Innocent Bystander

100 Walks--#s 38-43...

I have been walking more lately, albeit not as long, but more times per week. All of this fits hand in glove with my new "thing," calorie counting. I've downloaded a great app for my iPhone (MyFitnessPal) that helps me figure out a weight-loss plan, counts calories and even factors in my walks as a sort of bonus with calories burned each time I hit the "mean" streets of San Diego. And unlike certain Hollywood stars, I never have to ask my iPhone if it's raining or not, but I do ask it how much I ate today.

Every once in a while on these excursions I discover some new thing in San Diego that I never saw before. Recently I stumbled across this cute little suspension bridge at Spruce Street in what I guess is a part of Mission Hills. It runs over a canyon and has a bit of a bounce to it when you walk it, particularly when you get to the far side and it really bounces (like minor earthquake bounce). I want to walk thoughout more of Mission Hills one day, when I can figure out if I can actually get in and out of there without laying a trail of bread crumbs. It's kinda windy and mazey, but it's also one of the most beautiful parts of the city of San Diego, with incredible homes and landscaping. But I'm somewhat afraid of the following scenario happening (a play in one act):

"Siri, am I lost?"

"Yes, we appear to be lost, however it is not raining outside. Would you like to have tomato soup delivered anyway?"

"No, thank you, Siri."

The jacaranda trees are in almost-full bloom (as are the Vespas, evidently). They're beautiful and fragrant and dot the streets, especially on Bankers Hill which lies between downtown and Hillcrest. As an editorial note, there are no banks on Bankers Hill, but at some point there were a lot of bankers living there. There are some pretty ritzy houses, which just proves, I guess, that embezzlement is good for the soul...or the home as the case may be. The jacarandas only failing is that when they flowers fall off, they stain the sidewalks as they decay away.

One other interesting point of walking through the Bankers Hill section of town: It's in the Lindbergh Field flight path. Objects in sky are larger than they appear. DUCK!

I came across this stately mansion in Mission Hills, a gated one with the above plaque adorning its outside wall. At least they're honest.

One of my favorite and most frequent places to walk is Balboa Park and this last photo is from there, taken on a gorgeous spring late afternoon. This is why I live here, people. Wise up and join me. But find your own f*cking place to live. This isn't a charity ward.

100 Walks: #s 31-37...

I'm still walkin'. Since I last regaled you (or galed you, depending on how often you visit here), I had walked 30 times since January 1. Now I've added seven more to my collection. For the month of April, I've walked 51.3 miles, and with a day or two left in the month, I may not be quite done (but I'm guessing I am).

As usual, I took some photos. Why here are some now...

This is down along the Embarcadero, just north of Seaport Village and slightly south of the aircraft carrier Midway, which is docked there. If you look closely at the left side of the photo, you'll see a giant couple embracing. It's a statue called "Unconditional Surrender," based on the iconic World War II photo by Alfred Eisenstaedt of the sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square. It was on loan to the Port of San Diego, but now plans are afoot (and they're pretty big feet...the statue is 25 feet tall) to have a permanent bronze statue grace the harbor. You can donate to the fund set up to buy the statue here. You know, if you want to.

A little farther up the Embarcadero is the cruise ship terminal and this big boat was there one day when I was walking by. It seemed to stretch on forever. Since I just read the long article in the latest Vanity Fair about the Italian cruise ship wreck (the Costa Concordia), I'm in no hurry to see what the inside of one of these ships look like.

I love this set of cute little houses on Robinson Avenue in Hillcrest. They're colorful and fun.  Evidently a blue door on a house brings good luck. I bet you didn't know that, did you? Okay. You did. I'll stop trying to teach you shit, then.

I am constantly amazed at the flora and fauna in southern California, even though I've lived here over 13 (lucky) years now. This is a Bird of Paradise. It's a flora, not a fauna. In fact, it's not even a bird, it's a flower. They're very colorful and kinda "chatty" looking, like they're talking when people aren't around. I image if they do really talk, they're kinda vain and speak only of their own innate beauty, thus meaning they're totally right for California, kinda like the Valley Girls of flowers. Totally.

