Move - Take a Simple Walk

Please note due to being away from internet access I'm starting this challenge late...although I didn't begin on October 1 my goal is to write for 31 days...


My father-in-law is 93 years old (young). He still hikes in the mountains near his home, is active in his church, grows roses, and just celebrated his wedding anniversary to his younger (83yrs) second wife.

Some might say the fact he is well into what most would call old age is due to good genes or just the luck of the draw.  He attributes it to a beer a day and plain stubbornness.

I'm not sure but I know that one thing he does is to stay on the move. He gets up every morning, puts on  his shoes and goes to early mass. He does this every morning and then stays active all day till it's time for bed.

His philosophy is to keep moving and my husband and I have adopted his way of thinking. We don't grow roses (or anything else for that matter) or go to mass every day but we do walk and stay active. 

Just a simple 30 minute walk can work wonders. Some days we walk our neighborhood. Other days we go somewhere special like to the beach or a nearby park. If outdoor options are out of the question then we clock our miles on a treadmill or by walking in our local mall.

I don't know if walking will help slow down the aging process but I do know I feel better. When I'm worried or anxious and I start walking I can feel the stress leave my body. That knot that forms in my stomach when I'm overwhelmed slowly unwinds.  When I'm feeling blue or unproductive a simple walk can help me snap out of whatever has me down. 

Don't take my word for it. Try it for yourself.

"Walking is man's best medicine."

Hippocrates 

Lace up and take a walk!

31 Days of Walking - Welcome!

Anyone who drops in from Write 31 Days:

I failed in my efforts to write for 31 days about walking. I did get up to day 11 but it went down hill from there. I have walked everyday but I find writing and posting everyday to be too much for me. It sort of took the pleasure out of my day...

I hope you'll still take a look around and see some of the beautiful places I walk and maybe learn about the benefits of walking.

Thanks for dropping in.

Walking is my number ONE way to stay healthy. There's been tons of studies done on the health benefits of walking. Among other things walking can help you lose weight, lower your blood pressure, fight off depression and increase your creativity. Almost anyone can walk, it's free (one of my favorite words), can be done just about anywhere, and the only equipment needed is a decent pair of shoes . 

So for 31 days I'll be posting about places I walk and other walking related information.

For more information on this challenge check out the Write 31 Days website.

Lace up and let's go walking!

Walking in Our Neighborhood

"Manners is the key thing. Say for instance when you're growing up, you're walking down the street, you've got to tell everybody good morning. Everybody. You can't pass one person."

Usain Bolt

When we first started walking in our new neighborhood we were surprised by how many cars passed by and no one acknowledged us.

 No lifting of the hand for a friendly wave, no nod of the head and certainly no eye contact. 

I was discouraged by the thought that we'd moved to the wrong place. A place so unfriendly that our  own neighbors could so easily ignore us we walked down the street. John on the other hand accepted the situation as a challenge. He was determined to break the barrier and get people to wave. 

So from that moment on we waved at every single car that past by. At every single person we saw standing in their yard or on the front porch. And by wave I mean a hand up in the air so you can't miss it kind of wave! 

Guess what? In just a few short days we had pretty much everyone greeting us on the road. Even a few arm out the window kind of waves and a horn honk here and there:-)

 It's amazing how a simple wave can change your whole attitude and make the day seem sunnier. It's also just plain good manners!

I do love my neighborhood and I walk almost everyday. I'm sharing just a few photos from  my last morning  walk. 

There's usually a few people out walking and biking.

Many houses in our neighborhood are located on 2-3 acre lots with a few mini farms thrown in. 

Parts of the sidewalk (where there is a sidewalk) look like a trail in the forest. 

Beautiful 'weeds' grow in all the ditches...

That's just a glimpse of my neighborhood. 

Lace up and get to know your neighbors!

The Great Florida Birding Trail at Ft Clinch State Park

On the way home from Tallahassee I saw several signs for the Florida Birding Trail. Had they always been there and I just never noticed? A quick search on the Internet when we got home and I had all the info I needed. 

"The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail (GFBWT) is a program of the Florida Fish and Wildlife conservation Commission. AT its core is a network of 515 sites throughout Florida selected for their excellent birdwatching, wildlife viewing or educational opportunities." From the  Great Florida Birding Trail website.

I just knew that one of these 515 sites would have to become our next walk. Since we are very close to Fernandina we decided to check out the trail at Ft. Clinch State Park. 

The trail begins at the parking lot for the fishing pier. A neat little kiosk provided plenty of information about Florida birds and the birding trail. 

It's a half mile walk from the parking lot to the end of the fishing pier. We were there pretty early so we decided to get walking before the noon day sun started bearing down. There were lots of people fishing from the pier. Even one guy who had a good size shark on his line. It made me glad I was walking on the pier and not swimming. You never know what might be swimming right by your ankles...Yikes!

Under the pier

On the pier

Above the pier

The walk on the fishing pier was pleasant. There was a nice cool breeze coming off the water. Several flocks of birds flew overhead while we were on the pier. I believe these are pelicans. OK I've lived in Florida my whole life with the exception of two long years in Texas. I'm ashamed to say I don't really know much about Florida birds...


