"A Blessing"

A friend at work relayed the following story:

She was keeping her grandsons, approximately five and seven.  Her father had come to her house to help her prepare for some adventure with the boys and apparently he had done a great deal of work for them.

It is her habit to engage the boys in chores while they are with her and for doing the chores, they are compensated  with a preset number of quarters.  At some point while with her, she told them, "We are going over to Granddaddy's to bless him."  At his house they did chores, which included picking up the yard.  When they were finished the youngest asked if they were going to get "their quarters."

"No," my friend answered, "we came over here to be a blessing to Granddaddy and we don't get quarters for being a blessing."  She continued, "Remember when Granddaddy came to our house and helped us?  He was being a blessing to us.  We didn't pay him for it.  Now it is our turn to be a blessing to him in return."

My friend is one who has lived a life of being "a blessing."   She is a pleasure to work with and always seems to be volunteering her time to "be a blessing" to others.

There are those, like my friend, who do the right things for the right reasons.  There are others who seemingly do the right things, but their motive is flawed.  Perhaps like the youngest grandchild, they are seeking some compensation for their "blessing."  They are looking to be rewarded, or to be given attention, praise or reputation.

It is important that we ask the Lord to "cleanse Thou me from secret faults," (Psalm 19:12.)  Our motive must always be the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and the fulfillment of His purpose and way.  Nothing else.  Because after all, "we don't get quarters for being a blessing."

Two on the Path

For those of you who have followed our treks around the city on the posts labeled "Cre Man & D'Sugar," I have decided to give those posts their own piece of real estate.

The posts which center on our walking adventures will now live on the blog, Two on the Path.

If you would like to receive those posts directly by email, there is a sign-up box on the blog.

The Cafe Powder Room will continue as before.

Friday, July 11, 2014 800 miles!

88°/Feels Like 102°   78% Humidity

I slept longer today than usual after working all night.  When this occurs I generally suppose that my body was trying to tell me I needed the extra sleep.  In spite of this, I was groggy and moving slowly when it was time to walk.


I got up, loaded the pack and we headed out, but as we walked to the driveway we were both surprised to hear thunder.  Looking to the northeast the sky had turned a dark grey.  Here is the radar map with a line of nasty looking thundershowers headed our way.  Obviously, we postponed the walk.

I wanted to walk at least 5.03 miles today (which will put me at the 800  mile mark) so we watched for a window of opportunity.

That window finally opened up.  When we did start out the temperature had dropped by 12°, but the humidity was 96%.  The roads and sidewalks were wet and slippery with puddles in some places and muddy slicks in others.  One positive thing from walking after the rain (besides the lower temperature) was the Crepe Myrtles.  They have been in bloom for a couple weeks now, but after the shower their blossoms are full of water, some to the point they hang down and almost touch the ground.  I love walking past them and touching the blossoms to release that water running down my hand and arm.

Our walk started a little late but we knew we had to at least get in those 5+ miles.  We walked to Ashland Place.  I guess it has been a little while since I have walked through so much of that subdivision.  One house that is in the midst of renovation truly surprised me.  I had not see it since a new front porch and second floor dormers had been added.  Once finished, it will fit in much better with the style of homes in the rest of the neighborhood.

We reached our halfway point and turned back, realizing we would end up at my 800 mile mark not too far from where I marked 700 miles.  So, after 1 hat, 2 pairs of shoes, 2 packs, 2 containers of sunscreen,  2 sets of earphones,  3 shirts and 4 pairs of shorts, I reached 800 miles for the year!

Saturday, July 5, 2014 6:15 PM

6.0 miles
86°/Feels Like 91°  57% humidity

We parked at Catherine Street again tonight so that we could walk downtown without going into double digit miles.  It was a very pleasant evening for a walk, the humidity was low and there was a constant cool breeze blowing.

We followed Government Street to Roper, and that corner is where the house is Glen likes so much.  We walked along Roper in what is called the "Oakleigh Garden District." I love walking in this part of town because of all the old, historic homes with such lovely architecture, beautiful columns and spacious porches.

We turned onto Palmetto and went to George Street.  Even though Cream & Sugar is not open this week, we wanted to go by and see when they open next week.  

