relaxed Friday

It's been a good week for getting around. The van has been idle in the driveway since Sunday (Desperate Housewives airs on Sundays).

First, the bus riding: Tuesday and Wednesday were bus-riding days. I'm getting the hang of riding #9 from Brevard Road. It's a shame there's not a bus stop near the house, but the drivers are always very nice, and they stop for us.

I've used the Corolla a bit, but not to get to work. Tuesday I drove it a few miles to a ride-share. We meet at a spot, then carpool down to Fletcher to play some volleyball. We would play in Asheville, but Asheville Parks and Recreation saw fit to cancel the league games here. On the one hand, driving to Fletcher burns a lot of gas. On the other hand, we managed to pack nine adults into two vehicles. I put about six more miles on the Corolla just going back and forth to the carpool spot.

Oh yes, here's another 100+ miles I had forgotten about... Sherry and Nathan went to Franklin yesterday. They took the Corolla. Well, it's better than driving the van.

I'm happy to have the day off today.

I put perhaps another six miles (I'm guessing) on the Corolla today. I was invited for a panel discussion at Erwin Middle School. Surely there's no way to get to EMS without driving (I've never seen a runner on New Leicester Highway. I value my health and life too much to run that road). I drove out there and back. It was a lot of fun.

Speaking of running, I went out for a run in West Asheville around noon. I usually run early in the morning, but today looked like a good day for a later run (temp this morning was 37 F). The temperature at 11:30 was fine, but the traffic, geez. I did not remember the traffic being so bad in WA that time of day. Please, if you see a runner in the road, treat him like a cyclist. Give him a wide berth. If he's on the sidewalk or in a crosswalk, realize that he's a pedestrian.

Drivers usually ignore the crosswalks on Haywood Road, particularly the one near Burgermeister. Folks, this is a state law. Drivers must stop for a pedestrian in the crosswalk. Having said that, Pedestrians, hear me: don't plan on ANY drivers stopping at the Burgermeister crosswalk for you-- for practical purposes, it may as well not exist.

I walked up to Haywood Road (I am blogging this from the West End Bakery--the Chocolate/Ginger muffin is tasty), where I can combine a lot of errands. It's a crisp, sunny day--ideal for a walk, a perfect fall day. It's sunny and cool. The trees on Vermont Ave. still have their leaves, but not for long. All in all, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood.

Do you live in a neighborhood? I recommend you take a walk through it.

Be careful in the crosswalks.