Small Town America - My Walking Route

Do you like the new look of my blog? I've had the same template for over a year and my favorite color is blue so I thought I'd make a change.

I went for my usual one mile walk today at lunch which takes 20 minutes. Today the temperature was 85 and the humidity was down a little from our normal steam room like numbers. I feel that 20 minutes isn't very long, but it fits well into the time I have available. If I do another 20 minutes tonight at home, that'll be 40 minutes which is pretty good for me!

My office is in a small town on the edge of a neighborhood. I considered walking in the neighborhood which leads into a cemetery with great little lanes to walk on. The good thing would be that there is lots of shade. The bad things are that its very secluded and quiet. If a dog or bad person came after me, there'd be no one around to help. So I opt for walking in the other direction where there is some light traffic. The streets are easy to cross and after I describe the places I go by you'll see why I feel safe.

The first thing I do is change into a spare pair of walking shoes I keep at work. Following doctor's orders I apply sunscreen to my arms and neck and hope the Oil of Olay with SPF 15 I applied early this morning is still working. :o) I also apply spf lip balm. My cell phone is clipped on my waist band for emergencies only. I don't intend to talk on the phone while walking around. I need a quiet time during my work day and the phone will be ringing enough when I get back to work.

After leaving my office's front door, the first place I go by is the Smart Start Office. Usually there are parents with small children going in and out registering their children for the "More at Four" program our state offers.

Next is the small town newspaper office. Our paper is published every day but Monday. If news happens on Sunday afternoon or Monday, we're out of luck! I guess its a typical small town newspaper.... takes about 5 minutes to read it!

The next thing I pass is the old train station which has been converted into a burger joint. The food is great, but too expensive for my lunch time budget. I stopped once after my walk to get a salad and a beverage and was floored at the cost. I'll just bring my own from home, thank you very much! Nonetheless they have a large lunch time crowd and a great atmosphere. Behind it are some old rusty train cars. The railroad isn't open through here any more and the railroad companies abandoned the tracks years ago.

Next stop are two exercise places. One really hot days I would like to go in there and exercise in the cool air conditioning.

Right after that is the fire department. I'm careful to get out of the way if the siren goes off!

The next building is the police station. Its comforting to walk by there and see policemen out and about. Right across from that is the Catholic Church. Then comes City Hall, the farmer's market, the library, and a small town hardware store. I can see the courthouse in the distance which has a tall steeple-like top with a clock on it. The clock chimes on the hour. I can also hear a church across town at 12:00 playing chimes from a loud speaker. I especially enjoy the music because they play songs from the "Sound of Music". Nothing like hearing "The hills are alive with the sound of music....lalalala. I love it!

I hope you enjoyed the tour of my small town walking route! Have a great rest of your day!