After checking at Cream & Sugar, we walked to Broad Street and crossed over to enter what I normally think of as "downtown."  We went past the Big Zion AME Church and I enjoyed looking at the beautiful stained glass windows there.  

Then we walked down Cedar Street, a place I don't think we have ever walked before.  We walked up Cedar Street, Monroe Street and Lawrence Street.  These streets are interesting because they have mostly newer houses that were clearly designed to maintain the flair and flavor of the old homes.  The great predominance of brick gives away their younger age.

Spanish Plaza

Next we came to Civic Center Drive and walked along the west side of the Civic Center.  I have tried for several years to remember where my college graduation had been located, and passing the Theater of the Civic Center brought it back.

We walked across the street to the Spanish Plaza where we sat and ate some nuts and had some water.  We walked down to Jackson Street and then headed North to Government Street.  We kept on Government Street until we were back at Catherine Street and our car.  As we approached the parking lot, the sky was filled with beautiful blues, pinks and golds.

Our route for this walk.

Friday, July 4, 2014 7pm

5.70 miles
86°/Feels Like 88° 49% Humidity

What a wonderful day for a walk!  The temperature was so nice compared to earlier this week.  It felt even lower than 86° to me.  Our entire walk there was a gentle breeze blowing and because we were walking later, the sun had dipped below the tree line almost all of our walk.

If it hadn't been for my legs and feet, it would have been a perfect walk.

My calves and thighs were very sore from our step climb yesterday.  To make that worse, I had to stand for almost six out of my twelve hours at work last night.  Each step I took today reminded me of the hard work we did yesterday.

To add to that, I have a new crop of blisters to deal with.  When I first began walking significant amounts at the end of January, I was plagued with horrific blisters.  It turned out the new shoes I had just purchased for walking were not what I needed to be wearing.  I bought a pair of New Balance shoes in a size larger and that helped stop blister from forming.  To help heal the blisters  I already had, I purchased some gel-lined toe socks.  These turned out to be the very best thing for my blisters, plus they left my feet so soft and smooth when I took them off.

I wore these socks until about three weeks ago.  The gel had eventually started to flake away, and the socks were almost impossible to return to their original white color.  I bought some plain toe socks (I need to keep my toes separated because one of them doesn't play well with the rest.)  These felt comfortable and I wasn't having any problem until recently.

My four blisters spoke to me the whole way we walked.  Fortunately, I have become quite good at treating my blisters and have already implemented the necessary treatment.

If it hadn't been for that, our walk would have been great.  We walked almost to Catherine Street along Government Street and then headed north to Dauphin Street.  From there we headed home.  There was no stop or break at a coffee shop today, something unusual for us.

Thursday, July 3, 2014 8:12 am

6.43 miles

77°/Feels Like 77°
82% Humidity

 

Today we had a different starting place. We parked at Government and Catherine Streets and walked downtown. 

 

We had already decided that this would be the day this week we tackled the steps at the Convention Center.  We have learned from experience not to do a ten-mile walk and those steps in the same day. We are trying to do the steps once a week, but the distance means we must plan ahead to do it.

 

We had a pleasant beginning to our walk with the lower temperature and as always, I love walking downtown.  Then we reached the steps.  Our plan is to add two repetitions every time we do the steps.  That means we add 100 steps up each time.  Today we did 8 repetions of up one side, down the other, which means we climbed up 400 steps.  We decided today that our goal should be 1000 steps.

 

The first three repetitions I kept pace with Glen pretty well (although I remember thinking after completing #3, that we hadn't even gone halfway yet.)  On number 4 and 5, I was definitely slowing, but only just behind him.  By the time we reached 6 or 7, he decided he would walk in front of me going down.  I know he was just being gentlemanly (after all, he is) but I couldn't help but wonder if he did that because he was afraid my legs would give out and I would fall.

