baby it's cold outside

It snowed maybe an inch last night. Okay. Maybe two inches. Clearly wasn't worth the end of civilization weather reports from last night.

At about 7:30 I went out to clear the snow. Shovel, might be too strong a word. It was single digits. And very windy.

This is what I wore. I probably looked silly.

TWO pairs of gloves. When I came back in I couldn't feel my fingers
Long undies, top and bottom
Long sleeve shirt
Pullover fleece
LL Bean coat with hood up
Sweatshirt with hood up
Fuzzy hat under all those hoods
And a scarf

Except for my fingers I was not cold.

I did the front, walked up the hill, around to the alley and did the garage and the back sidewalk, then went up the hill and came back down to the house.

After getting half that clothes off, I went out to make breakfast. Bonnie called. "Let's drive to the Poconos and go for a three mile hike." "Okay." Alas, she was teasing. But I really did want to go to the Poconos. Angel was picking the girl-child up from Moseywood. I toyed with the idea of hiding in her car and walking around lake Moseywood. (Supremely jealous of girl-child—snowshoeing, cross country skiing, sledding, painting snow—why don't they have adult weekend in winter?)

I did some work, then put all that clothes back on, and headed out at lunchtime for my walk. Alone. Lydia had been a maybe for today, but she called and said it was F@*&‡!G cold out. She was going to the movies instead.

I went down to Itaska, and wove my way to Broadway. Out Broadway and back up thru Lehigh.  One reason I chose the university is I knew the sidewalks would be clear. They were so clear they were dry.

Even the stairs were clear. So I took them.

At the top of the hill I headed out 8th Street toward home.

Sadly, it was barely two miles. I only have 7500 steps for the day, but I do have 38 floors. So I'll need to do at least 2500 steps in the house later. Unless I decide to bundle back up and head back out.

 The view from 8th Street

Oh, I weighed myself this morning. Up another two pounds. I think I'm going to stop watching what I eat. More exercise. Less and better food. I do not understand.

baby it's cold outside

Today I had an appointment at the car dealer for inspection, oil change, and to get my seat checked. I decided about 3 am that walking home from the garage would be a lovely idea. I'd get exercise, take a totally different route, and get the car done.

Bethlehem Ford is at the Allentown/Bethlehem border line in west Bethlehem. Across from the Lehigh Shopping Center. Near the old A-treat factory.Much closer to my brother's than my house.

It was 4 degrees this morning. What the heck was I thinking?

At seven I got dressed. All my long underwear was in the laundry, so I put my flannel pj bottoms back on, then covered them with my jeans. I have no long socks, so I put on regular socks, and then my pedi socks. They have no toes, so I inched them over my heal and scrunched them around my ankles. Then tucked the pj pants into them.

On top I had a long sleeve tee and a fleece. At 8, I added my blue coat and headed out the door. After dropping off the car, I added my hoodie over my coat, two pairs of gloves, my fuzzy hat, and both hoods. And a scarf. I was cold.

I always wanted to take a photo of the tile work on the Ukrainian Church.
Today I got the opportunity and the sun was not cooperating.
Can't complain. It's been a while since we have even seen the sun.

I headed out Union Blvd toward home. The sidewalks on the north side are just as bad as the one's in the hood. Lot's of those homes don't shovel either. What melted yesterday also turned to ice.

At 8th Avenue, I turned down and headed toward Broad. Out Broad to 3rd, then out Spring to 2nd. Over the 2nd Street ram, across the bridge, out Broadway and home.

I walked in the door about 1:40 later. It was about 3.5 slow miles. I was barely in the house when my roomie said: "The car dealer called. Your car is done."

I guess I should have just waited.

road trip—philadelphia

It was 9 degree when I entered the car yesterday. What the heck had I gotten myself into?

For a Christmas gift I bought Bonnie a road trip to Philly. We were combining three things into one spectacular day. It was supposed to be Tuesday, but with the snow we pushed it to Thursday. Not because we were afraid of driving or walking in a little snow. Rather we were afraid of spending the day on the turnpike or worse, the Schuykill, behind the 15-car accident that was sure to happen.

I picked Bonnie up at 8 and we ultimately left about 8:15. We arrived at the Schuykill at 9:24. It was nearly 10:30 when we arrived at 4th and Arch. Part of that was my fault. The turn fro the Ben Franklin and the turn for Arch street were next to each other. I picked Jersey. It cost $5 to come back!

