Cool Bloggers Walking Club: Week 3 Recap

Another week, more walks!

For more photos and fun, check out recaps from Week 1, and Week 2.

It has gotten cooler in my part of the world, but thankfully I have warm-weather gear waiting for just such a moment.

DAY FIFTEEN | 0.92 km + 0.61 km

It was overcast and cool and I was NOT feeling any desire to walk much further than my 10-minute minimum.

I strolled around the neighbourhood with Indy to collect the mail. Later, while waiting for kids to finish an evening activity, John and I walked the sidewalk at a local shopping complex.

DAY SIXTEEN | 0.93 km

It was cold, wet, and windy. BLERGH. After coming home chilled to the bone from cheering for Indy at a cross-country meet, John and I did a short walk outside. The fall leaves are still lovely, but I had to break out mittens (I look like I’m a doctor gloving up for the operating room, but it was my attempt to highlight that it’s glove season) and a warmer coat. Nooooooo.

DAY SEVENTEEN | 3.51 km

Joy came to meet me for a walk, but I ended up asking if we could turn around early. I slept wrong and my neck hurt, my knee hurt, and I just didn’t feel like climbing any hills. It felt wise to listen to my body and give it some extra rest.

DAY EIGHTEEN | 3.98 km

A brisk walk with John. I dutifully wore my knee brace and it really helped.

Pictures cannot do this stretch of path justice. It was like a literal red carpet. So pretty!!!!

DAY NINETEEN | 5.46 km

A family walk! Our first of the month. Which makes me a bit sad since we used to do family walks — LONG WALKS — almost every day.

Less than a minute into our walk, John spotted a $10 bill on the ground. Not a bad payday!

Indy spotted chestnuts, which are a sensory delight this time of year.

We walked by a local reservoir pond and I took time to admire the reflections. The only thing missing were more pops of red. We spotted plenty of red leaves en route home, including one that couldn’t quite decide what colour to go with…yellow or red??

DAY TWENTY | 3.24 km

It was a beautiful, sunny day. John was walking in…Finland, but we did our own version of a walk-and-talk.

DAY TWENTY ONE | 1.40 km

The day started with TORRENTIAL RAIN. After months and months of no rain, it is sorely needed; that said, I am not used to dealing with wet conditions and it threw off my routine.

I didn’t end up walking too far. A few loops around our neighbourhood with a stop at the mailbox!

WALKS AROUND THE WORLD…

• Kristen was walking in Maryland and even fit in a walk with daughter, Sonia, at a college campus.
• Lisa and her family got to see some incredible carved pumpkins in Minnesota (including a lighthouse and a Gruffalo); she also snapped a picture-perfect lake scene.
• Jenny was walking, running, and deadbugging in Florida AND Illinois (she was in Chicago to visit her son who is attending graduate school there).

Diane made a point to look for interesting Halloween decor on her walks in Maryland. Mission accomplished. So many festive displays! Here is the full post about all the spooky things spotted on her walks. (My question: WHERE DO PEOPLE STORE ALL THESE GIANT DECORATIONS???)

• Dark, light and everything in between: Engie and trusty side-kick Hannah walk daily in Wisconsin! They saw evidence of fall and some Halloween decor that was a tad too spooky for Hannah’s liking in their third week of walks.
• Hannah has a virtual walking buddy. Birchie and Doggo are committed members of the Cool Bloggers Walking Club in Ohio. See here for more details.

• Lisa texted this picture to me of her boys walking to school in Minnesota with the caption: Getting to peak leaf trouncing season! Maybe I’m an early-elementary kid at heart because I LOVE crunching leaves this time of year.
• mbmom11 walked Thursday after work: I graded quickly and had time to walk the small Labyrinth on campus. I’ve been meaning to do it for ages. On Friday, she took her kids and international exchange students to a corn maze/orchard/playground.
• It never ceases to amaze me what is “normal” for certain friends. Like, SHU, who spots iguanas most days on her walks in Florida. Um…definitely NOT normal in Nova Scotia.
• Melissa wrote all about her recent week of walks in Australia which included a stop by a local marina.
• Kae is fitting in picturesque walks with Charlie in Wisconsin. I confirmed that walks in PJ bottoms and Crocs DEFINITELY count. In fact, I think she gets bonus points for staying comfy and cozy.

Jana is walking in California and wrote about recent walking adventures here and here.

• Walking in the dark. . . come on, Time Change!
• Naked ladies, blooming in October (but they bloom in August in my yard, just across the river!)
• When it snows, an elephant appears in Alta Peak (in profile, facing to the right)
• The river is on the left, the yellow tree is a catalpa, and those spires are called Comb Rocks.
• The only good rattlesnake is a dead rattlesnake. [Eeks! Thankfully, no venomous snakes on my walking routes.]
• One reliable place of fall color each year.

Susanne been battling inclement weather in Ireland, but still managed to walk frequently last week, including one stint in Cork.

