Another week, another set of glimpses into walking adventures around the world. (Let that sink in for a minute; isn’t it amazing that we can all be doing a joint activity in our own way, in our own hometowns and yet feel united across the globe? The internet is a crazy Wild West most of the time, but these little corners of true community are lovely).
First up, my walks:
- Day #11: 2.53 km; it was a windy (but sunny day); I fit in my first solo walk of the challenge before supper.
- Day #12: 1.3 km walk with John through a local woods trail. It was wet and very windy, but the trees protected us from the worst of the elements. We came home and finished preparations for our Thanksgiving feast, so the thought of stuffing and pumpkin pie were extra incentive to walk quickly!
- Day #13: ~ 7 km walk with John (my Apple Watch died part-way through the walk, so I’m piggybacking on John’s distance). It was a gorgeous fall day.
- Day #14: 1.5 km walk in the torrential rain with the rest of the family. It wasn’t ideal weather, but the kids were on the brink of an all-out fight and I needed to fit in my daily walk. We did a short woods loop near our house and came home soaked, but I think we were all proud to have walked in such horrid conditions.
- Day #15: 4.57 km walk with a friend before picking Indy up off the bus. I took a picture of a STOP sign because it felt like a fitting representation of my Year of Shmita. As with vehicles on roadways, sometimes we need bright signs with bold print to remember to slow down.
- Day #16: 5.97 km birthday walk with John! It was chilly and windy, but we enjoyed a lovely walk full of debate surrounding our take on the Menendez case (we watched the new Netflix documentary this week).
- Day #17: 3.4 km walk to school. We haven’t been able to walk many days this week because of rain and John’s call schedule. It was a lovely fall morning – a chilly 3C – but no wind. The commute to school is one of my father-in-law’s favourite things to do when he visits, so I was glad we fit this in!
Julie has been walking in California and Sarah has been walking in Wisconsin. Suzanne isn’t missing out on the fun either! And Engie and Hannah posted another round-up of their daily walks.
Michelle followed San’s lead and has filled in the daily tracker with selfies! I have to include a snippet from her post: “Even though I hate taking selfies, after just 11 days, I feel a bit more self-acceptance. I’m here on this earth, enjoying my life, and this is what I look like. I’m so grateful to be here!”
- Lisa on a 6-mile weekend run in “perfect fall weather”, and then photos out in the neighbourhood with her two boys.
- Engie and Hannah on a foggy October morning. Engie wants everyone to know Hannah loves stopping to pose for these walking shots. (Not.)
- ccr – despite evacuating for Hurricane Milton – not only managed to fit in a walk around the hotel where she was staying, but also sent me a picture of said walk. I know I speak for all the readers in this space that we are so thankful you, your mom, and Maggie are now home safely.
- Joy sent a picture she captured of giant vats of grapes when she passed by a vineyard on a sunny afternoon walk in Wolfville.
- Nicole and Rex out and about in the natural beauty of fall in Western Canada.
- Melissa sent in this shot on the first day of their Camino hike heading out to cross the Pyrenees into Spain!!! How cool, right?
- Fiona, who lives in Bonn, Germany, sent these photos of a hike with her family along with the sweetest note! “Thank you very much for reminding me of all the goodness a walk can bring! Usually I am a quiet reader of your blog but it improved all our moods so much recently to take a longish, slow walk instead of e-biking everywhere that I wanted to pass on my sincerest gratitude.”
- Ernie sent me a picture out for a walk with her daycare kiddos to look at neighbourhood Halloween decorations.
- Sophie got out for lots more walks in Australia! The picture of animals up in a tree are flying foxes! Fun fact: flying foxes are a type of bat that doesn’t use echolocation!
- Kyria sent in shots of outdoor time in Nova Scotia!!!!
- Meike got to see all sorts of different sights this week. “Over the last couple years there have been murals popping up everywhere in town…On Monday I had to resort to an evening stroll after dropping one of my kids off at German class. There I found the Imagine Peace chalk drawing on the side walk. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were all walks around the UC Berkeley campus during lunch time.“
- Jacquie writes: The weather has been beautiful here, with mild temps, and some lovely sunshine. I have been visiting my parents in Victoria, B.C., where I grew up, and taking advantage of visiting old haunts. The attached picture is on the grounds of Government House, the official home of the lieutenant governor of B.C. I love the fall colours, and particularly the red leaves.