Firs stop, the Wyndown Hotel at 4th and Arch to sign in for the Philadelphia West walk. (There are  four Philly walks.) By then it was a balmy 18 degrees. In hindsight it was probably dumb to do a Volkssport walk in 18 degree weather. We read nothing. We looked at little. We just kept moving. I picked this walk because it went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. We were going down the street to the Museum of Natural Sciences to see the "Chocolate" exhibit.

It was nice. But much smaller than I anticipated. The dinos were cool — Bubba would love them, and the butterflies were beautiful. The best part was when we were on the 3rd floor. There was a school group being read the riot act by the teacher. (He must have been a former Marine. If I was in that group I would have wet myself.) Let's just say he was not a happy camper. "In 15 years of chaperoning students I haven't never had a group as bad as this one." Thank goodness we were not around to see what they did. They were so bad he was placing many of them on a "no field trips" list. Including an upcoming one ice skating. They were 6th, 7th grade.  Glad there are still teachers who discipline students.

Because chocolate was the theme, and it was freaking cold, we skipped the part of the walk that went to the art museum — it looped back — and headed down 19th to Walnut. There we went to 15th to look for the restaurant — Max Benner's Chocolate Bar. Yes. A chocolate restaurant. We only had the best hot chocolate. Ever. I bet the deserts are to die for. If you go, it's really on 15th, not Walnut, and it is not a cheap place to eat.

At some point we discovered we lost our Volkssport directions. But I remembered it having us go out Walnut, up 6th, around Independence Hall and back to the hotel.  Since the north-south streets were really windy and cold, we did a two east, one north, pattern to break it up. And ended up going to far north.

Can we talk parking in Philadelphia? It's crazy expensive. The hotel lot was $12 for the first hour and $10 thereafter to a $32 max. We saw some higher. One or two lower during our walk. But that seemed to be the average price. Add to that a twenty percent—20%—parking tax. I spent almost as much for parking as I did for a fancy lunch. My parking lot total was $42. American. To make matters worse, we paid for parking and when I inserted my paid card in the machine, it wanted to recharge me. That would have been crazy.

It was 21 degrees when we got in the car to go home.

All in all it was a great day. My camera is broken, so no pixs from me. Bonnie took a few with her iPhone. When I get them, I'll post them. It was just too cold to take gloves off to take pictures.

i feel like the energizer bunny....i keep shoveling and shoveling and shoveling

It's been an especially hard winter. It's been awhile since we've had one like this. I'm eating more and walking less. It just damn hard to walk on uncleared sidewalks.

Yesterday we had about 15 inches of show.

Last night we had about an inch of sleet and two more inches of snow. Tonight we're getting more.

I spent four hours yesterday shoveling. And another two today. Still can't go anywhere since they haven't plowed my alley. They did plow my street an hour or two ago.

Four hours of shoveling was only 4000 steps. Really? I wanted a nap when I came in. My Fit bit told me I was "very active" for 14 whole minutes. Clearly, it and I have two totally different ideas of what very active is.

I had wanted to go snow shoeing afterwards—when I thought shoveling was a 2 hour task— but I was too tired to walk to the park. Maybe tomorrow.

This afternoon I'm going to try and walk to bottom dollar. Unlike Ahart's I can use all side streets and walk in the streets.

unsafe at any speed

Wasn't that the name of a Ralph Nader book form the 70s? Hmmm. In this case it pertains to walking.

The official total for Monday's storm was 8 inches. Tuesday I had two classes and driving wasn't horrible. Snow is fairly easy to clean up.

Wednesday we were hit with two to three inches of Wintery Mix—rain, ice, hail, sleet, snow—basically Mother Nature dropped her Slurpee and we got to clean it up. I had to dig out and dust off my Wellies. It was wet and sloppy and really, really heavy.

 Quad and Library, Lafayette College, Wednesday

I went to work for the delayed 11 am opening and by the time I arrived, we closed. But I stayed. It took 45 minutes to get there. I parked on the parking deck again, and walked to my office. Some sidewalks were still not done. Four of us showed up. When I received news at two that my classes were cancelled that night, I came home and shoveled the next round of Slurpee. Overnight, the Slurpee froze into a brick.