• I adore Suzanne’s recaps; I’ve pulled just a few of the stunning fall foliage pictures from her blog post. Click through and see all the beautiful things she captured on her walks last week.
• Julie fit in some walks in her California neighbourhood (and spotted another pomegranate tree), and plenty more steps at a No Kings rally.

Tobia is walking in Germany!

• The big pier a town over. It’s about 6km away and I try to reach it within an hour. It’s one of the checkpoints for my long walk on Saturdays. I am not always making it depending on my energy levels. 
• Tobia on her way home from the grocery store (with groceries in her backpack).
• One of the ways along the river through the woods. It is changing colors by the hour it feels like. And the smell. Wood, mud, mushrooms.
• She spotted a rainbow! It’s just beautiful when the sun sets. This was a walk at night when it was raining all day and I finally was able to be outside for 20 minutes without getting wet. 
• When not walking around my woods I enjoy walking downtown Berlin. The other day I had to walk from my husbands Office to the doctors office and I basically walked by all the major tourist places. It was fun. I could have taken so many more images.
• My favourite picture is this one she captured on a nighttime walk. One day I walked while dusk was falling. It was getting dark but I enjoyed listening to the animals walk the woods. It’s surprising I have never come across the boars as they are plentiful and we can hear some from the terrace. Also lots of signs in the woods where they dig for mushrooms and roots. 
• This is a little pier near her home. I like to stand here and do a bit of breathing. I would love to sit down but the geese also use it as a toilet so … nope.

Nicole was walking in Morocco…and France (Paris)…and then back home with her beloved sidekick Rex, in British Columbia.

• mbmom11 took a picture while walking at work and also a picture of her cats who have no intention of walking because it’s nap time. (Great choice my feline friends!)
• Bijoux captured more proof that it is officially autumn!
• Gigi is up bright and early each day for her walks in North Carolina! And her walks have a soundtrack: crunchy leaves underfoot.

Laura is walking in New York with furry companion, Koda (pictured top left). The three central pictures are from hikes in the Adirondacks: (with some ice! I do wear microspikes on my boots in icy conditions). Top right is: one of the horses (Arthur) at my school’s equestrian center. The bottom left photo is from the night vision setting on her phone! And bottom right is a Halloween light display.

This week Sabine was walking in Germany!

• On the way to my parents we stopped at a large playground (the huge slides were still a hit with the kids 9 and 12 years old) in a forest, that also included a tower to enjoy the view. (The North of Germany is for the most part very flat, so the view is on a good day easily 30-50km.)
• My parents have a very small orchard and make their own apple juice, and we helped with the kids to make their and our stock for the year. They also share their equipment to make apple juice with the community, so friends, local associations or neighbours come with their own apples to make the juice.
• We also did go and took a walk at the North Sea itself (and met an old friend who recently moved back there after a morning in the “climbing forest” for the kids). 

Jenny writes: Not a great week for getting walks in. I only went for two. 

• Wednesday 10/15 – Took a one mile walk through the neighborhood. On one street I went down it seemed like every house had a porch sign. So I counted them on the way back. 10 of 28 houses had one. I didn’t take my phone along on this walk, but a few days later snapped a picture of my own porch sign so you would know what I was talking about. [Pictured above!]

• Tuesday – 10/21 – Took a 15 minute walk in the park. 

And the other days? Well here’s my list of excuses. I did a bunch of stuff like…

• Shop for Chili ingredients, make a big pot of Chili, served said pot of Chili at a cook-off and didn’t win. (It was rigged! You could buy extra votes! It was also a fundraiser, so that probably did get them more money, lol.)
• Spent all of Saturday volunteering. I thought it was going to be cold so I packed a winter hat and hand warmers. Instead I got a sunburn. Ouch! 
• Went to lunch with my mom. We went to the same restaurant that I picked for the celebratory dinner after high school graduation and I probably ordered the same thing!
• Tried Detroit Style pizza. Wow, was that crust thick!
• Started a load of laundry. 45 minutes later I went to put it in the dryer and realized I had turned the water off in the laundry room to go out of town and hadn’t turned it back on, the washer was still trying to fill!
• It was a long week, but some down time is ahead! 

Jacquie sent me her final set of photos from Japan!

• Top – clear sky in Takayama on early morning walk.
• Middle and bottom right – Hida no Sato Outdoor Museum in Takayama.  Beautiful city in the mountains. This museum houses traditional Hida houses from the Edo period.
• Bottom left – Glico Man – this billboard was originally installed in 1935 promoting caramel candy.  It’s been updated several times and is a well-known landmark in Osaka’s Dotonbori district.
• Bottom center – Osaka, Dotonbori District. Osaka is known as Japan’s kitchen and one of their specialty foods is takoyaki, octopus balls.  We enjoyed some at this restaurant.

Thanks to everyone who is participating in the walking club; we’re nearly to the end!!

Your turn.

• Has anyone else found money on the ground while walking this month?
• Are there venomous snakes in your part of the world? (We don’t have venomous snakes or spiders, but we do have ticks that carry Lyme disease…)
• Do you have a seasonal sign for your porch or door? (I do not!)