If you are participating in the walking club and want to submit pictures for next Friday’s roundup feel free to e-mail them to me at optimisticmusings7 {at} gmail {dot} com.
Happy walking. I’m looking forward to doing some of my daily walks with Kyria next week. Do you do most of your walking with someone or alone? Which do you prefer?
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Michelle G.
Oh, I LOVE this post so much! I can’t even describe how happy these photos make me! What a lovely, positive, joyful thing you’ve done here, Elisabeth. I’m so touched that you included my quote. ❤️I mostly walk alone, which I love. Our dog usually comes along, and I’ve even had our kitties join in!
Elisabeth
I do think a solo walk with a happy dog would be near perfection!
ccr in MA
I haven’t come near walking every day, but you have inspired me to think of walking, which is a (metaphorical) step in the right direction, and to do it a few times!
Elisabeth
Every walk counts and every walk is such a great time to reset our minds and bodies. So three cheers for all the walking you have done this month! (And thanks for sending pictures).
Suzanne
I have been having a really tough time getting motivated to walk this week, but this post is SUCH a good kick in the rear! Look at all those beautiful bloggers and their awesome explorations! Thanks for keeping us on track, Elisabeth! xxoo
Elisabeth
Thankfully we’ve had beautiful weather since our rainy Thanksgiving; I’ll admit that makes it a lot easier to get out for a walk. Cold, rainy days are not my fav…
Maria
These pictures are such a treat to look at!
Most (all?) of my walks involve company, often multiple small people. It’s sometimes frustrating when I feel time pressure, but when I slow down and appreciate the way they see things, and let go of my expectations, it’s infinitely more fun to walk with the kiddos. Today for instance, my daughter (4) found a little bundle of pine cone-like things and declared they were her baby doll’s balloons. It was so cute, and until she mentioned it, I’d not noticed that they did look like three balloons.
Elisabeth
I remember walks with Belle when she was little where we’d make it 100 feet in an hour. She loved looking at every single rock and jumping in every puddle and backtracking to circle back around to something she’d seen earlier. But it is incredible to see the world through their eyes. It’s a form of magic. Sometimes a frustrating, exhausting, and tedious magic, but it is magic nonetheless.
Lisa’s Yarns
I love all these pictures! We’ve been on lots of walks during this vacation, especially yesterday when we visited the mall in DC!
Elisabeth
It’s so fun to walk in new locations and with new partners. I’m so glad you were able to go see your sister with Paul <3
Ernie
This is so fun. I love getting a peek into the surroundings that other people are experiencing. Thanks for organizing this. I did laugh at ‘Hannah loves stopping for photos’, NOT. I like to walk with Coach in the evenings when it’s still light out, or when the weather is comfortable. It’s a great way to reconnect and to touch base at the end of the day. Those walks aren’t really happening at the moment with the colder weather and the fall sport schedule . . . but we did sneak off for a lunch date just the two of us yesterday. I know, that’s sitting down and not walking, but it literally is something we’ve almost never done spur of the moment. 😉
Elisabeth
I laugh at a lot of Hannah’s antics. She’s a funny girl 🙂
Evening walks are my favourite too. I think walks are a bit like car conversations. Because our bodies are locked in to a specific mode (sitting or walking) and our eyes are focussed forward, we tend to be a bit more open about sharing authentic feelings?
Yay for lunch dates. Stopping and resting (and eating) are some of the joys of life. Gold stars for making the time to fit this in to your busy life.
NGS
I do almost all my walks with Hannah the Dog and I wouldn’t have it any other way. When I have to walk somewhere by myself (like I recently had to go to the library because I needed to go in), it feels like a waste of a walk. Hannah could be out there getting sniffs and tiring herself out! But maybe a solo walk now and then would be good for me.
Elisabeth
Well, Hannah the Dog looks like the absolute perfect walking companion. I love her new safety collar. Tell her Elisabeth things it looks snazzy.