Thursday it was a skating rink—my neighborhood still is. Classes were on, and I went. Once I arrived on a main road it wasn't too bad. And the sidewalks at the College weren't bad either. Since it was unsafe in the 'hood to walk I walked around my building, went to the Classroom Center, and looped around there.

Friday, I usually walk with Betsy in Allentown. She called at 7:30 and said her road—and development—was still a sheet of ice. Walking was off. It was probably for the best because I had another walk to do. Saturday was to be the South Bethlehem Volkssport walk.  I received this email from the president. "Let me know on Friday if you think it is safe to do the walk on Saturday."

So instead of walking with Betsy, I did part of the South Bethlehem Volkssport walk.  My report.

"Just came back from doing the 6K.

Background: we had 8.5 inches of snow on Monday, and 3 inches of slush on Weds. Then the temp dropped and the 3 inches of slush turned to a brick.

My vote is to cancel.

The 6K could be doable, but some of the intersections are really bad, and the Greenway has not been done yet.  —since it's 3 inches of frozen slush—you don't sink, you walk on top. (The city is still cleaning out parking meters. I think parks are last on the to-do list.)

The Comfort Suites is fine, and walking up Brodhead there is one bad block that wasn't shoveled at all (the side of Gene Diamonds old store.) before the school.

From the school thru Lehigh and back to the Greenway is as good as it can be. But nothing is melting because it's too cold.

The Greenway has not been done yet—it's 3 inches of frozen slush—you don't sink, you walk on top. (The city is still cleaning out parking meters. I think parks are last on the to-do list.) I found it very strenuous. And falls are a distinct possibility.

The casino, arts quest and back to the bridge are as good as they can be. Actually the casino and ArtsQuest are really good.

The 10K is not doable. They plowed all the snow onto the sidewalk of the bridge ramp. Again, clearing that is probably a low priority. I just turned around and went back to the hotel.

A little while later we received this email "Gayle our POC just checked out the walk. It is unsafe due to bad footing."

That's fine. I'll do the 30/30 event in Slatington tomorrow. I can take my snowshoes, right? Nope. A few minutes later I got this email from Tail on The Trail

"The special event scheduled for Saturday, February 8, has been postponed.
 
Due to icy trail and access road conditions around the Nature Center, tomorrow's event has been tentatively rescheduled for Saturday, February 22, 2014, at 10 am (weather and conditions permitting). Location to be determined. ..."

I can't go. I'm doing a Warm Hearts 5K that day. It's for heart research, and it is Jarrod's birthday.

Sunday I am doing Tri-To-Help, and indoor triathalon in Lancaster. And there's another storm on the horizon.  

Clearly, this winter, it's unsafe to walk at any speed.

snowy, cold week

It's hard getting in walks when the weather is this bad. It's bitter cold and has been snowing frequently. The weather is warming up, but again a walk was cancelled because of snow.

Tuesday it was bitter cold. My campus center walk did not generate nearly as many steps as I thought it would. Bummer. So while watching The Biggest Loser, I spent the better part of the hour power walking the living room. Small steps, really fast, into the office, out the hall, into the downstairs bathroom, around the kitchen table .... then repeat over and over. Sometimes I just went back and forth. Sometimes I did a couple loops around the table. I just kept moving

Wednesday I worked. I should have gone to Zumba, but it was the only time I'll be able to go till summer, so I coped out. Sadly, I did not make my minimum 10K steps. And I'd really like to change that to minimum to 15K.

Thursday Bonnie and I did the south Bethlehem Volkssport walk. We modified a bit because we walked too and from my house. We also stopped at the store on the way home. We managed to to a 10K plus. With the Monclair and Carlton hills on the way home. Carrying groceries.

Today I was to walk with Betsy, but it was cancelled due to weather. Instead I shoveled snow. I am not complaining. They were calling for freezing rain and/or wintery mix.  I will take snow over ice any day. So I walked to the grocery store shortly. (I go to the store once, twice a day. It's a long story.) I came back with frozen, wet feet. Sadly the sidewalks on Delaware were worse than the ones on Broadway. I thought for sure with all the doctors offices they would be good. Wrong.

Tomorrow they are calling for heavy rain. Looks like another wash out.

