I walked 14 miles today, but didn’t mean to.
Google Maps was not my friend, and did not take me to my intended destination. But I liked walking along the San Timoteo Creek bike and walking path, as well as on San Timoteo Canyon Rd. (even though it’s a two-lane blacktop and constant traffic vigilance was mandatory).
In spite of my left knee complaining, I just kept going. And finally, in the distance I saw hundreds of parked RVs in what turned out to be the Fisherman’s Retreat. Since I was not a “member,” I paid the non-member price for an RV spot, and pitched my tent on a grassy section.
There’s a nice little cafe, and while I ate my cod sandwich and cole slaw, the owner, Karen, told me of a younger woman, Jeannette, who’d come through a few weeks before on a cross-country walk. She, unlike myself, is “Walking for Purity.” (Her Little Rock, Arkansas, mentor is Ben Davis, who’d written a helpful book about his own walk.)
The walk through Loma Linda and Redlands were good examples of the construction-related frustrations we walkers deal with.
Fisherman’s Retreat was filled with vacationing families, dogs, and a woman who wandered around the grounds for hours calling, “Sarah, here kitty!”
I chatted with a Canadian guy in the RV behind me while he smoked a cigarette and his two small dogs peed. Later he came over and asked if I’d eaten, which I had. He said, “Well, I’m just putting some pork chops on the grill if you’re hungry.” I knew this pork chops business would happen eventually.
@ Redlands, California