Walking

Another Unexciting Day

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Seeing as I don’t do the Instagram thing anymore, I don’t have a place to “show off” my completed jigsaw puzzles, so from now on, here they’ll be.

I started the morning by doing the Sunday morning thing today. I’ve added a little bit more on the loop to take it from ten to 12 miles. It was mostly cloudy, but it was just warm enough for sitting outside Stomping Grounds and watching the traffic go by.

I finally figured right. For the last two weeks I’ve thought about getting a spicy chicken sandwich from Chick-Fil-A on those two Sundays. Today I finally remembered to get that sandwich along with waffle fries and a lemonade. By lunch the sun had came out, so I ate my meal outdoors too, in that little park between Chipotle and Chick-Fil-A.

They were predicting thunderstorms in the afternoon, so I didn’t think I would be able to eat all 3 meals outdoors, but they never materialized, so I could have, but it was mid-game and I didn’t want to do the whole relocation thing, so I ended up eating inside.

Tonight is route planning for the Everyday Driver adventure and finishing off the last 23 post offices in Oregon. I have added 2 full days on the way over and one more on the return trip exclusively for post office pictures. In total, it is going to be another 10-day trip.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 97.6%

 

Another Exciting Day

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So, the night before last, you got just a picture. There was no post yesterday, so you didn’t get any words to go along with the no picture. Tonight you get both, but the picture has nothing to do with the words…


 
Started out like a normal Friday: breakfast, grocery shop, buy a latte, make a cameo at the coffee clatch, 2-mile walk, lunch, and dinner in front of a baseball game on TV. Shortly after finishing eating, a text pops up from neighbor Tere: Interested in joining me at the dice game tonight? Me: I’ll be outside in 9 minutes.

I didn’t even know there was a dice game; I didn’t have anything happening, so I met her outside, and we walked up to the community center. In it was a private party; actually, it was a celebration of life for someone. Everyone was all dressed up, and I was in shorts, and Tere was sporting a camo hoodie. As an added plus, everyone there was African-American. Felt a little like in the movie Animal House when the Delta’s are out with dates and stumble into a black roadhouse.

After we backed out and gathered our wits, I asked her, “Where did you get this intel?” Another resident told her it was on Tuesday and Friday nights at 6:00pm. So I called the said resident, and Tere asked what’s up? Her source knew of the private party but didn’t know if the game had been moved or was cancelled. Stymied, we headed back down the street to our respective homes.

One more movie reference: in Star Wars, as Obi-Wan is handing Luke his father’s lightsaber, he says, “Your uncle didn’t want you to have this. He feared you might follow old Obi-Wan on some damn fool idealistic crusade.” Today, along with the other day’s ride along with her to a car wash, leads me to believe I might have a bit of Luke in me to her Obi-Wan. Uncle Owen would not be happy.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 97.9%

 

Public Art Project?

Last Friday’s walk and latte morning was around my favorite walking trail. So was today’s. On last Friday’s, I walked by something that looked like an 8″-9″ red and copper striped yam-shaped Christmas tree ornament. It was hanging from a tree branch, sitting at eye-level a few feet off the trail. I snapped a photo and posted it on Instagram a few days ago.

On today’s walk the red-striped ornament was gone. Poof! But about 3/4 mile further along the trail, another colorful object was dangling a few feet off the trail. This one was a 12″x14″, and at first glance I thought it was a banana, but it could be a summer squash. Tonight on Instagram I posted this one as well. Here’s both because the first one didn’t make the blog:

I wonder what I’ll find next week. Edited to add the 3rd photo, which I found on July 30th

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 69.1%

 

Walking Math

I have a free pedometer app on my phone, and I use it whenever I remember to. A few weeks ago I found my way to the settings page. The stride length default was set at 27″. Mmm… I wonder what mine is? I brought out the measuring tape, laid it down the 15′ hallway, and walked the plank. I did some cipherin’ and ended up at twenty-three inches per each step.

While walking along the Ch’ak Ch’ak trail, there are spray-painted eagles, through a stencil, all along its length. When I start on the Troutdale end there is an eagle right at the start with the key. This is all leading up to “Who’s right?”

This morning I turned on the pedometer at the start and walked until I found the fourth eagle at the mile mark. I was keeping track as I went. At each eagle I’d check what the pedometer read, and it was uniformly accurate. But it wasn’t showing .25 per; it was showing .20 increments. I kept going to see if there was another eagle in another two-tenths of a mile, and there was! Was the key wrong? Was it supposed to have been 1/5? Was my stride length mismeasured? Is the pedometer whacked? Stay tuned.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 34.8%

 

No Car Day

Daguerretype Miata


 
When I said “no car day,” I meant I didn’t drive a car today, not no car content day. The photo above was from yesterday morning’s walk. When I finished my loop, I noticed that I had parked in the same spot as the GTI from last Saturday morning. So I gave the Miata the same “photoshop” treatment as I did for the GTI.

Instead of driving to get my morning latte, I walked for it. I’ve done this about 3 or 4 times, and every time I get back, I swear I won’t do it again. Two-thirds of the trip is on fairly busy roads, and along most of that, there are zero sidewalks. Plus, the traffic makes it very noisy for listening to podcasts. This time when I got back, I didn’t swear I’d never do it again, so maybe this will flip the switch, and I just not do it again.

Red Sox chances of making the Wild Card round in the 2026 playoffs: 35.5%

 

Mos Eisley Cantina

Mos Eisley Cantina

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy.

I did get it right; I waited until about 3:00pm before getting my latte and walking a couple miles along the Sandy River on a paved trail. Should have taken a picture. It was in the 50s, and there was not a cloud in the sky. I even put the top down on the Miata on the way back.