 

The last rep was really hard and I was pouring sweat when we finished.  We sat on the steps, had some water and ate some nuts.  It wasn't long before we were on our way home.  As we walked toward home, my legs felt like jelly, the muscles were just quivering.  I told Glen he had to slow down because there way no way I could keep up with him.  A short while later, my whole body felt like it was quivering...I felt really bad.  Then it dawned on me, the small bit of pineapple I had for breakfast was not enough fuel for the work I had just done and it would take a while for those nuts to kick in.  I always keep an "emergency" starlight mint or two in our pack.  I gratefully chewed one (thanks to Bubba for keeping me in good supply,) and a few minutes later  I felt back to normal.  It was amazing how much better I felt with a little sugar in my system.

 

The walk back was pretty good after that, although the temperature did seem to rise significantly. 

 

Whenever we park at Catherine Street to begin our walk, I have this happy feeling when I realize we don't have to walk all the way home, after all.

Wednesday, July 2, 2014 6:45 AM

10.01miles

79°/Feels Like 80°
87% humidity

The temperature this morning was very pleasant,  but the higher humidity made the likelihood of sweating very high.

I felt sluggish at first and I think we had gone a mile before I woke up well. By the second mile, sweat was dropping off my nose and chin.

We walked a different route through the neighborhoods because we knew Cream & Sugar was closed all week.  Our goal was to walk downtown and take a break at Serda's (where the Roasted Red Pepper & Gouda Soup is outstanding.)  

Cathedral Square

We made our way down Dauphin Street.  I love walking this downtown route.  I love passing the
Cathedral and Cathedral Square, especially when children are out playing in the splash-pad.  As we passed the Mediterranean Sandwich Shop, they were using a huge hand-crank to roll out the awning over the shop.  I had never seen that before, so it was pretty neat.

We crossed from Dauphin to Conti and walked up to Royal Street.  There is an old building on Royal Street that is the process of renovation.  A huge crane towered over the building and workers seem to be everywhere, like ants on an anthill.

Serda's Coffee Shop

We were at 5+ miles when we stopped at Serda's.  We come to Serda's often.  It's a great place for a burger, some gelato or the soup we like so much.  Today we just shared a quick cup of coffee before heading off again.

We headed down Conti Street until we reached Broad Street and then turned onto Government Street.  In the heat, this is one of the best venues for walking.  The canopy of oak trees which line both sides of the street make this a cooler walk in the summertime.

The last two miles, though, were not in a shaded canopy.  I could feel the sun bearing down on my shoulders and I could hardly keep the sweat out of my eyes.  By the time we were finished we had consumed all the water in our 2 liter hydration pack, two large water bottles of water and one bottle of electrolyte replacement.

With a mile more to go, we encountered a couple who had run out of gas.  He was trying to push his car in the heat.  Glen told him it would take us fifteen minutes to get home and he would return with some gas for their car.  We walked a good bit faster that last mile knowing how hot that couple was waiting for us.

The temperature when we finished was 89°/feels like 105°, humidity 69%.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014 6:45 pm

5.31 miles
91° / Feel Like 110° 

I don't know that I would have said it actually felt like 110° when we started walking, but I do know that my first thought as we walked from our driveway to the sidewalk was, "Boy, it's hot."

We were walking in the evening because I worked last night and had to sleep at least a little this morning.  Then we did two services at Gordon Oaks and afterward met with one of the ladies who receive "The Special of the Day...From the Orange Moon Cafe," and who has become a dear friend over the years.

We walked through the usual neighborhoods, to Catherine Street.  We popped in the Winn Dixie there to buy a donut for our dog because today is her birthday.  Then we walked back.  We couldn't walk to Cream & Sugar because they are closed all week for some maintenance work.  I'm sure Sparrow would have rather had a Mobile Bay Breeze cake ball for her birthday.

It didn't take long in the walk for me to wish I had brought the Frogg Toggs I had in the freezer.  That bit of cold water on my face neck and arms feels so good on hot days.  I did wear my new hydration pack and I love that a drink of cool water is right at my fingertips at all times.

The walk felt pretty good until the last 1/2 mile or so.  The last time  I walked, I developed a huge blister on my little toe, covering almost the whole bottom of the toe.  It began to really be sore toward the end of the walk.  As soon as we got home, I cleaned it and put tincture of benzoin on it, which will develop a protective shell over the new skin not quite ready for pressure and abrasion.  It should be fine by the time we walk in the morning.

