional food are not a necessity.)

With a major grocery shopping spree, the day only yielded about 12K steps.

day 13 of 18, downingtown and a movie

Bonnie and I chose to do the Downingtown Volkkssport walk today because it is ending and we needed Chester county. Except we didn't. Valley Forge is in two counties. Oops. I only need Philadelphia county and the southeast is done. Now comes the hard part. That's about 10 of the 67 needed to finish the program. Most counties don't have sanctioned walks. Many will require an overnight stay.

Today's walk was pretty much a big figure eight. We signed in at a restaurant at a lifestyle mall. Then headed into town.

After going thru the business district, we reached the first house in the town, this little log cabin. If you look closely at the picture of us above, we would have to duck to go into it!

We turned at the cabin and entered a park, then followed the trail thru the park to the comfort station which was locked. Thankfully there was a job johnny (generous P3). We were headed back to the trail when we saw where it connected to the road, so we just went out to the road. We came out close to the lifestyle mall.  We passed the mall, turned right and picked up another trail, then turned around an came back to the restaurant.

As my readers know last April I had my first accident in nearly 30 years. Today I almost had two.  After the second one I literally had to pull my fingers off the steering wheel. I had a death grip. I'm all shaky again. The first one was right outside Downingtown. The bozo decided to turn onto the highway. To do this s/he had to cross over my lane. Bonnie screamed first. I braked and swerved. I nearly hit the cement.

Then on the way home we missed the turn for 100 and ended up in Phoenixville. We stayed on 113 to 29 and took 29 home. Our hour drive took two. On 29 things were looking fine until some young people decided that a stop sign was optional. Slow and roll I think it's called. Again screaming, braking,  and swerveing.

I was just getting my confidence back behind the wheel and it's gone again.

Then when I got home I sat in my desk chair and it broke. Clearly the gods are telling me something.

The broke chair and a lost disk resulted in a massive cleaning of my desk counter. I nearly forgot about scoobie movie night!

We went to the Banko at ArtsQuest and it was nice. $10, only one theatre, people were polite and over 16, and the popcorn was good.  (Over 60? only $8!) I made Bonnie take the picture.

Was the movie as good as the book? No. Was the movie good? Yes. Personally  don't think I would have finished the PCT.

And because I promised pictures everyday, below are the lights on First Avenue.

day 10 of 18

It's raining. Again. Not sure if I will get my walk in. I at least need to do a mile. Even if it means I just go around the block.

I did get all the volkssport cookies delivered. But I did it by car. They were all very pleased.

It's weird not Christmas shopping. It's weird not having a tree up. Change is good, right? Too bad I'm not really good at it.

Later ...

The rain tapered to a drizzle and I seized the opportunity. I needed some groceries and also needed to go to the post office.

I headed up Fiot, then up Eighth avenue and down Brodhead to the post office. I was at Broughal when the skies opened. Thank goodness I took an umbrella.

When I left the PO I headed to Ahart's and purchased the groceries. Have you ever tried carrying two heavy sacks of groceries, an umbrella and walk further than a parking lot at the same time? Don't. It isn't pretty. I walked home straight out Broadway instead of going up Wyandotte.

Before leaving Ahart's I almost rented a movie from the Red Box but remember the DVD player isn't hooked up. And watching movies on the computer isn't comfortable. Watching an one hour television show is hard enough.

When I took Sharon home I stopped at the cemetery. Mom or Dad must have a patriotic secret admirer. There was red, white, and blue plastic flowers and a flag in their vase.

No sure what I'm going to do tonight. No school. Still adapting to free time. I stopped going to church a couple years ago when I realized I was a hypocrite. I used to go to a friends for the feast of the seven fishes, but no more. Looks like I'll read.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVE!

day 6 of 18, radnor

I guess you noticed day 5 was missing. I never made for my little walk to the Wawa. I was grading for two schools and it was suddenly time to pick up Lydia. By the time I did that, my car errands, her errands and got home it was pitch black. Tomorrow winter starts. So it should start to get light again in the evening.

We have less than three weeks off from school. Can you believe it? We go back January 12. Getting walking in Mon-Thrs will be a challenge. Mon/Wed is a two job day. Tue/Thrs only one. I have hope for Tues/Thrs. How I am going to get the to-do list done by then I have no idea. One thing for certain, I must buy health care. No more disposable income for me. My kitchen money will probably also go to health care until my car is paid for. For more than 30 years, I supported universal health care. Hell, I even supported it when I thought that "affordable" meant affordable. Why? there is nothing about health care that is affordable.

Today I did a Volkssport walk in Radnor. I had to go to Collegeville to pick up the 2015 materials to switch out the boxes (yes, on that dreaded list) and cookies for our host hotels. So I told the president I would just come to the Radnor walk. Alone. It was a bit odd without the others.

This walk was a major supply drop off. Everyone was picking things up.

The Radnor walk is a big square—at least the 6K is. You leave the hotel and pass the high school, turn a corner and get on a trail. You stay on that for a good mile. Then you turn left, on Wayne Blvd and head into Wayne. Then you come back Lancaster Avenue, with a tiny  detour.

It's a nice walk. Not many Christmas decorations. But I found a few to take pixs of.

Lancaster Avenue is route 30, the old Lincoln Highway. Along the way there are mile markers that look like huge tombstones. There was one at the High School also and I thought it was odd. But when I saw the Mile Markers I put two and two together.

The original ones are very small. But they only had to compete with cows and corn. Not shopping malls and industrial parks.

It was a nice walk. And I got Delaware county in my book. Next week is Dowingtown in Chester County, and it is going away Dec. 31. I'm seriously consider going. Anyone want to come?

Next Saturday night I am planning the first ever (and probably last)  every two feet movie night to see Wild. I'll go alone if I have to. There will be lots of other hiking/walking nerds there. It is playing at the Banko. (Well the Carmike too, but the Banko is in the 'hood and owned by a non-profit and not a mega-corp.) I read the book in about two days. Generally I hate movie versions of books, but I hear they did really well on this one.






When I read the book I kept thinking, I would do something dumb like this. (Hike the PCT unprepared, not sex and heroin.). Good thing I hate being alone. The PCT is much different than the Appalachian. You don't get desert and snow on the Appalachian.