Today I went to log into my Tail On The Trail tracker. Even though the event ended in November, Bonnie discovered you could still track on the site. About a month ago they announced they would be doing a winter mini-challenge. Thirty miles in 30 days. Or, for over achievers like me, 90 miles in 30 days. I routinely do 100 miles a month, plus, so that will be easy—weather cooperating. But I do have snow shoes. And walk at home tapes. An a route thru the living room. I should be okay.

I need to be okay. There is the final weigh in for the Sugar Crushers (now called Sugar Smart) test panel. They claim this is the final one. I've heard that twice before. I gained about 5 pounds over Christmas. I need to get back on the program so at least I weigh the same when they weigh me in. Eating clean and healthy in winter is tougher. I heart comfort food.

polar vortex

 It's about 3°F. -17 just looks colder this way.

Polar Vortex. A fancy schmancy way of saying it's really cold out. I think it's really funny how suddenly weather people get their panties in a gather about this stuff. Every storm now has a name. Every weather event suddenly has a title.

Apparently the last one was in 94. I remember it well. I was camping with the Girl Scouts at Mosey Wood. Real temperature -8F.  We had the Blueberry Hill cabin but most of the girls chose to sleep outside, in the cold. We used latrines too. No indoor potties. And we had to walk to get to them.

Bonnie and I planned to walk this morning. With the snow on the ground, we planned on taking our Iditawalk picture. But she called this morning and bagged out. So I'm left to my own devices.

I'm at school right now, so I've decided instead of risking frost bite, I'd walk the college center. It's four floors. I'll take a spin around each floor, then walk up the steps and do the next floor. Repeat until I get to the library and then come back down. I think it might be a 30 minute workout.

Gotta burn off those holiday calories.

fat girl shoveling

It snowed! I really have no idea how much. At some places on my side walk it was 3 inches deep. At others, a foot. It's blowing around like crazy. My guess, about 6 inches. The paper hasn't come yet. I can't find anything on the internet. And the television channels are all having a snow wet dream.(The weather person just said 7.2)

I was out shoveling early, maybe 7:15 am. It's now about 10 and the neighbors are coming out one-by-one. If Sharon still lived in the 'hood we would have been out about 5:30!

It's odd just having to do my property. At one time we were doing five—two elderly neighbors, mine, Sharon, and the empty house in between. We would often do the house next to Sharons also. Then people moved in, the elderly went to live elsewhere, and Sharon moved. Last year my friends house was up for sale, and I did their property. But, thankfully, it sold.

Still I was out there shoveling for the better part of 90 minutes. I did the front and quickly realized I was under dressed for the "arctic blast". My hands were like ice pops. My ears felt like they were going to fall off even though I was wear 2 pairs of gloves and a hat. I came in for warmer gloves, and a hat that covered my ears, and went out again. When I finished that initial batch, I came in for breakfast. After the neighbors shovel out their cars, I'll go tidy it up, and dig out the storm drain. I don't want everyo nes melting snow in my basement.

Then I went out and did the patio, back sidewalk and the driveway. Thank heaven for my neighbor that plows snow in winter. He always plows the alley in front of my house, and then down the hill and out to the street. The city rarely does it. We always joke that they only plow the street if there is a funeral. That isn't quite true. But it seems like it.

All in all I only did about 3000 steps. I was kind-of shocked. My upper body—clearly my weakest point—feels like I spent the morning with Ali.

(OMG! The snow plow just went up my street.)

I think tomorrow I need to help Bonnie unpack her cupboards. Maybe after that I can go to Saucon Valley and try my snow shoes out on the rail trail. It's been a year since I bought them and they have never been worn. Hopefully Bonnie can come along to take a picture. We wear the same size, we could take turns.

In a little while, I'll head out for a snowy walk to the grocery store. I think I'll take the scenic route thru Lehigh. Still don't think I'll make 10K steps today.

(OMG! The snow plow just went up my street AGAIN. Miracles do happen. Will the alley actually get done?)

snowy walk

We didn't walk Tuesday because it was snowing like crazy. I missed it. I ended up doing a tape when I returned from school.

Last night it snowed a little. I was afraid Bonnie couldn't go out. But we did. It was bitter cold. We stuck to main streets and walked in the middle where the risk of falling was less. The risk of getting hit, however, was greater. We proably went about 2.5 miles total. Not much, but better than nothing.