Saturday June 28th, 2014 6 :32 a.m.

8.02 miles
73°/ Feels Like 73° 95% humidity

This was an unusual walk for us because we started out early.

We have a funeral today,  a service at Allen Memorial and then our grandchildren coming to visit, so we had to walk when we could.  Now,  everyone who knows me realized I am not a morning person. (Good thing I work night shift!) The only thing that can make me move faster than a slug early in the morning is to either go kayaking or walking.

The temperature was very pleasant this morning,  but it was quite humid. Originally  we planned to walk to Starbuck's and back,  but once we got there we decided to go ahead and walk to Cream & Sugar.

Along the way we saw a family walking along the other side of the street.  It turns out they were old friends of ours. . .he was our Sunday School director before we were even married and she was my high school English teacher.

After sharing a cup of cheese grits, we headed home.  Along the way we passed one of Glen's favorite houses in Mobile.

The walk home was pretty with the low temperatures and consistent cloud cover.  Even our "hot spot" wasn't too hot.

Monday, May 19, 2014 at 12:10 PM

85 degrees, 50% humidity
11.05 miles

We took a nice, long walk today. We stayed down Florida Street, then to Ashland Place.

We stopped at 3.5 miles, at the little Memorial park on Old Shell and ate our snacks. Glen had poured some sweet tea into one of the water bottles and that was very nice.

Then we walked down Dauphin Street to Broad Street, to Augusta Street and on to Cream & Sugar to have lunch, which made 7 miles. We shared a delicious grilled cheese sandwich,  then we headed home.  It was warm, but not miserable because there was a nice breeze blowing.
One sad thing we saw was that the old Krispy Kreme had been torn down. Often when returning from a kayaking trip we would stop for a couple hot donuts.  We won't see the red light from there anymore.

Friday, June 27, 2014. 3:00 pm

8.04 Miles

86°/ FL 101°  65% Humidity

We began with the plan to walk to,  guess where?  Yes, Cream & Sugar. 

Usually we sort of snake through the neighborhoods before we get to Government Street. Today, though, we walked straight through.  By the time we got to George Street, we realized we would be a little shorter on our miles,  so we went ahead and walked to Broad Street.  Most of the time when we take this route we go from Broad Street  to Augusta,  but this time we turned on Palmetto.  Even though we have walked this way before, I noticed a house I don't remember seeing before.  I was struck by the round room on the side of this house and the rounded tiles which covered it.

At the next corner, we had reached Washington Square. I am always impressed by Washington Square, it reminds me of how many beautiful places the are in our city.

A few houses down the street we saw a house with some beautiful flowers blooming.  I love that about our spring-time and now summer-time walks. . .there are always beautiful flowers to see of so many different varieties and colors.

We had a special treat at Cream & Sugar, our daughter Emmie met us for coffee.  That made a nice treat even sweeter.  It was a temptation to just have her drive us home, but we decided to press on and walk.

The walk home was hot, but thanks to my new hydration pack, I had cool water on the ready all the way.  The pack holds two liters of water and I had read in the reviews if it was filled with ice and water, the water would stay cool.  I had my doubts if that would be true in our weather, but it was.  I finished the last of the water once we arrived at home and it was still nice and cool.  The pack had room for everything I wanted to take and was very comfortable.  In fact, it was more comfortable with this pack, weighing in at 12.5 pounds loaded, than I was with my older pack weighing 9 pounds loaded.

One of the things I enjoy about the areas where we walk are all the old and historical homes.  They are so stately and impressive.  Today we walked by one of my favorite houses in all of Mobile. I love this stone house.  It is on a lovely piece of property and the back of it is as beautiful as the front.

We continued our walk home with a little cloud cover to break up the sunshine.  Even our "hot spot" wasn't as bad as it usually is.  When we were less than a mile from home, a woman stuck her head out of the window and shouted to us, "Y'all do a great job of walking!"  I don't remember ever seeing her before, but we sure appreciated the encouragement.

Wed June 25, 2014 1:21pm

5.21 miles
89°/Feels Like: 99° 62% humidity

Today was going to be a shorter walk.  We didn't get started until late and because I am working tonight,  I needed to have time for a nap before work.

