A walk in the park

I have never been a jogger, but I am a walker. I like to walk and appreciate that we have local parks in Downey that make walking easy and appealing.

"All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking." 
~ Friedrich Nietzsche

A river walk that motivates

Having a river walk as beautiful as the Seine River through Paris must be motivating to those who want to stay in shape. Even in February, on a rainy morning, there were lots of people walking, running, or biking.

In addition, I saw something new this trip. Lots of little "pocket parks" have been created along the Seine where kids from 5 to 10 years old can play. In the one below, kids can practice their rock-climbing skills, with the rubberized surface below to protect them from injuries from falls.

To each his own

One of the things that made yesterday's Ride and Stride event so interesting was the incredible diversity of the participants—young and old, walkers and bikers, men and women, families and friends, humans and animals. You name it, we saw it.

Sunrise, sunset

Both sunrise and sunset are good times for walks. Of course, I rarely make it up for sunrise, so like this man on the bridge over the Rio Hondo riverbed, I settled for a sunset walk.

The smoky mountains

The recent time change and summer-like weather mean just one thing—there is time for a very pleasant evening walk along the riverbed!

It was just after sunset, and the fascinating thing about the lighting at the time was that it highlighted the layers of mountains in the distance, giving our local mountains a "Smoky Mountains" effect.

The park - A fine Saturday morning part 1

A couple of weeks ago, I woke up to a beautiful Saturday morning, and I luxuriated in the warmth and the sunlight as I took several walks around town.

I started out at Furman Park, where sports enthusiasts were everywhere. Some were alone: a runner jogging on the new walking path and a gentleman practicing tennis swings against a backboard. Others were in groups: guys playing a game of pickup basketball and a youngster practicing hitting a baseball with his dad.

An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.
~ Henry David Thoreau

Getting out of the car

I took a walk through a different area of town this week. It's not that I'm not on these streets—I am all the time. But I'm usually driving, not walking. And this walk reminded me of how much we miss when the only view we have is from our car.

First, it looks like the Marketplace Grill is getting an updated paint job. Have you ever taped your windows in preparation for painting? Imagine instead that you have to cover up all the letters in "the Marketplace Grill & Cafe." Tedious!

Further down the street, I came across this sidewalk memorial. There was no discernible clue as to who died or what happened. But someone cared enough to create this little shrine.

And finally, in one of the nearby alleys, there was this evidence of basketball games long ago, before the ivy nearly covered up the hoop.

I'm glad I took the time to explore on foot!

Rio Hondo River Walk

It was such a beautiful day, and once again felt like summer. The sky was blue and filled with puffy clouds. Both dogs were ready for an adventure. We couldn't resist heading out to the Rio Hondo riverbed.

Once you are there, the path is wide and the surroundings give you a sense that you are removed from the city.

Did you know that in Downey the Rio Hondo River was once known as the "Old River" because it was the old course of the San Gabriel River. The Old River School was named for it, and Old River School Road was named for the school. It's not much of a river these days, it has become a concrete-lined channel for flood control.

The dogs don't mind that the river on the other side of the wall is concrete. They had fun running along the path, sniffing new smells, chasing birds and just enjoying being outside.

"In all things of nature, there is something of the marvelous."
~ Aristotle

Angeleno Heights

Continuing on our adventure exploring the secret stairs of the Echo Park area, we walked to an area known as Angeleno Heights. Established in 1886, this is a small quarter in the Echo Park region known for its steep streets. As one of the oldest districts of Los Angeles, it is also known for its high concentration of Victorian era homes. Our walk led us to Carroll Avenue, where a high percentage of both Eastlake and Queen Anne style residences can be found.

What a treat it was to find these homes. It was like stepping back in time. And we weren't the only ones. We ran across several other "tourists" admiring the picturesque neighborhood.



In 1984, the City of Los Angeles recognized Angeleno (now spelled Angelino) Heights as a historic district. Under the preservation plan, the zoning prohibits unsympathetic remodeling of historic houses and requires new construction to resemble original architecture in scale, massing, and materials.

Walks along the beach

I talked about our Cayucos vacation before but there were some pictures I wanted to share that I didn't have room for then. The most enjoyable parts of the vacation were the long walks along the shoreline. You can walk for several miles without anything blocking your way. And then back again.

Do you like walking along the shore with your feet just inside the water line? It's so refreshing on a warm day.

"Walking is man's best medicine."
~Hippocrates

Pointing the way

Some day, Furman Park is going to have a new state-of-the-art walking path instead of a dirt path that sometimes turns muddy. But for now, just in time for Walking Wednesdays with the Mayor, new signs along the Health Trail point the way to better health through regular exercise.

