First Day of Spring!

Who cares what the calendar sez? Who cares that we're gonna get DUMPED on with another half foot of snow tomorrow?

Today was truly the first day of spring! 50+ degrees and sunshine / blue skies EVERYWHERE! A nice, teensy NSV was to decide instead of pulling my long-sleeved t-shirt down over my jeans I was going to tuck it in! I have forever pulled my shirts down, figuring somehow it hid the fat better? Silly me...! But hey, as I trim I figure I have less and less reason to be self-conscious. Tuck 'er in! :-)

I had a couple hours to myself this afternoon and knew the area I was going to be in so had some ideas before setting out on foot where I wanted to go: UP Reynolds Rd., Johnson City at least as far as the high school. I knew there would be a good, stiff uphill grade to get me pumped and running! Plus I figured the view up there would be worth the climb!



See that awesome sky?!? The hillside?!? I couldn't take in enough of it! I realized the high school was only partially up the hill and was drawn to the challenge of continuing up Reynolds Rd. to the top. When I hit the Indian Village complex I thought it looked like I was near the top so I thought 'enough of this pokey walking, why not jog to the top?'

Silly me...had been a while since I'd traveled this road...! But for some reason it felt better to shift into a jogging gait rather than walking up this hill so I held to my jog all the way up to Deyo Hill Rd. and then enjoyed a leisurely saunter back down past the high school. There was a sign for Finch Hollow Nature Center and I realized for all that I celebrate the outdoors in the 30+ years I have lived in the area I had never gone to this Nature Center. I'm overdue!

Off I went to search for Finch Hollow. Here is the route I traveled today:

www.sparkpeople.com/reso
urce/fitness_maps_view.asp
?rt=762789

Up Oakdale Road I went. I knew by the map that the Nature Center was just north of the Oakdale Mall. So I walked, walked and walked to no avail. Never saw any indication of Finch Hollow anywhere! Finally I saw signs I was leaving the village of Johnson City and figured, enough's enough...gave up and turned around re-tracing my steps back down Oakdale. After a little re-tracing I spied a yellow pipe gate padlocked shut. No sign, no nothing. But I figured it must have been the place. Highly underwhelming. Ah well. Now I knew.

So back I went taking Oakdale to Harry L and to my car. Very weary down the home stretch, having taken in 6 miles...but it was the very best sort of weary!

Now I'm ready: bring on that snow! I'll tap into my reserves of sunshine to blast my way through!

Don

ps...hope it works, as minus the use of one arm due to limited range of motion as my pacemaker heals, snow-shoveling is going to be a challenge! :-)