We decided to walk the 2.5+ miles to Starbuck's and then turn around and go home.

When we started out my first impression was it was really,  really hot.  I was so thankful when a little cloud cover have us a break from the sun.

We shared a cup of coffee and then left the air conditioning for the hot asphalt. 

Our "hot spot" lived up to its name today.  The cloud cover was there for a bit,  but there was also lots of sun.   I always bring plenty of water so that helps.  I also bring a mineral replacement drink (thanks  to the nice folks at White Blaze for the recipe) which is a nice treat along the way. I never thought I would look forward to a drink made with potassium, salt and sugar, but I do.

When we got home,  I had the nicest surprise.  My new hydration back came today.   I haven't had a chance to wear it yet,  but this pack is so well made -- it has so many features which are just plain thoughtful.  I'll share more about it after I've had a chance to put it to the test. But if this is the way Kelty makes everything,  I am definitely looking at them for my backpack!

7.55 miles Monday, June 23, 2014 at 12:19 PM

77°/ Feels like: 78° 95% humidity

Although the temperature was way down for this walk, the humidity was way up. We are in the season where we have a shower almost every day and while this lowers the temperature, it does tend to increase the humidity. 

Glen has a cold and my tennis elbow has flared up badly, but we decided to walk anyway. We had wanted to walk earlier, but the weather deterred us. 

Our plan was to go three miles out and three miles back. That usually puts our midpoint near the Starbucks on Catherine Street. Once we got there, we felt good enough to continue on the extra mile+ to Cream & Sugar. 

As we were walking, we began discussing some tee-shirts Emmie was going to make for us. Glen decided we should have our names on it. Since we were nearing Cream & Sugar (our most recent "favorite" coffee shop) we thought that would be cute with Glen being "Cream" and me being "Sugar." On the walk back I got to thinking about that (partly to distract me from the burning pain in my elbow.) I began to think of variations of Cream & Sugar and came up with Crea Man & D'Sugar. The letters are the same, but are separatedly differently. Almost immediately, Glen began calling me D'Sugar. The walk back was pleasant and I was glad we ended up with 1.55 more miles than we originally planned. 

Crea Man & D'Sugar

Glen and I have been walking together for six months now.  Actually, Glen has been walking for quite a while longer, but I only joined him in January.  I passed the 700 mile mark last Saturday and he is past 2000.

Our walks have gotten progressively longer and we hope to one day section-hike and even thru-hike the Appalachian Trail.

In May, I began journaling our walking experiences, mainly for my own records.  I have decided to add them here if anyone would enjoy reading them with the label, Crea Man & D'Sugar. 

You may wonder about the label.  Our walks are often punctuated by a stop at a local coffee shop called Cream & Sugar.  We will walk several miles, stop for coffee, and then continue our walk.  Especially in the summer, a break for a few minutes (in the air conditioning) is quite refreshing.  It is amazing how those few minutes of rest can regenerate your legs.

We began talking about names on some tee shirts our youngest daughter is making for us, and we immediately thought of Cream and Sugar because our love at stopping at coffee shops while we walk.  Crea Man & D'Sugar is Cream and Sugar, just separated a little differently.  Ironically, neither of us like sugar in our coffee.  Rarely will we do without the cream.

4 miles Sunday, June 22, 2014 at 7:18 PM

76°/ FL 77° 

What a difference a day makes!

Tonight's walk was as cool and comfortable as last night's was hot and muggy.

Because it was Sunday, and because of the usual summertime afternoon showers, we didn't get to walk until late, and then only for a little while, but it was very nice. We walked to Ashland Place and back.

We walk through Ashland Place about once a week. We enjoy looking at the older homes there and walking on the exceptionally wide streets. There is one old home which is in the process of being rennovated and I have enjoyed watching the progress of this restoration. I have seen a deck that wasn't there come into being and now a pool is emerging from a hole in the ground. This house will look amazing when it is finished.

I splurged on myself this evening and bought a new hydration pack.  It has enough space, along with the water bladder, to hold everything I like to carry with us as we walk (sunscreen, bug spray, Frogg Toggs, snacks, etc) and I can't wait until it arrives.

