I do these walks amazed that people actually join me. Still, when it got a couple minutes to 10 a.m. and I was the only one standing by the fountain at the corner of Hoover and Jefferson, I endured a mix of disppointment and relief. The former because no one loves to throw a party that no one comes to, and the latter because it meant my Saturday was free to take care of too much business that I’d otherwise have to cram into Sunday.
There was the backyard to weedwhack, and the Costco to visit — and let’s not forget preparations for next weekend’s Death Valley trip which is going to be extra special because my cousin’s son Nathan is coming out from Tennessee to come along with Susan and me.
I was ticking these duties off in my head as the clock ticked that much closer to 10 when a voice from behind me asked if I was the guy doing the walk.
Guilty as charged.
And that’s how I met Perry and instantly shoved all those things I was looking forward to going home and doing aside in favor of going for a loooong walk with her. Then, as we were getting acquainted, up come a couple of USC students — Adam and Laura — asking about the walk and we welcomed them and introduced ourselves.
Not long after that we were off heading west on Jefferson to the top of Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook State Park and back east on Adams, and a great time was had by me and my three generation gap-closing co-hikers less than half my age.
I didn’t go crazy tweeting our progress or snapping shots with the camera but my Flickr photoset of the 15-mile 6.5-hour trek is viewable here.
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