The photo at the top is Bonnie's yard. The piggies below were in someone elses yard. They are so freaking cute. I bet they light up.

musikfest

Yesterday the morning walk was cancelled. It was pouring like an SOB. By 11 it started to clear up so I took my umbrella and walked to Musifest and back.

I took the scenic route over, even in the rain, because I knew that I wouldn't want to do it on the way back.

I had a bag with a book, sketchpad, and my lunch. It was difficult finding something to pack that was on this stupid diet plan. I ended up with a tomato and mozz with some basil. I also took celery and hummus to snack on.

I was stationed at the Luckenbach Mill, on potty duty. So I backed up to Volksplatz. The first show was Opera. Opera, at Musikfest. I was so stunned I text Lydia and Bonnie.

 These signs were in Handwerkplatz near the hulu hoop maker. I love these signs.  He said to come early for my shift and his wife would show me how to use my hoop Maria made. I can only get it around, maybe, once.

 Coming home, I ran into Dave Murphy at the ABC6 booth. Other than that the trip was uneventful until I reached Nativity church. I heard music. I thought it was a car. It got louder and louder as I approached the five points. As I headed down Broadway it got really loud. I thought maybe it was the Pentacostal church. Maybe it was, but it was across the street in a yard. Looked like a revival meeting. (It's the house were we bought Christmas trees as kids.) But there was only maybe 20 people. And hardly anybody had a chair. But they had a band. I could still hear it a block from my house. Dios de la alabanza.

dang it was hot out—and only 7:30 am!

Yesterday I talked with Pat from the Liberty Bell Wanderers and we were to meet this morning at 8:15 am. She was coming up from the Philly 'burbs to walk with a friend from North Carolina. The friends husband is playing/singing at the Moravian Music Festival. (They'll be doing 10K walks all week. In the heat.)

Pat is the trail master for LBW. I am now the new contact for the Bethlehem/Allentown trails. Yes, I don't need more work to do, but I said yes. And as we walked we discussed the Bethlehem walk.

Bonnie came along for part of the walk. We arrived downtown at 7:40 or so, and walked till 8:15. (About a mile and a half.) Bonnie needed to leave at 9 for the dentist. Imagine, choosing the dentist over walking!

Pat really flies when she walks. I think we were doing close to 4 mph. I was sweating like crazy.

Here's what I found out. Bethlehem used to be two walks, but people never wanted to do the southside walk because some neighborhoods are a little unappealing. They combined the two routes, but to get the distance for the 10K they have you retrace some of the 5K loop, walk over the Fahy Bridge, go tot the steelworkers memorial, and then come back. What a waste.

Thru my rose-colored glasses, I do not see any problems with the south side. Sure it's worn out and needs some sprucing up. Sure there is some neighborhoods that you don't walk in especially at night. But they really are the exception, rather than the rule. A block off those run down main drags, are nice working class neighborhoods. Please do not break my rose-colored glasses. I live in one of those neighborhoods.

Anyway, that is no longer the case with a nice section of the southside—the Greenway, ArtsQuest, NCC-SS, and the casino. Not to mention the Smithsonian affiliated National Museum of Industrial History that is almost complete. Oh, and the Hoover Trestle high line. You can hear what's about to happen, right? I volunteered to split the Bethlehem walk and do a separate south side one. The clinker. It needs to be done by August 7th for board approval or it waits for next year. The 2014 national guide book goes to press at the end of August. Now it doesn't need to be the whole thing, just the basic route and distances and a couple points of interest. I can do this. Bonnie and Lydia will help me test it out. Maybe.

Anyway, I walked about 6 miles today, in the extreme heat, and crossed the finish for the 165 mile challenge. I guess 200 miles is next.

eight miles on the tow path

Today Bonnie picked me up at 6 am to walk, and we still didn't beat the heat. By the time we picked up Lydia and reached the Lehigh Gap trailhead, we didn't start walking till 6:45. Clearly we were the last ones there. I saw at least four people come out of the Appalachian Trail trailhead, with a good sweat on. They must have started walking at first light.

We met Dawn at the trailhead and headed out. In many ways this section is the same as most of the others—flat and groomed gravel. However, the vegetation is much different. Back in the 70s there was nothing on that mountainside. It was strip mined clean and bare.