My New Hydration Pack

Saturday June 21, 2014 at 8:52 PM

10.65 miles
92°/FL 109°

A new milestone, 700 miles for the year!

It was hot when we started out but I wouldn't have said it felt like 109°!

We were just over a mile, when out of the blue, it started to rain. It wasn't a downpour, but it was a good, soaking shower. It rained for a good while. After that, the steam could be seen riding up off the asphalt.

We walked to the Convention Center and sat on the steps to eat our snack of nuts, cherries and blueberries. We were at the halfway point (we knew that because our goal was 10.33 miles, so I could hit 700 for the year. ) We had thought about walking the steps again, but then decided against it.

On the way back we stopped at the Mediterranean Sandwich Shop for dinner. We had not gone very far after eating when we felt a fine mist on our arms. Then it became a sprinkle. Then rain. When the rain stopped, a haze came up over everything. .. it looked like smoke, but it was the humidity from the rain. It was like walking in Jello. The last part of the walk was very hot and very tiring. We had just turned the corner into Pathways when we passed 10.33. . .700 miles. I wrote out 700 with sticks I had collected along the way and had Glen take a picture of it with my feet.

After that I couldn't wait to get home and peel off 

my wet shoes.

Our route for this walk.

Friday, June 20, 2014 1:29 pm

10 miles 90°/ FL 103° 65% Humidity

Just as we walked out of the house, we noticed a dark cloud above us. Although this meant the chance of an afternoon thunderstorm, we decided to continue on and give it a try.

We walked toward Government Street and at Memorial Park decided to cross over to the service station on the other side of Government Street, because they sell the great little granola bars we like. It was nice to have a treat so early in the walk, but we continued walking as we ate them.

We walked to Ricarby and there we walked through the parking lot behind a church where Glen used to ride his bike as a child.  Along the way we passed the pink house with purple bushes I had saw and liked on a previous walk. (Michigan Ave & Elmira.)

We then walked along Breamwood to Lamar to West Street at the fence we went through on our wedding day. We continued on the backstreets to Cream & Sugar where we shared a cup of coffee and one of those delicious Mobile Bay Breeze cake balls. (This is a dreamscicle cake ball with a beautiful blue icing.)

As we started back, it was noticably cooler. The breeze was even cool. It felt wonderful and I guess it was inevitable that when the cool air met the warm, moist air a thunderstorm would develop.

As we were walking fast to avoid the lightening, we passed what I think is one of the biggest trees I have ever seen in this town. We also passed some of the worst sidewalks.

The storm was to the east of us, moving in a south-south-west direction. We had walked to Broad Street after leaving Cream & Sugar, then headed down Dauphin. At the old Dauphin Way (where we always remember to share a kiss, since that's where we were married) we started heading toward Government Street, not realizing the storm was headed South. It rumbled on behind us until we got to Catherine Street.

We stopped at the Starbuck's parking lot to see what it was doing. When we turned to the east we were surprised to see the storm was much closer to us than we thought. We decided to duck in Starbuck's to wait it out. 

When the thunder seemed to be past, we headed out in the rain. It was actually very cool and pleasant walking in the rain. The rain was not hard and a nice breeze would blow every now and then.

It makes me think of when we first started walking together in the winter. If it even looked like rain, I would carry my rain jacket. But in the summer when it rains it is very refreshing to feel the cool drops on your arms. However, I don't like the resulting mud puddles we must walk across, around and even sometimes, through.

By the time we were close to our "hot spot, " the sun came out. I could almost feel the steam coming up off the asphalt. I was so glad my Frogg-Toggs were still frozen. It helped a great deal having them to cool things off.

After our walk, I finally finished my cannibalized backpack. I took parts of several gym bags to make a new two strap bag (my current teardrop bag has only one strap and puts a lot of stress on my neck.) I finished it, and I hate it. While I won't be using it as a backpack, it was a great learning experience for sewing these types of materials. It should come in handy when I make our sleeping bags soon.