This first new sign (above), with its aerial view of the Health Trail, answers a question that has long been on my mind. It turns out that it takes two trips around the park to walk a mile (or 1.1 miles to be precise).

At right, the yellow sign (along with several others at key points) answers a question that I don't think I've ever asked—do I need to turn here to stay on the path? I guess it's a helpful sign to those who are new to the park.

Healthy Downey, Walking Wednesdays

Last week was the "Walk with the Mayor" at Downey High.

Some friends and I have been doing this for a while and have really enjoyed the times. It's a great opportunity to get outside and get some exercise while chatting with locals from all around Downey.

Meet the group tomorrow night for fun and some good, clean exercise. Meet at the Downey High track at 6. Hope to see you there!

Riverwalk Downey

Last week I posted pictures from the "riverbed" area by my daughter's home. I love walking and have always enjoyed adventuring in the outdoors. The setting along the water helps to make the experience more enjoyable.

These pictures are from one of our riverbeds in Downey. This is the Rio Hondo riverbed, that we have renamed "Riverwalk." Although this riverbed is lined with cement, it still has a charm of its own. Along the side of the Rio Hondo riverwalk is a community garden (actually in Bell Gardens). The vegetables looked beautiful and delicious!

The writing on the wall...

Continuing with our walk along the Rio San Gabriel river... we went as far as the freeway overpass.

This area (under the Santa Ana freeway, where the 605 splits off) is not the beautiful scenic part of this walk. Although it is certainly interesting. The underpass has generally been tagged quite extensively. While we didn't investigate thoroughly this trip, there was definitely new "writing" that has taken place. I even found my daughter's name scrawled in one place. I'm pretty sure she did not do it...

North or south?

Earlier this week, before the rain returned, we took a walk on the Rio San Gabriel riverbed.

Looking to the south in this picture, one might wonder why. It's not very attractive, although I find the seemingly unending concrete riverbed intriguing, and even picturesque in its own way.

But turn around, and you'll see why. We headed north, where the sides of the riverbed are lined with trees, and the riverbed itself is thriving. Flocks of geese stop here often to rest and feed before continuing their journey south.  And directly in front of us (on a clear day) is an excellent view of the mountains. (Yes, that's Mt. Baldy again.)

Altogether, a very nice walk!

Walking with the mayor

I needed a picture idea for tonight for our blog and couldn't think of anything. So I put out a message on one of the Downey pages of Facebook and immediately got responses from events all over Downey! The first one was "walking with the mayor," a new program Mayor Guerra is promoting for "Healthy Downey." Pam and I met the group at the Downey High football field/track and set off on our laps.

It was a lot of fun getting out with part of the community that I don't see very often for something we could all use a little more of. This is me (far right, front group) chatting with the mayor about school safety. It was great having this kind of low key event to just talk to people and find out what's going on with our city. Come out and join us next week!

The lights of Christmas

About 20 minutes south of Downey is an area of Long Beach called Naples. Visiting Naples has long been one of our Christmas traditions. The houses are set up along canals with walkways between the house and the canal. It's a perfect place to stroll and admire the beautiful houses decorated to charm, amuse, and entertain.

I loved the homey feel of this entrance. It glowed with lights and warm colors. It's so inviting. I think that is one of the appealing things about Naples. Nearly all of the houses are decorated and the entire area has a tangible glow.

But I have to admit that my favorite scene from tonight was the one below with the family chillin' on the couch.

Christmas waves a magic wand over this world, and behold, everything is softer and more beautiful.
~Norman Vincent Peale

Sneak attack

These two dogs were standing on something, peering out over the top of their fence when we walked by the other day on our walk. They were strangely silent as opposed to all the other dogs in the neighborhood who bark as soon as they smell or hear you. They were cute and goofy just staring at us so I took a picture of them.

Little did we know how stealthy they really were. As we passed the back corner of their yard, there was a hole that one of them could squeeze half of his body through. Gave us quite a fright I'll tell you.

Poppy sighting

White poppies layered the hills on my hike the other day. I was surrounded by wild flowers everywhere. For only a few months of the year does California get like this. I imagine the settlers who first came to California saw it this way.

Waiting for you

On my walk the other night I saw this little guy peaking out the window. Even as I got closer, he didn't move. And no, he wasn't a statue, as I walked away, he scooted closer to the left to get a better look of the outside. Maybe he was waiting for his person to come home from work. Maybe he was checking out the gossip from the dogs passing. Whatever it was, he was on a mission.