Every morning I’ve been walking four miles up and down the boonies country road. Two miles there, two miles back. In one direction, I walk to an old cemetery. In the other direction, I walk to an old abandoned house. Either way, it’s a four-mile round trip. The road is narrow, secluded, quiet and beautiful. It follows along a creek. Sometimes the creek is wide, sometimes the creek is narrow. Sometimes the creek is right by the road and other times it’s down a steep bank that if the road was icy and your car slid off, you’d be DEAD, I tell you, DEAD. (No, I’m not dramatic, why do you ask?)
I spied this very cool cave just off the road and brought the kids back to see it. They jumped out of the car, piled down the steep bank. I stood there, saying, WAIT. No one waited. I said, but I’m going to break my neck getting down there, this is a bad idea. They said, COME ON, MOMMY. Then my daughter came back up and grabbed my camera and took off. What was I going to do? I had to follow my camera!
I didn’t break my neck or anything, but it was scary. Then it was cool. The cave is on land about a mile and a half up the road from the farmhouse where I’m living. Some of my cousins’ relatives once hid cattle and horses there when the Confederate soldiers came through. There’s a waterfall, and it was just the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen. The kids had tons of fun climbing on rocks and exploring every crevice.
You never know what you’ll find when you go out walking! So……. Who wants to walk with me? I mean, not necessarily walking. Could be anything! Any kind of exercise. But it has to be real exercise. No lifting the remote and calling that a day. :no: It’s February. We still have time to be hot-hot-hot by shorts season. :yes: So join me. Pipe in here with a comment, tell me what you’re going to do to get moving, get exercising, get HOT, and I’ll have one of my kids pick a comment number on Monday to win a special PAX League prize to celebrate the release of Deep Blue–a PAX League totebag!!
Okay, come on. You know you want to!!
Once a month, I’ll do a Free Book Friday: Walk With Me blog and you can report in about your progress the past month and have another chance to win WITHOUT answering one of my nutso contest questions, LOL.
ruby55 says:
Actually, if I do any exercise to lose weight, I’ll be gone. I’ve lost some 30 pounds or more over the last year. I had to keep restuffing my size 14 bathing suit so that I wouldn’t have such a weird shape while I was in the Dominican Rep. So I switched to my s. 12 and things fit in a little more naturally though most of me could have used an even smaller size.:lol:
However, I do want to get in some walking in the fresh air–if only I could find some here next to a very busy street. It will be just plain good for me unless there are icy conditions or a snowstorm. So I want to go out every day for at least half an hour of walking with my walker. (I have a problem with my balance.)
By the way, what I wouldn’t give to be where you are! Those pictures are truly awesome. I could definitely live in an area like that. I :heart: the cave, the rocks and I’d certainly like to explore if I were sound of limb and body. I’d certainly try. This is what I like about mountainous areas. None close to here–just tiddly hills.:sad:
On February 3, 2006 at 5:45 am
Mary says:
What a great idea, and great pictures.
Thanks.
On February 3, 2006 at 9:32 am
Eve says:
Um, I have hot-flashes. If I get any hotter I’d have to start killing people!
On February 3, 2006 at 9:42 am
Marcy says:
*aims fan at Eve and attempts to smile without making direct eye contact* 😐
On February 3, 2006 at 10:02 am
Sandy J says:
I love walking! When I can do it regularly, I feel so much better. Okay, now to dust off my treadmill and get busy!
On February 3, 2006 at 10:40 am
Laurie says:
I’m going to swim everyday. I’m also going to get my husband to walk with me in the evenings before supper.
On February 3, 2006 at 11:51 am
Jennifer Yates says:
Unfortunately, there is not really anywhere to walk where I live, but I do have an exercise bike that I plan on using more often for its original purpose(instead of a clothes rack 😳 ).
On February 3, 2006 at 12:03 pm
Cynthia says:
Great idea, Suzanne! I don’t have anywhere near as pretty to walk, but I’m going to give it a go.
On February 3, 2006 at 12:25 pm
Angie says:
LOL about the nutso contest questions! :rotfl: I kinda enjoy ’em!
I have a membership to Curves that I have been sadly neglecting these past few months. I am going to give that another try. Yup! I am! :bananadance:
On February 3, 2006 at 12:26 pm
Tori Lennox says:
What Eve said! 😉
The cave and scenery is gorgeous, Suzanne!
On February 3, 2006 at 12:31 pm
Estella Kissell says:
It is very wet where I live so I have to make do with walking in place in the living room.
On February 3, 2006 at 12:32 pm
Alyssa says:
I definitely need to start exercising again, and maybe this will give me the motivation I need to do it. I will walk too, at least three times a week.
