Walking With Me

A statue outside the Carnegie Library in Defiance, Ohio. A young boy offers a parially eaten apple to a squirrel.

Defiance, Ohio

It’s Memorial Day weekend, and the third consecutive one that I’ve been at a multi-county event. This year is in northwest Ohio. I just finished the first of five walks – in Defiance, a city I had never been to.

What a great time I’m having. I don’t know if it is walking in a new town and learning more about state history; or getting a lead on how to contact someone I knew in this town years ago; or meeting other walkers, some I hadn’t seen for a while.

Whatever it is, it’s great.

Defiance is located on the Maumee and Auglaize rivers. Forts Defiance and Winchester were built along those two rivers. General “Mad” Anthony Wayne was the third American to face the Indians. His predecessors had lost. He built a fort and defied anyone to beat it down. He won the Battle of Fallen Timbers on Aug. 20, 1794, and paved the way for peace with the Indians.

Downtown Defiance is full of Mom-and-Pop businesses. It’s an old city but it seems active. I stopped in a bakery and bought a cookie and cold soft drink. I really needed that soft drink. I later found out TV in a nearby city is reporting a high of 93.

The path through Pontiac Park along the Maumee River and a street on the other side of the river have blocks with tributes to a lot of residents and businesses and organizations. Native son Sam Hornish Jr. has a black granite marker with a checkered flag, symbolic of his Indianapolis 500 win.

The first thing I saw was a big round flat marker with rings in it, looked like a tree had been cut down. Sitting atop it was a stone that recalled this as the spot of the largest apple tree – many moons before Johnny Appleseed came along.

On the other side of town is Defiance College. It’s small, but has some nice looking buildings. School colors are purple and gold and that’s splashed all along the athletic area. As I walked toward the athletic complex, bells at a church began to chime – that 16-beat chime, then a bong for each hour.

You’ll find a lot of walks I small towns like this. Just visit www.ava.org or ask me at sandlot17@juno.com where to go for a nice walk.

May--Time to take a wak

May and time to get out for walking

      It’s May and in central Ohio that means the start of weekly walks that we’ve done for many years. I’ve been participating in them for nearly 20 years now. And in that time I’ve seen a lot of Franklin County.

    I’m ready for more – beautiful homes, manicured yards, and the beauty of nature. Yes, we have it all.

    This year we are showcasing the best Columbus and its suburbs have to offer as we celebrate the bicentennial of Columbus.

   Our schedule finds us:

   May 10 – Worthington Hills. Directions are available from in front of the Subway/Urban Grounds.

   May 24 – Clintonville. Directions will be available at the Whetstone Community Center.

    June 3 – Hilliard. Directions for this Sunday stroll will be available at the small shelter house at Homestead Park on Cosgray Road. This is a Sunday walk and the start time is between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. but finish by4 p.m. soothe next group can have the shelter house.

     June 21 – Downtown Olde Dublin. Directions will be available at the Starbucks on Bridge Street.

     July 12 – northeast Columbus. Directions will be available at the Woodward Park Recreation Center on Karl Road.

     July 25 to August 5 – Ohio State Fair. Directions will be available at the Martin Janis Center adjacent to the state fairgrounds

     August 23 – South Columbus. Directions will be available at the front picnic table at Berliner Park.

     September 6 – Westland Area. Directions will be available at the Dairy Queen. Remember, I always told you I knew where all the ice cream stores are.

     And if that isn’t enough, let’s try out the walks you can do any day of the year in Franklin County: Reynoldsburg, Bexley, two in Upper Arlington, German Village, Westerville, the National Road, OSU, Franklin Park Conservatory, Canal Winchester, and the Mall at Tuttle Crossing.

      What’s nice about walking is that you can do it at your own pace and you can walk just as far as you are able. And you don’t have to purchase any special equipment.

     For the walks on Thursday, you can start walking anytime after 10 a.m. We’ve thought of everything for you. See you on the trail. Any questions, ship them to sandlot17@juno.com

An angel in the corner of Confederate Rest, a cemetery created for the bodies of Confederate soldiers who died in the hospital at Point Clear, Alabama. The cemetery, which also holds other bodies, lies near a golf course down the path from the resort area of Point Clear.