 The rest of our walk wasn't quite as enjoyable. After a nice lunch in the picnic area by the fort we took the walking trail through the woods.  Not a breath of air was stirring. It was HOT! Even the birds and squirrels were smart and stayed quite in the shade. 

But that's summer in Florida...

For more information on the Great Florida Birding Trail check out their website.

The Great Florida Birding and Wildlife Trail

Lace up and learn something new about your area.

Beach Walk at Jekyll Island, Georgia

Jekyll Island is a Georgia State Park that boasts over 8 miles of beautiful, white sandy beaches. The island has many places to walk including the historic Millionaire Village once a vacation home to America's wealthiest families including the Vanderbilts, Rockefeller, Goodyear, and Pulitzer to name a few.

We started the day off at the Georgia Sea Turtle Museum where we joined an educational tour about alligators on Jekyll. This included a ride over the south beach and a walk to locate an alligator that had a tracking device. We were able to track this gator to a sewer pipe in the parking lot of a hotel. You never know what's right under your feet!

The highlight of the day was the long walk on the beach. There's nothing nicer than cooling your feet off in the ocean...

Take a walk and get your feet wet!

Weekend Walking in Savannah, Georgia

 

A Weekend in Savannah, Georgia

June 27 and 28 

Savannah is just a 2 hour drive from Jacksonville so it makes an easy weekend trip. We drove up on Saturday afternoon and arrived in time to take a nap and get ready for dinner. 

Dinner at Johnnie Harris 

1651 E Victory Dr
Savannah, Ga

Johnnie Harris Restaurant was established in 1924 and although the place has been updated over the years it retains an old fashioned atmosphere. It felt almost like being in 1930 with dark paneling and high ceilings. There was a large area in the center of the restaurant that looked like it could be used as a circular dance floor. It was surrounded by intimate booths around the perimeter. 

The food was good. I had the barbecue pork plate with fries and coleslaw. The pork had a really good smoky flavor and the coleslaw was perfect but I think John made the better choice health wise. He had salmon with sweet potatoes and broccoli. He said it was delicious. 

I love this! It's Earth rising! Located at 14 E 73rd Street. Originally a storage tank built in the 1950s by Savannah Gas Company it's been painted to resemble the earth. It now carries an advertisement for the Savannah Mortgage Company. 
You can read more about this at Roadside America.

Historic Savannah 10K Walk

This walk was set up by The Happy Wanderers Walking Club and is self guided. You can pick up the directions and a map at the Savannah History Museum and Visitors Center: 303 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Savannah, Ga 31401. Just go to the front desk at the museum and ask for the start box. 

I was intrigued by all the staircases in this city. This is just one view. 

This is Forsyth Park at Gaston Street and Bull Street. It's one of many parks and squares that dot this town. I loved that there was so much activity going on. People sitting and talking, riding bikes, walking and a young couple (see the guy kneeling down?) having their pregnancy photos taken. Large oak trees that shade the park and a beautiful cast iron fountain that was that was erected in 1858 make this a lovely place to walk.

If you continue on in Forsythe Park past the fountain you'll come to the Confederate Memorial. The monument was erected in 1874 to honor those who fought and died in the Confederacy. It's interesting to note that the monument was made in Canada with Canadian materials and brought to Savannah by ship so no part of it touched Yankee soil. History runs deep here. 

If you're walking for AVA credit be sure to take the time to walk around the monument and make note of the names of the Confederate officers on the two bust at the front and rear. You'll be tested later:-)

This is a friendly town full of Southern hospitality. While we were trying to take a selfie in one of the parks a young couple walking their dogs stopped and offered to take our picture. 

We did venture down to the water front but it was packed with tourist so we didn't linger. To me it was nicer walking by the old houses and through the many parks and squares. 

There's a lot of history to be found not to far from home. 

For more information on how you can enjoy walks of this kind check out the American Volkssport Association.

Lace up and visit a town near you!

Walking to a Destination

Most of the time our walks meander around from our car (or house) and back with no real destination in mind. Our goal is to just walk and chalk up steps and miles. Today we decided to do something different and actually walk to a chosen destination.

We parked at the MOSH with the intention of walking to European Street on San Marco to have lunch. It was actually only about a mile from where we parked to the restaurant so we added some walk time by going over the bridges.

First we walked over the Main Street bridge to the Landing.

A lot of sailboats docked at the Landing. There was also a charity walk for the Kidney Foundation. Nice to see activity down on the waterfront.

Then over the Acosta to San Marco. It was very hot on top of the bridge. A bright sunny day with no breeze. This is a view of the Landing from the Acosta. Very pretty waterfront city.

After lunch at European Street we took the long way back by going through the San Marco area. Walking down Hendricks Ave. we came across some old buildings. One was the South Jacksonville City Hall built in 1913. Learned something new today. 

We also encountered a man who I think was homeless. He walked with us a while and told us about living in Pittsburgh. He was nice and didn't ask for money so maybe he wasn't homeless. Maybe he thought we were...

After we got home John informed me that if we walked one more mile we'd be caught up on our goal of walking 500 miles this year. So off to Winn Dixie we went. We parked and walked down to where the Salvation Army is on Lem Turner, turned around and came back to Winn Dixie where we did our shopping.

Yeah! We're not behind anymore!!! Let's hope we can keep it that way.

 Lace Up and Walk you might learn something new about your city!