A New England Fall Foilage Walk

Feature Entry: A New England Fall Foilage Walk

Vacation is a good time to get away from routine. Earlier this month, the MoneyWalker took a break from money walking and focused on the beauty found during an extended New England fall scenery walk during a trip to visit family. I wanted to see the fall foliage viewed through a walker’s perspective.

The walk gave rise to a new walking strategy – Google Map Walking. From previous experience in the area, several potential walking destinations were determined. Then by placing in the address of the departure point and the destination point, Google provided a walking map complete with number of miles, estimated walking time, and the street names of the route. If the mile count was too great or small, a different destination was considered until a match was found between the desired walk length and the designation.

After considering destinations ( a waterfall in Cannondale, the Allen Meadows Park, or Friends of Ambler Farm,) I selected Weston Township Library. They were having a “Friends of the Library” book sale. The distance was 2.6 miles one-way and produced an amazing walk. Given that my usual walk is about four miles, and because I became lost a few times (next time I will download the map rather than rely upon sketchy notes), the actual walk was about 6.5 miles. A 6.5 mile walk is a great way to use walking as an antidote for vacation overeating.

During the walk, a quote from Richard Schmidt from his book Motor Control and Learning came to mind: “When stimulus contacts memory.” Wilton, Connecticut provides remarkable venues with rambling lanes, streams, waterfalls, craggy outcroppings of rocks, resplendent homes, and of course trees of every size, shape and color. As the multiple varieties of stimuli slowly connected with one memory source after another, what occurred was a smorgasbord of delightful recalls from the best of previous walks and of being in the “now.” Moreover, I cannot overstate the value of walking to enhance the experience of seeing beauty up-close in New England’s fall foliage season.

And once more, Marcel Proust’s involuntary memory theories came to mind. The synaptic connections triggered uncontested “unintentional thoughts.” With no distractions presented by the urgency of others, the mind was free to explore thoughts and ideas of far reaching dimensions. In a guilt free state of mind and in the midst of nature’s beauty, such thoughts produced an incredible sense of happiness.

As for the book sale, four bargains including two Nancy Drew novels for my granddaughter, hardly was a burden during the equally lovely walk home.

MoneyWalker

Current Weight = 176.2 lbs

Money found on today’s walk = $.86

Walking in Paris and Walking Socks and Shoes

Walking in Paris and Walking Socks and Shoes

Photo credit to Bing Photographs


This brief blog is a testimonial reported by Pat Coil, of Mentor, Ohio as listed on Travelzine, an on-line travel interest group sponsored by Yahoo. com.

We walked to the Arts bridge and saw all the padlocks on the
fence. We walked, walked, sat and met some people from
Canada and then walked some more and finally got to the RER
stop. Kathie Ann thought that the Dorsey was closer than
going back to the Notre Dame stop. She was wrong and got
blisters on her feet from the long walk.

On the next blog, the MoneyWalker will report the results of his New England vacation six mile walk that turned into an eight mile walk due to a few mistakes in following a Google walking map. Fortunately he was wearing top-of-the-line walking socks and walking shoes, thus no blisters or foot fatigue. When on vacation, be sure to pack and remember to wear walking socks and walking shoes.

MoneyWalker

Last weigh-in: 175 lbs. The significance of this weigh-in is that the MoneyWalker has just returned from a three-week sojourn with ample temptations for over-eating and avoiding exercise. The 175lbs was a wash, no weight added.

Money Found on Current Walk: $3.18 amplified by a crisp one dollar bill near a diner.

Paris in 6 hours! Vacation Walking

Feature Entry: Six Hours in Paris and Vacation Walking

One of the MoneyWalker’s favorite internet groups is Travelzine sponsored by Yahoogroups. Members are travelers from all over the world and participate by posting and responding to questions by fellow travelers. Walking is often mentioned. One of my favorite threads dealt with the topic, “Paris in 6 hours!” The traveler is referring to a six hour layover and what can be done in the time frame. Of the several that responded, Sandy in Central Illinois, provided my favorite.

I know exactly what I'd do if I had only 6 hours in Paris.
I would head straight for the 6th arrondissement and have
lunch at the Cafe de Flore or Les Deux Magots, then a walk
in Jardin du Luxembourg, and back by way of Saint Sulpice
where I'd have a cup of tea or glass of wine at the Cafe de
la Marie, with a view of Saint Sulpice. Any leftover time I
would wander on the rue de Buci, maybe even walk or take Bus
#63 to Musee National du Moyen-Age (Musee Cluny).

Long vacation walks are a great way to experience a culture and combat the tendency to gain weight while travelling.

MoneyWalker