1-8-2012 Hagerstown MD

The last couple of months have been pretty lazy as far as the walk has been going. I have a zillion excuses though..colds..flu..cold weather..holidays..job travel..darkness..boogy men..blah..blah..blah.

Good thing I'm not a pioneer trying to head west and stake my claim. At this rate, when I got to California, the gold would be panned out, the land would be gone, and since I'm too old to make much money as a saloon girl, I'd probably end up as a washer woman or some equally pleasant occupation.

I have walked about 20 miles in the last month, so I haven't totally given up, just slacked off. This weekend has been sunny and beautiful. More like fall then winter. I got in 4 miles yesterday and 6 today. My total for my journey now stands at 214.19 miles.

For the last month, I have been walking along the C&O towpath that follows the Potomac river along the border of Virginia and Maryland. This trail is several hundred miles long and passes through the woods, next to rapids, and through civil war battle fields. Today's journey ended next to a power plant or water treatment center. I can't tell from the aerial view, but it's a pretty big site,  has lots of tank looking things and different colored pools. The river looks pretty wide at this point and I don't see a dam, so I'm guessing water treatment center is most likely. The temperature here in Hagerstown today is 50 degrees. Perfect walking weather.

12/10 Back on the C&O trail again

The family barely got over our colds and sinus infections when we got attacked by intestinal flu. We missed school/work and hugged ice cream buckets for 5 days. Exhausting. Finally have enough strength to start walking again. Got in 8.26 miles this week.

I had a strange 'Twilight Zone' experience last night at my son's high school basketball game. I had gone to the ladies room, which being in a high school with typically vain teenage girls, had full length mirrors at each end of the row of stalls. I had on blue jeans and a blue sweater. As I left my stall and turned right, a teenage girl stepped out of a stall in front of one of the mirrors. She also had on blue jeans and a blue sweater. For about a 10th of a second I thought that it was my reflection in the mirror. Then she moved to the sink and the image in the mirror immediately gained 60 lbs, aged 40 years and had my mothers face. Scared the crap out of me! Then I realized it was my reflection. That was scarier still!  The moral of the story is.... if you are at DePere High School and you have to go to the bathroom, just hold it until you get home.

Anyway back to my walk. In Green Bay today I put in 6 miles in 20+ degree weather. I've finished my Game of Thrones books, which has lasted several weeks for me. I was getting kind of tired of listening to them, mainly because there are so many plots and characters that you really need to pay attention and the last book hasn't been written yet. I know that by the time the next book comes out, I'll have forgotten where all the characters left off and will have to reread the books or be totally lost. Now I'm listening to John Grishams new book 'The Litigators'. I always like his stuff and so far this one is going well.

In my fantasy journey, I am still on the first part of the C&O Canal trail along the Potomoc River. The elevation here fell 41 feet in less than a mile. The falls and gorges are spectacular. Plus, it's almost 50 degrees here today. Balmy compared to Wisconsin.

Heron on the Potomac

Potomoc Rapids

11/27 C&O Canal tow path trail on a bittersweet Sunday

I walked 7 miles, on this crisp Sunday morning, along the East River Trail in Green Bay. It's 34 degrees here in Green Bay, but 67 degrees in Georgetown, where my imaginary walk is right now.

I am on book 4 of the Ice and Fire series. I love this series because it has 7 books and each book has at least 30 CDs and between 30 and 40 hours of listening entertainment. That means I can immerse myself for weeks in this story and don't have to worry about finding another good book for a while. However, my name did make it to the top of the list for the newest Lee Child cd, so I had to take a break and wrap myself around my man Jack Reacher this week. Awesome as always! I don't know if I mentioned it before or not, but on one of my business trips the man next to me was reading a Lee Child novel and I told him that was my favorite series. We spent the next half hour trying to decide who could protray Jack Reacher in film versions of the books (which we both agreed we would love to see). We never did figure out who could play him... he's handsome, rugged, tough and over 6'5". Not many actors fit that mold. I saw a rumour on-line that they were going to cast Tom Cruise as the main character. My office buddies and I had a good discussion over that piece of crap. We all agreed that if Cruise was cast we must boycott the films.

Anyway, back to my morning walk. I was striding along with rosy cheeks and my good book when that little nagging bittersweet Sunday spoiler snuck into my head. Work tomorrow (boo)   I love Sundays for their leisure and downtime, but I hate Sundays because that means my weekend is coming to an end and I must go back to work again. It seems to be even worse after a 4 day weekend, I'm afraid. Which brought me full circle to why I am doing this imaginary walk. I am fulfilling one of my  'after I retire' dreams early, so that I don't wish away my last 5 years of employment. Today it just isn't working. I wish I had a job where I just couldn't wait to get back to the office, but I seem to have succeeded so well at my IT job's throughout my career, that I have risen to one that pays well, but isn't much fun. On paper, the role of the project manager is to make sure the project stays on schedule, within budget and delivers all the requirements. Which is true, but in reality, it's just the person that gets to deal with all the problems that come with a project. Chief problem dumpee! Oh well, it provides a good living and I am thankful for having a good job when others have none, but geez, what ever happened to the white knight who was supposed to carry me off and allow me to live happily ever after?????

