I finally did it. I walked from my house all the way to Jack London Square this morning. I think it was about 4 or 4 1/2 miles, and it took me all of the 80 minutes I'd allotted for it. I did have time to get money at the ATM and coffee, but that was it. Right after I walked onto the ferry, they blew their horn, and we were off.
Anyway, it was pleasant, for the most part, apart from my poor choice of clothing (a layered skirt whose top layer kept rolling up and exposing the slip, so that I was constantly having to adjust it.) People around Lake Merritt are very friendly — many people say "Good morning!" which is not my usual experience walking places. Downtown was, well, downtown, but I passed a cool-looking African/vegan restaurant where a man was sitting outside with an exceedingly adorable small child, as well as a beautiful mural on the side of a building at 14th and Franklin. Then there was the homeless guy who said, "Excuse me... can I ask you a question? I don't mean to be disrespectful..." and I had to cut him off with a plaintive "I've got to hurry." (Sorry, but anything longer than "What time is it?" or "Do you know how to get to the library?" is probably not part of a conversation I want to have with a stranger. I'm funny that way.)
So now I'm sitting at work, and my legs are definitely somewhat sore, and I think I'll be taking the bus home tonight. But I'm glad I did it, and maybe this is something I'll repeat in future as long as it's this light in the morning and the weather is this nice.