100 Walks: #s 27-30...

I did a lot of walking on my recent trip to Seattle, enough so to push my March total to almost 75 miles (74.29, to be exact). That month included two work-related visits to comics conventions, where I am almost always on my feet, constantly moving. It's a different type of walking than my usual "head out the door, go for a walk" type thing...

Which I did on Saturday, albeit in a different way. About once every six weeks or so, I drive up the "back way" to La Jolla to visit the best bookstore in San Diego County, Warwicks. That drive takes me up Midway to the Sea World/Mission Bay area, where I make a left off Ingraham St. to Riviera Drive, which takes me through Pacific Beach and onto Mission Blvd. and (eventually) La Jolla Blvd., through Bird Rock into LJ. Every time I take that drive, I think about stopping and walking along the bay where Riviera Drive starts, and this past Saturday, I did so.

The walk was just under five and a half miles and took me around the bay up into Mission Beach, just south of Belmont Park, the local San Diego amusement park. From there I walked up Mission Blvd. and cut over to Oceanfront Way, which borders the Pacific Ocean (you've probably heard of the Pacific Ocean, right?). I walked from there up to Pacific Beach Drive, and back onto the bay to head back to my car. It was--no surprise--a warm, sunny day. I was struck by how many bikes and bikinis were along this route, and almost literally struck by a bike or two as I stood and ogled bikinis. Note for future walks: this route will almost certainly insure sirens at some point for me, either for an ambulance or a staring charge by the local cops.

After I got home and looked at a map, I realized that I could have just kept going once I hit Mission Blvd. and gone down Mission Bay Drive in the other direction, and made a big circle back to Riviera Drive and my parked car. Maybe next time...once I get those blinders fitted on my sunglasses.

Here's a photo from that walk (for photos from Seattle and some of my walks there, see my previous post).

100 Walks: #s 17-26...

Yes, I have been remiss in recording my walks on this blog...in fact, in recording ANYTHING here. Due to a week away in scenic and exotic Anaheim, CA--where most people seem to be tragically afflicted with the biggest ears I've ever seen--I have been absent without leave. Except if you consider I'm the guy granting leave, then I'm okay.

Forgive me Father, for I have walked. It has been 10 walks since my last "confession." Four of those walks have been just plain ol' walks...that is, I set out from home just to walk and I did so. The length of each of those was 5.08 miles (3/2), 7.42 miles (3/4), 8.2 miles (3/11), and 6.02 miles (today, 3/24). The other six walks were work-related. You'd be surprised how much you walk working an active comics convention. I walked six days straight last week, ranging from 3.11 miles to 7.25 miles. (My total for March so far is just shy of 60 miles.)

Of course, walking at an event like that is very different than my usual walking. Both are cumulative mileage, but my regular walking--for the most part, save for the occassional lunch stop--is concentrated, consistent walking with no rest stops and over a much more finite--2-3 hours--timespan. Walking at work is punctuated by numerous stops and sit-downs and over a longer period, like an entire day. I strap on the pedometer and go. That is when I don't lose it.

Yeah. I lost another one. Luckily Amazon has them in stock and ships them quickly, so I have a new one. I would tell you what kind it is and highly recommend it, but seeing that I'm on my third one in just less than a year, I should maintain that info for just myself, in case I need it. Again.

One concrete sign that my walking is paying off: I dropped a jeans size. I bought a new pair yesterday, and it was down one inch around my waist than the previous pairs I've purchased for the last decade or so.

Here's a photo from today's walk. This was taken from the Quince St. bridge which cuts over a ravine on Fourth Ave. in San Diego. It's rare that you see a palm tree from the top. Here's three of them. The rain we've been having a lot of is making everything nice and green for once.