Slowly, it's been allowed to come back to life. Lots of butterfly bushes, black eyed Susie's, queen Anne's lace, sumac, immature trees. Often there are beautiful vistas of the river. And lovely tiny spring waterfalls. In fifty years the strip mines will be a distant memory.

 There was also a little graffiti.

 If Jesus is saving kegs, what is he doing with them? Are there really keggars in heaven?

Because of the severe weather, we prepared for the walk. Lots of water. sunscreen, Deep Woods Off!,  bandana to soak with water and wipe off sweat. Most of us wore light colors.

At the East Penn Trail Head (Riverside Park), the half-way point, there was a port-o-potty and a huge parking lot. Also a boat launch. We walked down the boat launch and soaked out hats and bandannas in river water. The put them back on, soaking wet.

 At Riverside Park there were many of these stones, all painted with a similar theme. Clean up after your dog. Ironically, I saw no dog poop. Lydia picked up this stone and carried it all the way back. She's putting it in her yard. The neighbor dogs won't stop pooping on her lawn, but their masters might get a chuckle. It weighed about 6 pounds. Dawn figured if she could carry around the 100 pounds she lost, carrying six would be a cinch.

We returned to the car. My 32 ounce cup that I frozen was melted into beautiful cold water. The knitted dish cloths I soaked and froze stung when they touch our hot skin. Damn did they feel good.

So did the A/C at full blast in Bonnie's car.

.

tails back on the trail

I never thought I'd hear myself say this, but I think I'm getting tired of the D&L! This challenge is tough.

The positives: It's relatively flat, groomed and scenic. The negatives: It's relatively flat, groomed and pretty much the same scene over and over. I should have realized that since I did the one-day hike on a canal path. Today we remembered the Deep Woods Off! so it was a much less buggy hike.

We met at "Trail Master Central" at 7, and arrived at the Allentown Trailhead to hike about 7:30. For kicks and giggles we checked the bathrooms and they were open! Two weeks in a row. Maybe Allentown got my memo? Also, the picnic pavilion was void of goose poop. Thank goodness.

Depending on the map you pick, it's 3.9 miles to Bethlehem, or 4.1 miles to Bethlehem, or Bonnie's watch said 4.9 miles and Dawn's said 5.1.  Clearly, someone needs a new measuring tape.

So lets call it 4 miles. The round trip would be 8. Lydia needed to go to a picnic at noon, so we parked her car in Bethlehem, and mine in Allentown. They were going one-way. Bonnie and I round trip. Most of the hike was in the shade, but it is so humid, you can cut the air with a knife. Bonnie made the executive decision that this was a one-way walk.

Three quarters of the walk was done next to busy railroad tracks. When we reached Bethlehem, we finally dumped the train and heard birds singing. That was nice.

The pixs below were taken at the Bethlehem lock, about 3/4 away from the Hill To Hill Bridge.

Tomorrow, we are headed up to the slate belt to do more of the D&L. This time, 8 miles for sure. Bonnie is picking me up at 6, then we'll get Lyd about 6:30 and start hiking at 7. Hopefully it will be a little cooler. I have no idea what the shade is like up there. The mountains were stripped of vegetation with the zinc mines. We'll see. If we need to cut it short again we will.

But the Biggest Loser Half Marathon is only 6 weeks away. I haven't gotten Lyd up to 10 miles yet. We're running out of time.
We'll have a break from it next week with the Biggest Loser Off-Road Challenge on Saturday. Then Lyd and Dawn need to get their Passport rubbings in Martins Creek and Jacobsburg. That's on tap for Sunday, probably.

the walk "around" the world begins.

Day 1 of the Walk Around The World is today. Are you coming? Details are here.

My plans were to walk a 6:30 am with Bonnie. A kick-off walk so to speak. She's doing the continent challenge. I awoke to downpours, thunder and lightening. The trail we planned to walk is next to a creek. Walk cancelled. It's not that I'm a fair weather walker. Far from the truth. I'm just smart enough not to walk in flash floods and storms.

Attempt two will come this afternoon. I have plans this afternoon to walk a 5k (or much less) with a friend who has MG — Myasthenia gravis — in Zionsville. It's a virtual walk with the MG Foundation which also hosts traditional 5Ks. But none are in the Lehigh Valley. How far we go together really depends on how well she feels. I'll do the remaining part alone. Or maybe with her brood of children. But again, it's raining. We'll see.