Entering the C&O towpath trail

In my imaginary world, I linked up with the C&O towpath trail. This trail runs about 180 miles along the Maryland/Virginia border and the Potomac river. I think this should be a nice educational adventure along this section. For example,  I ended my walk today at the Abner Cloud House. Never heard of the guy, but, I did my homework when I got back to the camper and educated myself, just in case I'm ever on Jeopardy and I need this info.

Abner Cloud House

Here's the scoop on this landmark:
At canal mile 3.1, stands the Abner Cloud House, one of the larger structures on the canal. It is the oldest existing building on the canal, built as a home for a miller in 1802. Abner Cloud built the house and nearby mill on the bank of the Little Falls Skirting Canal. The mill provided grain and flour to the city of Washington before and during the operation of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. Cloud was related to the Pierces of Rock Creek, who owned the Pierce Mill. Abner Cloud died in 1812, but the mill continued to provide an excellent quality flour called “Evermay” to Washington until it closed in 1870. The Cloud House was restored in the 1970s and is maintained by the Colonial Dames of America. The house is located on the Canal at Canal Road and Reservoir Road N.W., Washington DC, adjacent to Fletcher’s Boat House.

11/25 Pierce Mill in Washington DC

Black Friday!. You wouldn't catch me anywhere near a store today! But, the weather is in the 50's and I managed a nice 4 1/2 mile walk. The whole family is in a 'lounge around the house' mood today in a post Thanksgiving daze. We managed to put up the outdoors Christmas decorations, but that was the extent of our productive accomplishments.

In Washington DC, I continued my walk through the suburbs. I walked by the remains of Fort Stevens, where a civil war battle occurred on July 11&12 1864. It was the only battle to actually threaten Washington and the only time a U.S. president ever came under fire. I finished my walk at the Pierce Mill, which is a restored operating grist mill. It is between the current Czech Embassy and Hungarian Embassy.

11/22 Fort Totten Metro Station, Washington DC

Nice day in Green Bay today, mid 40's and sunny. Got in a 4.85 mile walk on my lunch break.

In Washington DC it is 57 degrees with a light rain and almost no wind. Feels almost like spring. I am walking in the suburbs today and ended up at the Fort Totten Metro Station.

Fort Totten Metro Station neighborhood

11-20 Movin slow on the Anacostia Trail in Maryland...but I'm movin

These last two weeks have been rough for me. Caught a cold and a bronchial infection and I can still barely breathe. But, I got back on my feet and hit the road again.  I have been working in Iowa all week and was lucky to be able to make a stop at the University of Iowa to bring my niece Lindsey home for Thanksgiving. I went for a 2 1/2 mile walk on campus while Lindsey finished her last exam. What a beautiful campus and it is so invigorating to feel the energy of all those 20 year olds with the future wide open in front of them. I wish I would have known what I know now, back when I was doing the college thing. I would have made sure to savor it more instead of drive so hard.

Today I went geo-caching with my sister-in-law Michelle. We walked almost 4 miles and we were on a roll, finding 10 for 10 of the caches we hunted for. Wooo Hooo!

Meanwhile, down in Maryland, we packed up the 5th-wheel to depart the lovely Greenbelt park. We have appreciated the break and the beautiful weather. While I was hunkered down in my blankets coughing my head off, Andrew and Tony viewed the sites of Washington DC.,leaving me with Buddy as my nursemaid. Unfortunately, this stupid park is full of squirrels and I would just doze off when  there would be a full squirrel attack on the camper and Buddy felt obligated to bark them away. I never saw the assault, but according to the shrillness of the bark, we must have been in grave danger.

I walked my 5.88 miles on the Anacostia  trail. I was walking slow and sucking wind, but the scenery was worth it and I'm ready go. Total mileage this trip so far is 140.90 miles.

Anacostia Trail near Hyattsville MD



Anacostia Trail near Hyattsville MD

11/14 Stuck in Washington DC - caught a bug (sick of politics?)

How ironic that my walk on Tuesday ended up just outside of Washington DC, because when I woke up on Wednesday, I had the dreaded sore throat, followed shortly by sniffles and sneezes, and then wrapped up with a nice nausous fever. I'm finally through the worst of it, still working through some chest congestion and shortness of breath.
Tommorow I start a 4 day, 5 city roadtrip through the wonderful state of Iowa for one of my project rollouts.I will try to get in a  bit of walking, but it will be hit and miss. I can't wait to get out of this polluted city air in D.C. I don't care what party you vote with, or whether you are a liberal or conservative, considering the state of the country in the last few years, I think spending much time in our the halls of our politcal leaders would make even the strongest among us a little sick.

Oops, just fell off my soapbox and skinned my knee....