Busy, Busy

I’m not sure I have adjusted to being back in Nashville.  With family and friends, we have something going on all the time.  It is like this every year; I guess I forget between visits.  I think we tried to do to much this week.

Yesterday, we did another hike.  We went over to Warner Park again and were virtually the only ones on the trail.  It was a cold, dreary day and anybody with any sense was inside.  We are desperate to get back in shape and have set a goal of hiking 3 times a week.  We got behind for this week and tried to make it up by hiking both Thursday and Friday.  In retrospect, that was a mistake because I have been too rushed today.  However, as far as the hike is concerned, we really felt good about it.  We trudged through the mud for 9 miles, and though we were pretty tired when we finally got back to the car, we were not totally exhausted.  Our exercise program is obviously working.

Perhaps I should explain why we are trying to hike so much.  We have a tentative plan to hike a little more of the Appalachian Trail this spring.  We get all excited about this trail and it has been (or will be by spring) a couple years since we have been out there.  We got down the maps and guidebooks one night last week just to see how often the trail crossed a road.  It turned out to be very often.  Then we got to wondering how many of those roads were open to the public (not forest service roads) and had room to park the truck.  To our surprise, we actually found a website that listed all the parking areas along the AT.  Gene printed off the pages for the section we are thinking about doing then we compared that with the maps and guidebooks.  We discovered for the 280 or so miles we want to do, there are parking areas at least every 16 miles and usually about 11 or 12 miles.  This was great news because it will enable us to day hike instead of backpack.  However, hiking 12 to 16 miles a day is not something we want to jump into cold so we plan to hike often this winter to get in shape for those high-milage days.

Along the old Natchez Trace

By the way, Warner Park is a real jewel in the Nashville community.  Yesterday, I had planned to write a little description of Warner Park for this journal.  By the time we got home, I got a shower, fed the cat, fixed our dinner, ate, and cleaned up the mess, I had no more energy to do the research and write the story.  So, that will have to wait for another day.  It really is a story worth telling.

Today, we got out early to the grocery.  I didn’t want to be there with the Saturday crowds and we successfully avoided that.  Along with the regular shopping, I got ingredients to made deviled eggs and chocolate chip cookies to take to Jack and Ansley’s annual bonfire tonight.  This will be the first time we have been in town for this event and are looking forward to the festivities.  I suspect us old folks will leave before the real party gets underway.  Our bedtime is much earlier than when we were 30 something.

After lunch, we drove over to my aunt and uncles’ home.  They are proud new great-grandparents and wanted to show off a few photos of their new great-granddaughter.  I had received via e-mail a few photos also.  Over coffee and muffins, my uncle regaled us with stories of his younger days when he went to work for the railroad in Anchorage, Alaska during the late 40s.  This was somewhat of a surprise to me since I have thought for the past 50 years or so that he was in Alaska during his time in the Navy.  We had a great visit and I have several stories to include and some revisions to make in my family history project.

Now I must get ready for the bonfire.