Pedestrian
Early last week, for no particular reason, I decided to walk to work. Google Maps claims the distance is exactly three miles. The weather was pleasant -- not too cold -- so it was not an unpleasant walk. I listened to Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars, as read by the LibriVox project. It was a thoroughly engrossing story, and I found myself looking forward to the stroll home from work. The next morning I walked again, and decided -- again for no particular reason -- to simply walk to work each day. I did, listening to "A Princess of Mars" each way. I found it to be a nice way to start the day, and a good way to unwind after work before getting home.
On Friday, Carina was in an accident and broke our car. The claim is still in process, so we're not sure what's going to happen with the car, though Carina seemed to think it was totaled. She revealed later, though, that no fluids were leaking from the engine, so it may all have been body damage (which the insurance company might still use to declare the vehicle a total loss).
My impromptu decision to be a pedestrian seems fortuitously timed, now, as I was already preparing for other ways to avoid driving prior to the accident. We live within walking distance of two grocery stores (one of which is also a full-fledged liquor store!). We're in walking distance to the library, two coffee shops, and several local diners. Winter is still here, and while it was pleasant last week there's a thin covering of snow today. I have no doubt that walking to work won't always be a pleasant experience, especially when it rains, but I've decided to commit to doing my best to walking every day. I've already loaded up The Gods of Mars onto my iPod, and am looking forward to The Warlord of Mars.
I would offer my pickup as a backup, since you're not far, but I already have one rider, and being that none of us is petite, cramming 3 in the small cab is not something which would be pleasant.
That said, if you're in a pinch and need a ride somewhere, feel free to call me as a backup.
(Man, I cant wait to get a vehicle that seats 4.)
Walking is awesome. I try to walk 1-2 miles with my dog everyday. Since beginning the regimen, I have lost 7 pounds without really changing any of my other habits or routines. Keep walking, and before you know it, that sternum of yours will be popping out again!
That is excellent Scott! There is a walking trail downtown along the river, first time I did it my feet didn't forgive me for a few days. I think it is about 3.5 miles. Also, thanks for the reminder about the Librivox project, I had forgotten about it.
Keep on walkin'
Ask.com (http://maps.ask.com/maps?a=∧
Its also helpful if you wanna bike and avoid the freeway. Thought you might find it interesting.
Sorry I messed up the formatting and lost all the text on my comment above. Here it goes again:
Ask.com (http://maps.ask.com/) offers both driving and "walking" directions, with the walking directions avoiding the freeways and making use of roads which are inaccessible to regular traffic. Its also very useful for biking.
eg. when I looked for directions from south campus to the dept., it "drove" me along college road, while it "walked" me along neil avenue, part of which (behind the library) is closed to private vehicles. Thought you might find it useful now that you love to walk more.
I love the walking directions feature... I'd never seen that before. Ironically, the walking and driving directions to my work, according to Ask, should be almost identical. My walk, however, at 9.5 miles, would suck 6 hours out of my day for the round trip. But I might be able to make it in an hour or so on a bike...