i wish someone would invent a way to keep the wheat biscuit cereal from turning into wheat dust at the bottom of the bag.

i knew i needed some groceries and that whole foods would do. they don't have everything we use, but they'd have what i needed tonight - butter, pineapple, raspberries, bananas, coffee, and one of those stellar quesadillas from the fridger case over by the hot food buffet. but i wanted to walk first, so i parked the car way up at the end of the lot, strapped on mr garmin, and took off. the weather was great, probably around 70 degrees, calm winds, sun low in the sky at late afternoon position. the first part of the walk was downhill, which was a good warm up. i felt great, just bouncing down the hill, walking, jogging, la la la. i started wondering where i could go when i spotted that bit of sidewalk that leads to that bit of road that used to be a real road. see, there are two - well, at least two - roads around here that used to be country roads, and then they were major backroads the locals used to avoid the highway. then, somebody had the bright idea to smack another road right on top of them, severing both vital arteries. however, they've been preserved, after a fashion, and are now pedestrian byways. so, i took off across the road to that bit of sidewalk that leads to that bit of road and walked up and over the hill, down the other side to where the road is blocked by a gate but it's a gate with no fence, and there's a well-worn path just beside the gate. it's only to keep out cars, see. there was another pedestrian coming up the hill towards me and as he swung around the gate, he grinned and said - "road's closed" and i grinned back - "of course, i saw the sign." and i swung around the gate and down the old road to where it joined up with a new road. huh. where was i? behind something that's probably familiar on the other side. one of the treasures of being a pedestrian is ending up behind something familiar. i took to the sidewalk and came around and lo & behold, it was familiar. so i am now tootling down a familiar sidewalk, looking for more opportunities for adventure, when i spotted that gathering of picnic tables under the portico. i've always wondered what was up with those tables, so i walked over and noticed the sidewalk curved around behind them, so i followed it... down the hill... and into the woods! it was a trail! this was some sort of miniature park. what a find! i walked around the trail and crossed a bridge over a slow moving creek, then through some wet green woods, over a hill, around a turn, past a playground, crossed another bridge over a creek with a swimming hole and a rope swing, past a marshy field of cattails, out into the evening sunshine, back into the woods, around another turn, crossed a third bridge over a creek running rapidly over rocks, and one more turn, and when i was nearly back where i started, i looked up and saw through the trees there was this balcony lit with white fairy lights and there were tables on the balcony with red umbrellas over them and even though it was just the outdoor seating for a chicken shack, that balcony looked magical somehow from the offside, where it was poised over the grassy field with a view of the creek and the bridge, and then it was over and i was back where i started. 1/2 mile of delight right there in the middle of everything. there were three or four paths leading off the main loop, and as i headed back up hills to whole foods, i thought about how it will be fun, next time, seeing what those paths hold.