Point Clear

Point Clear is a dot on the map and easy to miss. I guess I blinked or I didn’t know what I was looking for. No road signs that say Point Clear so many miles or feet ahead. No sign that says you are now in Point Clear.

In fact, Point Clear is more of a historical note than a spot on the map.

The Grand Hotel was built in 1847. During the Civil War, it was used for a hospital and treated Confederate wounded from the battle at Vicksburg. Three hundred Confederate soldiers died there and were buried in Confederate Rest Cemetery on the other side of the road and down a ways.

A fire hit the Grand Hotel in 1869 and a lot of records were lost about those burials. Some more recent decedents are also buried in that little cemetery down a road from some newer houses that line a golf course.

Today the Grand Hotel is operated by the Marriott chain. It sits on the edge of Mobile Bay (and on a curve on Alternate 98 in Alabama). It is part of a huge complex with a lake in the center. All kind of activities go on in the complex which has a conference center. Several watercraft are docked at the marina. On an unusually warm day in late March, children were playing on the beach; people were on their boats; people were in the outdoor swimming pool.

It’s rich in history, but try to get ten kilometers in for a walk. We had to walk up and down alongside Alternate 98. Fortunately there is a multipurpose trail so you aren’t on the two-lane highway.

I’m a lover of history and I enjoyed reading about the role this place played down through the years. It was even a training site during World War II.

The day I was there the young lady in the gate house was trying to give me directions to the Confederate Rest Cemetery and check in new arrivals.

You never know what you’ll find on a walk. Check into www.ava.org and find a walk that’s close to you. It’s more than just walking.

Blakeley State Park

Blakeley State Park near Daphne, Alabama, on the northeast coast of Mobile Bay holds a lot of history.

Upon arrival, it looks about like any other state park. Space abounds for recreational vehicles in campsites, as well as many sites for tent campers. The nature center offers a rest stop as well as information about trees, wildflowers and wildlife of the area.

A park representative met me at the entrance to collect my three dollars. Alabama charges a usage fee at state parks. And in return, I got a handful of pages about the park.

One was a map of the park, showing roads for vehicles and trails for walking. Another had information about a boat ride for groups; it wasn’t running in March, too early in the season, even though the temperature neared 80 degrees. And a couple of pages about the history of the park.

Seems as though the last battle of the Civil War was fought on these grounds. That battle was fought at 5:30 p.m. on April 9, 1865, several hours after General Lee surrendered to General Grant at Appomattox. Communication wasn’t instantaneous in those days.

I walked past a grave and tribute to a stray dog who befriended the Confederate Army. Suppose he got his name for what he liked to eat – Biscuit. I could see ridges where soldiers crouched, sites that were pertinent to this battle.

I’d walk a bit, then stop and look around, trying to imagine what went on that day nearly 150 years ago.

Marble monuments have been erected to honor the Alabama and Missouri soldiers who fought and died on these grounds. Victory went to the Union soldiers and three of them received the Medal of Honor from this battle.

State parks are hard to walk in. They have very few paved trails and what trails there are have tree roots to watch for.

But what a way to learn some history and get my exercise.

For a walk near you, check in on www.ava.org .

Or contact me at sandlot17@juno.com.

The first thing I saw in Fairhope, Alabama.

Fairhope,Alabama

The Fairhope Arts Festival in Alabama has to be one of the best places to hold a volkswalk and I thank the Pensacola Volksmarch Club for putting it on. It was one of six offered in one weekend. Thank goodness I had directions for all the walks at once. I was able to get into Fairhope early in the morning, before the crowds began arriving and just as some of the vendors were opening shop that Saturday morning.

 

We were told if we drove in and found a parking spot, take it and start the walk closest to your vehicle. I walked a couple of blocks from my car until I got my bearings.

 

My first stop was the Fairhope Colony Cemetery. It was on the route, but even if it hadn’t been, I would have stopped in.

 

Then it was off to the festival. Up and down the streets lined with vendors in tents and looking at unusual merchandise. Jewelry, paintings, photography, banks made from old post office boxes, wreaths from mesh ribbon, wine bottles turned into hummingbird feeders, hats, wood work, pottery. All kinds of food, including alligator on a stick. Wonder if they’re going to be at my state fair this coming summer.

 

I took my time, stopped to look, visited a pet shop and was sent to a book store. Up one side of the street, down the other. A stop at the Storybook house where a braid of flaxen colored yarn flowed from a second-story window. “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair.”