100 Walks: #'s 14, 15, and 16...

I have been walking...I just haven't been writing about walking. I'm too tied up doing work stuff. I spend most of my waking hours with an increasingly warm laptop in my lap putting together still another book for an event that's 3 weeks away as I type this. That book goes to press this week; no word yet on when my testicles will stop glowing in the dark (re: the warm laptop in my lap).

I don't really remember walks #14 and 15, but I know from my hand-dandy calendar that I walked, respectively 5.8 and 8.3 miles and they were on Feb. 17 and Feb. 19. As always I took some photos while I walked, because you see such innnnnteresting things out there. Like this boat on the left, the "Sea-Duction." That's so clever! I bet there's a sticker on the side that reads "Don't come a-knockin if this boat is a-rockin'." Of course, he could also be a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, and it's a play on deduction. But I'm guessing not.

That photo is from the Embarcadero here, out closer to the airport. That walk was a long stroll that took me up into Hillcrest and down by the airport and then up by the Bay to go home, on a very cloudy and cool day. That was last Saturday, the 8.3 one.

Today's walk was a little longer than that, 8.6 miles. I left the house a little before 10:00 am and was back home (including a quick stop at the grocery store) by just about 1:00 pm. It was a beautifully sunny day, and not too hot, either...perfect walking weather. So far in the month of February I've walked a little over 42 miles with 6 walks. 40 miles used to be my target, but then I walked over 60 in January, so I'm thinking 50 is my actual monthly "magic number" now, but I doubt I'll make it in Feb. It's still a little too dark here to get in a decent 2-hour walk after work.

But hey, look what I discovered today! The circus is in town, THE CIRCUS IS IN TOWN! Not that I'll ever go. Circuses are on my "did it once, never again" list. I was 5 years old and the circus came to Tamaqua (Hometown to be exact...it was located on the big parking lot outside of that place we used to call The Auction, which is now evidently called the Hometown Farmers Market). My dad took my brother and me. The high point of it for me was a pink balloon with Mickey Mouse ears, kind of a balloon with two smaller balloons attached at the top and a face painted on it. It was hot and smelly and we sat right in front of the big ring. The elephants lumbered out and one of them paused right in front of me and took a huge dump. That made it even hotter and smellier. I was ready to go home. Circuses, like parades are not my cup of tea...or cup of elephant poop.

And then there's this somewhat skeevy market down near the cornet of Broadway and Park Blvd. here in San Diego. It's not the best neighborhood in downtown San Diego, but I almost always walk up or down Park (it's really very beautiful, and runs right past Balboa Park and the world-famous San Diego Zoo). Today was the first day I really took a look at this sign. The tower leans towards the back (prompting me to want to call this "the leaning market of SD), but I love the lettering and Market sign below the tower, and the way the sunlight hit the tower via the camera lens. The plane going stratospheric up above helps, too. Would that I were on it.

100 Walks: #12 and 13...

Not much to report this week in the world of walking. Both my walks--one at work, one at home--were short. Thursday's was 4.35 miles; Saturday's 5.97. I had a hard time getting motivated to walk today, with the weather being cloudy and cooler, but by 3:00pm or so I had perked up sufficiently enough to want to get out there and get on it (so to speak...don't get excited). It was a pretty brisk walk (for me at least), and I did about 3.15 miles in the first hour, half of which was uphill.

Thursday's walk was the opposite weather-wise, with the temperature around 82 degrees when I walked. That photo on the left is from along the way. I am fascinated by these vaulting on and off ramps on California freeways. I vaguely recall a truck or something coming off one of these a few years back (maybe not this one, but one right near it), and it is kinda scary walking under them when your mind races about earthquakes and speeding vehicles maybe taking a turn too tight and too fast (again...don't get excited).

Today's walk (or Saturday, depending on when you're reading this) was in chillier weather (about 59 degrees) and with a bit of a breeze. But the clouds made for very interesting skies and I took a few photos, like this one.

I'll meet you at this bench next time--you just have to figure out where it is.