Day 1 is not off to a good start. I might be "Walking at Home". Not exactly the best way to start this challenge.
-------
8 pm. The sun came out late this afternoon. After dinner I took the scenic route to CVS and still only did two miles. But it inched my pedometer up to the 8000s. More importantly I've done 40 whole minutes to the Walk Around The World challenge.  40/24,900. I have a few more to go.

While I was at CVS I bought another Walk At Home video for $5.99. This might be the fourth one I bought, but I have none. People borrow them and don't bring them back. Many of the workouts are online, but I worry so about copyrights. It's the Graphic Designer in me. So I'd rather buy them at bargin basement prices.

lost and found trails and ticks

I had a brilliant idea last night. Let's walk this morning from Allentown's Canal Park to Hanover Township. Turned out to be not my best idea, but it was an adventure.

I've walked the section from Allentown to Bethlehem numerous times, but never the other direction. Thank goodness Bonnie has a sense of humor.

We headed out at about 7 am. To beat the heat, humidity, and Hanover Avenue traffic. We headed over the Hanover Avenue bridge and down the ramp to the Canal Park. Half way down the ramp we saw a trail head sign. I said "Oh look, you can get on the trail here, too. It must join the regular trail." But why would you? There is no place to park.

We parked in the lot at the park, and went down to the trail head. The way to Bethlehem was obvious. The way to Hanover Township not so much. So we followed what looked like a trail in the right direction. It got narrower and narrower, and downright skinny. (See photo above.) We searched for the exit. When we found it, we moved out to the road and walked along the canal. There was an opening in the woods. It was not an entrance. So we doubled back and headed up the ramp. There was a "sidewalk".

When we finally reached the trail it was beautifully paved and straight uphill. It was away from the canal, and a mule would have never made it pulling a boat. Then it leads to a steep downhill. We arrived at Bradford Street and nothing.

We decided to go back to the car, this time walking in the street and not on the crazy disappearing path.

Bonnie wanted to test my theory about Allentown park bathrooms, and they were indeed locked.

We got in the car and headed to Hanover Township. We decided to go from that end and see what we did wrong. The Hanover Township Canal park is beautiful. Much more developed since I was there the last time. The trail there was grass. Ultimately it lead us to Bradford Street. Clearly, you are supposed to walk on Bradford. Mostly without sidewalks. At rush hour on a Monday. No thank you.


As we got in the car, Bonnie saw a tick on her leg. We then did a tick check. I had Pat do another when I got home. I am so used to walking in the city and bike paths, that I've totally forgot about ticks. Bad Girl Scout. There is now Deep Woods Off in my bag keeping the sunscreen company. Now I have to wear two gross products. I'll be glad when the Tail on the Trail challenge is over. We won't be walking as much in the woods.

Today was an adventure to be sure. More of one than I expected. Last night I checked the trail map. Clearly, I read the wrong thing. I thought it said it was underdeveloped. It actually says "Planned future linkage and trail development". Ooops. Actually, it wouldn't take much. Mow the area we were walking, wider, on a regular basis.  Add some signs, make a walking lane on Bradford street, add even more signs. Signs are a really good thing.

The next section goes from the park to Northampton. I know the Northampton end is barely passable. I've walked a few feet on it with Lydia. Next Monday we will try the Hanover Township Catty end and see how far we can go before it gets nasty. The trail map says "Unimproved, open, travel at your own risk".

Wednesday night I'm going to a walking clinic. No Zumba for two weeks.

passport finished!

Today Bonnie, Dawn, Lyd and I went to Hugh Moore Park in Easton. It was a two-fer walk. It qualified for both the Passport to Fitness and the Tail on the Trail Challenges.

We met at my place and headed to Easton using the back roads. Of course I made a wrong turn and ended up on the wrong road. I could get us to the right one, but the bridge was out. Very frustrating. We could see the park but not enter it! I almost had to have Bonnie press Starr's button for directions. But alas, I was able to get us to the park.

We parked, and I said, the bathrooms are this way. I know that's always our first stop. I did not remember them being a half mile away!

We entered the trail at the canal boat ride. They didn't start running until 1 pm, so there was no using the BOGO tickets today. We'll have to use them another weekend, since the rides are only Wednesday thru Sunday. Guess they can't over work the mules!