 

One vendor told me the Art League invited 300 vendors and the Chamber of Commerce asked 300.  Local businesses were doing great business, especially the sit-down restaurants.

 

What a way to get exercise and enjoy yourself all at once, not to mention the credit I got for walking.

 

If you’re looking for some fun with your fitness, or to get some fitness with your love of travel, look to a volkswalk. Check www.ava.org, click on Find Walking Events in the left column. On that page, click on Find Walking Events and this will take you to a pull down menu page where you can locate a walk in any of the 50 states.

 

Join me for a walk. See you on the trail.

Daphne, Alabama

I’m in Daphne, Alabama, on the northeast shore of Mobile Bay. I think I’m close to water. And after my first walk this weekend, I’m anxious to find out more.

The Pensacola Volksmarch Club has a six-walk weekend and I’m taking my midwinter break a little later than usual. In fact, next week is the beginning of spring. But with temperatures in the 70s and 80s, it’s spring.

The start location is at a state park. I have directions for all six walks and will do them at my leisure through Sunday. My first one took me through the town of Daphne, especially the old part.

Some Mom-and-Pop restaurants that go back to its heritage – settled by Italians. Homes on the fringes of the downtown area much like you’d find anywhere in the country. Street signs look like the ones in my neighborhood several states away.

But what has amazed me is the foliage. I don’t see tall pine trees or palm trees or giant trees like these at home.

Starting the walk through the state park I saw trees that reached nearly to the sun. And dried Spanish moss was clinging to the limbs. Some of the dried moss had fallen to the ground. I don’t see that at home.

Taking a left turn to follow the sign that said Jackson Oak, I came across one of the biggest trees I have ever seen. Surely it is a state champion. State champion trees are measured for circumference four and a half feet above ground, measured for height and measured for spread.

Later I learned that Andrew Jackson had addressed his army unit from in front of this tree; hence the name Jackson Oak. A boardwalk now takes visitors around this tree.

I saw some flowering bushes that I don’t know what they are but they have pretty hot pink flowers.

While I was looking for public library and recreation center I came across a huge driedl (the top like toy Jewish children play with at Hanukkah). I thought it was in front of a Jewish synagogue and I couldn’t believe how huge this building was. On my way back (thank heaven for out and back walks) I learned it was in front of the library and recreation center and that this huge piece of artwork can be lit at night. I’m going to have to go look at it at night before I leave here.

Meanwhile, I have the season’s first layer of sun block on. And more walking to do. Keep coming back here on a weekly basis and I’ll share my observations of Alabama on foot.

Walking in Alabama

It’s been so long since I’ve been walking I feel as though I need to start all over again.

Our winter in central Ohio has been so odd this year, only a couple inches of snow and some warmer-than-usual temperatures. I did get out a couple of times, working on the New Year’s Day walk in West Jefferson and the Valentine’s Day walk on the Scioto Mile in downtown Columbus. It rained New Year’s Day and was blustery cold for the Take Your Sweetie for a Walk and Do Your Heart Good event.

I had an opportunity to do some other walking, but I had speaking engagements for work and I guess the money object took front and center. I wonder why.

But now I’m planning my mid-winter break, going to Alabama for the Fourth Biennial March Fling put on by my friends from the Pensacola Volksmarch Club. They’ve mapped out six walks for March 16 to 18 in and around Daphne, Alabama.

One walk will go through Blakeley State Park created on the grounds of a Civil War battlefield while another takes us through Meaher State Park.

Another goes through Mayday Park and out to Mobile Bay. Still another goes through the town of Daphne, one through Fairhope during the famed Arts and Crafts Festival. The sixth walk takes us to a Confederate cemetery.

I’m excited. I can’t wait to reconnect with friends and see who all will be in Alabama that weekend.

Got some time that weekend? Why not head over to the Mobile, Alabama, area. Check us out at www.ava.org . Click on Finding Clubs in the left column and locate the Pensacola Volksmarch Club. You’ll find a lot of information there about the weekend. If you’re still lost, contact me at sandlot17@juno.com.

If you’re in Ohio that weekend, join the De’Fence Walkers for their annual St. Patrick’s Day walk in Westerville.

Or find an event in your area and support our activity.