100 Walks: #10 and #11...

In this week's walking news, I walked twice for a grand total of almost 14 miles. The first walk was in La Mesa last Tuesday, and I once again walked from work over to Grossmont Center for lunch and then back again. I don't know why but the first time I walked this, my pedometer registered it as 2.64 miles. The second time it was over 3.5 miles. I did vary the route I walked, but it shouldn't be almost a mile difference. I guess I'll have to drive it to double-check.

The photo below is from where La Mesa Blvd. meets University and continues as La Mesa Blvd. I've wanted to photograph this impressive strand of giant palm trees in the past, but over the last year or so they severly trimmed the tops, so it looks a little sparse here. I do love the way the sun plays with the light in the camera, though.

The weather here in San Diego continues to be amazing (no surprise there, I guess). This weekend has been absolutely summerlike. On Saturday, I took a long (9.1 miles) walk through Seaport Village, up Park Blvd., through Hillcrest, where I had lunch and took in a movie at Landmark Cinemas (The Artist, more on that later), then a walk back downtown via First Avenue. I was surprised how long the walk ended up, but interrupting it for lunch and a movie really made it much easier physically on me. I really start to feel it in my legs and hips around mile 7 these days (up from miles 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 when I first started doing this).

The walk up Park Blvd. takes me through Balboa Park. On the eastern side of Park, right near the main park entrance, is a beautiful cactus garden (it's right by the bridge that crosses over Park Blvd.). The photo below is from the tail end of that area and shows the street that leads into the picturesque valley below. Balboa Park has a whole mess of trails marked into and out of that valley, and someday I'm going to walk up there and explore that part of the park, and undoubtedly bore you with photos and words about it.

100 Walks: #s 8 and 9...

The owner of this blog (me) has informed us (me) that he'd rather title these chronicles of our walks "100 Walks" since that is the goal he's attempting to reach in this year of our Lord, 2012. Since he pays the bills, we complied.

I've walked about 15 and 3/4 miles since I last regaled you with the tales of my meandering attempts at exercise. On Thursday, I took a familiar route: Up Sixth Ave. to Balboa Park, across the Prado to Park Blvd., down behind Petco Stadium, over the new pedestrian bridge, past the Hilton and up the Embarcadero though Seaport Village. Construction on a new park (Not a building! Amazing!) catty-corner from the Embassy Suites hotel necessitated me taking a detour up to Broadway and back home, and when I did I passed the display below near the Midway floating military museum (the stern is seen at left...I loved the green water). I pass this way a lot, but never from this angle and had never really paid attention to these bas-relief sculptures on the side of the panels that mark the "Greatest Generation Walk" at the Port of San Diego. The city is a huge military town, with major bases on Coronado, Mira Mesa, and over at what is now called Liberty Station, not to mention the Marine Corps stationed at Camp Pendleton to the north of Oceanside, about 40 or so miles away from downtown San Diego. So, yeah...there's a lot of cool military things around town, especially near the water and the Midway aircraft carrier, which has been a huge attraction since it opened a few years ago. Yes, that's people having lunch out on the lower deck, where there's a little snack bar/restaurant (well, I guess it's more correctly called a "Mess.")

My walk today took me even further afield, but still had a military bent. A month or two ago, I walked to Liberty Station, a relatively new development in Point Loma, and ever since then I wanted to walk to and back from the area. (The first time I met a friend for lunch and she gave me a lift home.) It used to be part of a huge Marine Corps Recruiting Depot (some of which is still there), but a lot of it has been turned over to public use. There are restaurants, shopping, new condos and homes, a giant church, and a whole arts district. The area is beautifully landscaped and contains a huge open area (see the photo below, at the end of this post) that borders an inlet of the bay and is opposite Lindbergh Field, where San Diego International Airport sits. I love the place, but it too has a bit of a military theme.