End 84°/FL 93° Humidity 75%

Thursday, June 19, 2014 at 9:46 AM

8 miles  88°/FL 100° 69% HUMIDITY
Finish: 93° /FL 102°

We started planning to walk only about five miles this morning because of the heat, then pickup another five this evening.  Although it was hot, there was a good deal of shade and cloud cover, so we decided to go ahead and walk to Cream & Sugar.

As we sat eating an incredibly delicious dreamscicle cake ball (Called Mobile Bay Breeze, and if you see it you might be surprised that it is blue) and yummy cheese grits, I noticed the sun shining brightly outside. 1 thought how much hotter the walk back was going to be. Actually, the temperature starting back was 89° with a FL of 101°!  One nice thing about the bright sunlight, it did show off the beautiful flowers along the way.

Our route for this walk.

Wednesday, June 18, 2014 at 6:05 PM

6.0 miles

82° /FL 94° HUMIDITY 75%
End: 79°/ FL 79°

What an enjoyable evening!

We began by driving to Starbucks at Catherine Street to park the car. Our intent was to walk to Water Street and climb the steps at the Convention Center again.

As we headed east, we noticed a bank of dark clouds ahead. As we continued farther we could hear the rumblings of thunder before us. By the time we reached downtown we could see flashes of lightening here and there. We discussed ducking into a store opening and waiting, but it really did seem as if the storm was moving further east away from us. We took our chances and headed down to the Convention Center. We may have ended up with a rare drop or two on us, but it never actually rained.

We reached Water Street by going east on Conti to Royal. I don't think we've ever walked east on that part of Conti before and I was struck with how different the view was, with the hotels on Royal looming above and in front of us.

At the Convention Center we walked the steps, all 100 steps six times up and six times down all. The first three or four sets weren't too hard, but the last ones had me sweating and huffing. My legs never felt strained, although my knee twinged on each step.

We sat on the steps once we had finished to take a water break. I had packed some frozen blueberries (which by then had thawed) and that was a very nice treat.

On the walk home we passed by the Mediteraean Sandwich Shop and since it was open, we went in and ordered some orzo and a roasted vegetable & Cheese pita sandwich. We walked across the street to Catheral Park where we sat on a bench to eat our dinner. The sandwich was one of the best things I have ever put in my mouth!  

Cathedral Park

We sat and watched two men play with the cutest little white puppy on the splash pad. Then it was time to pull ourselves up and go. I was very sluggish at first - I think I had it in my mind we had to walk all the way home. When I realized we had only about half of that, I seemed to rally.

We made 6 miles by the time we got back to the car. My GPS said a little less. It's odd, sometimes my will say more than Glen's for a while and then it will say less for a while. We both choose to take whichever one says more!

It was a very nice evening, especially sitting at the park enjoying our meal. I find I see so much more of the city when we walk than I ever have from a car. And I find walking so relaxing and refreshing...not just from an exercise and fitness standpoint, but mentally. It is nice to be quiet and still in our minds, even if our legs are moving. It's nice to observe what is around us and see the things that are usually lost to us.

Our route for this walk.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014 at 5:13 PM

1.05 miles
91°/ FL 101°

Only a short little walk today. I worked last night and have to go back again tonight, so there really wasn't much time for anything else. I feel pretty good that I even got ONE mile in.

We made a half mile loop down Florida Street. As we made the turn we remarked at how short one mile seems now. I can remember back in January when I started walking, that first mile seemed a lot longer than it does now!  Our walking is not something either of us ever expected I would want to do or enjoy so much. I realized that our walking grew out of our trip to New York City.

Our apartment on 5th Avenue was so perfectly located for everything we wanted to see and do, we hardly had to ride the subway at all. We ended up walking 6-12 miles each day. I enjoyed the walking there immensely. I think when you are walking you can experience so much more and take so much more in.

When we got home, we tried walking to some places instead of taking the car. . .to WalMart, to the Post Office, to the bank, but that didn't work out as well as in New York. Mobile just isn't designed to walk everywhere you need to go. Still, I knew I could walk several miles at a time and I knew I could enjoy it.

It wasn't until the end of January I really started walking with any consistency. By February I was doing great. Now, at the middle of June I am on my way to 700 miles for the year. And dreaming of walking 2181 in six months one day!