On February 3, 2006 at 12:56 pm
Melissa says:
😯 Those pictures are awesome! Love them! :thumbsup:
Next week it’s back to the Y for me. I’m looking forward to getting back to my kickboxing class. And, I’ll be walking or running at least 3 miles on the treadmill and working out on the machines. :whip:
On February 3, 2006 at 1:51 pm
Lis says:
Well I’m going to bowflex and try to use my air walker more (easier on my knee then walking on the sidewalks). Just gotta move the boxes people have been putting in front of it. :thumbsup:
On February 3, 2006 at 2:40 pm
Toni Anderson says:
I like to walk! Usually through the snow dragging toboggans full of kids, but good exercise 😆
Yoga too–but right now I am not doing it often enough 😐 Must do better!!
On February 3, 2006 at 3:43 pm
Elizabeth says:
I love doing aerobics. I have about 20 different videos that I alternate and I also have strength training videos that I use. Ok, I used to use them and I promise I’ll start again now…but not today. I’ll start in the morning.:zzz:
On February 3, 2006 at 4:04 pm
Fannie M Wiggins says:
Okay, I walk. I walk from the couch to the bathroom, kitchen,car, and back again. That is too exercise. I have beautiful scenery that is visible from my front porch. I sit and look at it on days warm enough to get out of the house. With my arthritis, that is one of the things I can do. I used to walk 4 miles a day, play tennis, do aerobics and all that stuff thats good for you. When the weather gets warm, I am going to do some walking but will probably never get back to 4 miles. You ladies are a hoot. I certainly enjoy reading what you write. Have a great day.:heart::grin:
On February 3, 2006 at 4:19 pm
catslady says:
I went and bowled 3 extra games – hope that counts – after all, you didn’t say it couldn’t be fun too:wink:
Oh, but the first thought I had when you said your kids went down to the cave was – LOOK OUT FOR BEARS!!!!!!!!!!!!:shocked: or SNAKES!!!!!!!!!!! or even skunks!!!!!!!! Lions, and tigers and bears, oh my lol.
On February 3, 2006 at 6:08 pm
Jennifer says:
Beautiful scenery! Did anyone else notice that Suzanne was worried about her camera! :rotfl: She followed the camera down the hill? Imagine if her kids took the laptop down the hill…
I have an exercise bike and people keep piling stuff in front of it. :no: That doesn’t help. I like walking even better though.
On February 3, 2006 at 8:45 pm
Jeanette Jackson says:
I’ve been thinking about taking all the clothes off the treadmill and actually using it for the purpose it was intended instead of as a clothes hanger. I guess there’s no time like the present
On February 3, 2006 at 10:17 pm
TeresaH says:
I recently had surgery and all I’m allowed to do right now is walk…so that’s what I’ve been doing a lot of lately! Surgery is not a good way to work up a sweat…take my word for it!
On February 4, 2006 at 3:54 am
Maureen says:
Starting in January I dusted off my treadmill and I have been walking on it during weekdays. I would much rather walk your path. It looks gorgeous.
On February 4, 2006 at 5:49 am
Mechele Armstrong says:
Absolutely gorgeous. I love all the pictures coming out of West Virginia. And aren’t kids great LOL.
Hope you get that blizzard.
On February 4, 2006 at 12:32 pm
Jordan says:
Great photos. I miss that about the Midwest and the south.
On February 4, 2006 at 1:41 pm
Ashley says:
Definitely a fun area to walk in. That would be a great incentive to walk for. I’m supposed to start my cardio class next week.. I’ll have to see about the walking. I did do the Disney 1/2 marathon last month, though, does that count?
On February 5, 2006 at 12:47 pm
Joyce says:
Have a very bad knee and am once again using a cane (Haven’t needed the cane in 1 1/2years.) But I am going to try walking more at work.
:wall::wave:
On February 5, 2006 at 2:17 pm
Fannie M Wiggins says:
Well I didn’t do any walking this week-end. I got snow!!!! So, I stayed in and read Deep Blue. I highly recommend it if you haven’t already read it. Great job, Suz. Kudows to you.:bananadance:
On February 5, 2006 at 6:36 pm
Trish says:
Suzanne, I love the pictures. I love to go poking around in big cave entrances like this. They just have this cool, verdant feel about them.
On February 5, 2006 at 8:18 pm
Terra says:
I love the pictures on your blog. I love to walk and have started the jorge cruise 3 hr diet plan and its working great. But walking is my thing :-):wink:
On February 5, 2006 at 10:23 pm
Michelle says:
Gorgeous pictures! 🙂
Does walking down my classroom hallways count? :hyper:
On February 6, 2006 at 6:45 am
Rae says:
Suzanne,
Please email me. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you. 🙁
Rae-eHQ host
On February 6, 2006 at 9:58 am
Suzanne says:
Rae, email on the way!
On February 6, 2006 at 6:24 pm
Anna says:
Wow, how did you know I was trying to walk more? Going to MA classes in Durham means lots of traipsing to and fro, and I’m trying to go the long way round, too. It’s not every day yet, but I’m working on it!
(Although I never wear shorts. Ever.)
On February 8, 2006 at 8:32 am