The open area has a large number of monuments commemorating lost ships and submarines of World War II. They're really kind of elegant, too. I love the "On Eternal Patrol" line which is on each stone. They're so sad to read, though. Each tells the tale of the ship or sub, when they were commissioned, when they sank and how many men were lost. In the case of the USS Flier, pictured here, 8 men actually survived after swimming for 15 hours after the sub was sunk.

My walk continued back over onto Harbor Drive, down past the airport. I'm not sure who thought of the landscaping of the area around the airport, but they did an amazing job. If you're visiting San Diego for the first time and you come in via plane, this is the first thing you see when you leave the airport and drive into the city proper. The natural curve of the Big Bay (that's what they call it...I can't make this stuff up) really compliments the view of the city and it's kind of breathtaking. I never fail to be impressed by it, and I've seen it literally hundreds of times since I started visiting here in 1992 and moved here in '98.

All total, this walk racked up 9.57 miles for me, and I'm feeling it as I'm typing this. The weather here all of this past week has been absolutely picture-perfect. It was probably about 75 degrees for most of my walk, under a clear blue sky. I have a new cap, which I don't think kept out the sun very well, so I'm feeling a bit sun-stroked tonight, nothing serious, but I know I got some sun, even though I do use SPF 50. Also three and half hours of constant walking is a bit much, I think. For those of you keeping track, my walking path was: Fourth Ave. to Laurel St., Laurel to the airport and Pacific Highway; Pacific to Barnett Ave.; Barnett to Liberty Station; LS to Harbor Drive; Harbor to Broadway and home. (I just know you all find that as interesting and compelling as I do.) And yes, I did a little bird-watching along the way. (I think this one was actually watching me, though.)

For the month of January so far, I've walked 9 times. My goal is twice a week, with at least 10 miles per week. That will total 520 miles for the year, in 104 walks. I'm already just shy of 60 miles for the first month of the year, so maybe I need to revise those goals a little. We'll see.

 

100 Walks (#6 & 7): Special bonus walk edition...

I have been a bit remiss in both my walking and my reporting of said walks. I know you're all hanging on my every word when it comes to my feeble attempts at physical fitness. But both a certain malaise and a dose of ennui (leave it to the French for coming up with those snobby words that explain their diffident world view while looking down their snooty long noses) have contributed heavily to my life the past few weeks. So "today's walk" is kind of a euphenism (hmmm...French again?).

Last Thursday I took a walk at work. I'm getting a little bored with my (admittedly) beautiful walk routes downtown, so I decided to combine both my lunch time with walk time. I ended up walking a very short (for me, these days) 2.66 miles, on a route that I thought would get me closer to 3+ miles. I walked up La Mesa Blvd. (which is part of "Historic Route 80"...who knew?)  to Grossmont Center, a shopping center, then down Center Street to Fletcher Parkway and up Baltimore Ave., back to work. Like I said, I was hoping for more--aren't all of us always hoping for more?--but I was sadly mistaken.

Yesterday I had a work-related meeting to go to, and I didn't want to miss the football games, so I walked before the meeting and only totaled 5.96 miles. Yes, I know...that's not bad for 2 hours, so I shouldn't complain. And oh, yeah...those of you who know me well enough to be scratching your heads about that "didn't want to miss the football games" comment: They always lull me into the best naps.

Here's the trees in Balboa Park that are near the big fountain on the Park Blvd. side. I have no idea what they are...at first I thought they were cherry blossoms, but those are more pinkish. Chime in if you know what they are...

 

100 Walks (#5): Polar bear attack!

Today's walk was short for a weekend one, only 6.62 miles, but I had no desire to repeat last Saturday's 10.6-mile march through the hinterlands of North Park. It was a cool and cloudy day, with the sun making an appearance late in the walk, which was along my usual path: Fourth Ave. to Hillcrest, University Ave. to Park Blvd. to home, with a stop at the grocery store at the end for pickles.

Yes. Pickles.

Along the way, I was attacked by three giant polar bears. I have no idea what polar bears were doing in Hillcrest on Saturday morning, but I have my suspicions.