This section of the trail was grass and loaded with goose poop. By there were no geese in sight. After we had switched to the macadam path, we found the geese. There was, well, pooploads of them!

We walked for about a half hour before we found the post. It takes a while with four people doing rubbings.

The trail turned to gravel for awhile, and we finally reached the lock.  Dawn and Lydia were always behind us, but usually we could hear them talking so they were not far. When we didn't hear them, we turned around to make sure they were there. However, there was never a need to double back to get them.

After crossing the lock, we headed into the woods and took the upper path. I thought they both went the same place. The upper path is an old railroad track and it goes to the hump yard. The hump yard has a big "no trespassing" sign (Norfolk and Southern), so we doubled back.  We were going to take a cut off path, but that just led us to a bird watcher in a tent!

We returned to the trail. At the start, it was decided that we'd walk an hour one direction and then come back. The hour came about a mile away from the Forks of the Delaware. I gave the others a choice and we decided to continue on and reach that milestone. We were so close.

Then we turned around and headed back. The D&L in Easton is bright and sunny. We took some cut off paths into more wooded areas. It was hot and humid today. A little shade goes a long way. We arrived back at the car at exactly 10:30. Seven and a quarter miles. After a stop at the Wawa for the bathroom and gas (no hiking back to the park bathroom!) we arrive home by 11. Adonis was waiting for his walk!

Another half mile with Adonis. Then Bonnie, the roomie and I headed to the Saucon Valley Farmers Market. More walking. Bonnie dropped us off and then we headed for Illicks Mill to have our finished Passports verified. My pedometer says I walked 8.5 miles today. I feel it!

Lydia and Dawn both achieved personal bests for distance today. (:

Tomorrow Bonnie and I are going out at 7 am to do the Allentown to Hanover section of the D&L. It's about three miles one way.  This challenge is 165 miles over 5 months. Right now I'm at a total of 18 miles with 18 only weeks left. Two of those weekends I'll be out of town for other walking events (the Biggest Loser Half Marathon in Erie, and the Freedom Walking Festival in D.C.). So let's drop that to 16 weeks. That means I'm going to have to average nine miles a week on the D&L. That's gonna be tough! Because if I break the 100 mark, I'll have to finish. I know what I'll be doing Monday morning for the rest of the summer.

Wednesday, since I don't have Zumba, I'm going to a walking clinic at the Rose Garden. Lydia is coming for dinner and coming along. I think Bonnie might be coming too. Bonnie and I know what to expect. Lydia, I'm not so sure.

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Trail Update

The Palmer Bike Trail that goes from Easton High School to Riverside Park off 25th street was always a bit of a pain. If you wanted to go to Hugh Moore Park, you had to walk on a road with no shoulder. It was dangerous.

I'm happy to report that the connecting trail is done! All you need to do is cross the street and keep walking till you get to HMP. That's very exciting if you're walking the whole D&L, or training for an ultra walk or marathon.

walking in the drizzle

As anticipated when I returned home Adonis was waiting for a walk. He pretty much jumped me. It was the fastest he's ever walked. Minimum smelling and stopping.

When we got back the roomie said "Lyd needs the poodle skirt from the attic for work." Sure, Ineeded to go up there anyway.

I had called the roofer this morning, during the storm, for an inspection. I had seen a slate on the ground yesterday. And one after hurricane Sandy. The person answering the phone asked "do you have any water coming in?" I told her I'd check.

I opened the attic door and stepped in water. Poop. Got the skirt and went for rags and buckets. It hadn't rained since about noon. During dinner, another huge downpour. Went upstairs and found where the water was coming in and cleaned it up, again. Then I headed to the yard. I could see nothing.

I went, walked to the top of the alley, until I finally found a place where I could see the side of my roof. Right there at the seam, 8-10 shingles are totally missing. I don't know how long it's been like that. I've taken the Christmas stuff up to the attic and brought down the Easter stuff, and took that back up. Then I saw a stain on the floor, but didn't know if it was new or not. In hind site I know now it was new.

Lydia and I then walked up to Bottom Dollar, did some shopping, and came back lugging groceries. Afterwards we took Adonis out for another walk.

Now I'm just praying it doesn't rain till the roofer returns my call and ultimately fixes it.

Update
It rained all night. Apparently Mother Nature was not happy.