It’s Day 118 of the Papa’s Walk Challenge!  

I walked about 2.5 miles today and as I neared home I saw the oddest thing – a round bus! No kidding!  The entire body of the blue vehicle was round, not rectangular.

It was parked on the street in front of a house. I walked all the way around it and noticed a bunch of music festival and rock radio stickers on the back of the bus, as well as the letters “UE Boom” and the website address UlitmateEars.com.

When I got home, I looked it up on the Internet and discovered it’s a promotional vehicle for a round music speaker by Logitech.

The Boom Bus is on tour visiting music festivals and extreme sporting events to give people an opportunity to touch, feel, and hear the round sound system. I guess the Boom Bus driver lives in or was visiting someone in my neighborhood.

You can see more pictures and learn all about it by visiting Figure Plant, the company that designed and made the Boom Bus for Logitech.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I learn about the coolest stuff on my walks!

Day 117 of the Papa’s Walk Challenge!  

My friend, Kim Daly of the Urbane Concierge, was a sponsor of the 23rd Annual YWCA Luncheon at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

She invited me to join her at the fundraiser with Keynote Speaker, Jane Goodall, the world-renowned  primatologist, conservationist, and humanitarian who (at 79 years young) travels 300 days each year to deliver her message worldwide.

Ms. Goodall, made a point to tell the audience how important a strong mother is for the optimum development of a child, and illustrated the point with a poignant story about her own mother and stories of chimpanzee mothers as well.

I bought two books at the presentation including, In the Shadow of Man and Jane Goodall: The Woman Who Redefined Man. I waited in line to get the books signed and when my turn arrived, I remembered that I had a copy of Papa’s Pearls in my purse. I slipped my hand into my bag, pulled out the book, and presented it to Ms. Goodall saying, “Please accept this gift. I agree with you that strong mothers are essential to rearing children, and I also think strong fathers are essential as well.”

“I couldn’t agree more!” she exclaimed.

I added, “I wrote this book about my dad, who was a strong and loving father. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it on one of your airplane trips.”

She took the book and said, “Thank you, I most certainly will!”

Then, I was shooed along by the staff members who wanted to keep the line moving.  🙂

The Santa Clara Convention Center is GIGANTIC and it was a very long walk to and from the parking lot.  On the way back to my car, I walked alongside a young woman who was moved by Jane Goodall’s reminder that the most important thing we can do to improve the world is to make decisions using both our brains and our hearts when it comes to animals, people, and the environment we share. My walking partner said, “We all need to be reminded of that from time to time.”  Indeed.

Days 114, 115, & 116 of the Papa’s Walk Challenge!

Things are still a bit hectic around here. My walks have been haphazard – I just walk whenever there’s a lull in all of the activity.

I was thinking that some people  might think going for a walk every day is boring. But you can spice up your walks in ways that will not only lead to physical fitness but mental fitness too!

In fact, I wrote an article titled, Fun Walks for Mental & Physical Fitness to encourage parents to walk with their children with some fun activities you can do on walks including:

• Early Bird Walks
• Weird Walks
• Emo Walks
• Kick the Can Walks
• Scavenger Hunt Walks
• Word Walks
• Math Walks
• Moon Walks
• Nature Walks

Just click on the link above to read the article. If you have a fun way of walking, tell me about it! Post a message here.  ☺

Days 110, 111, 112, & 113 of the Papa’s Walk Challenge!

I’ve had a few busy days that included  installing cabinets in my home office,  having my mom (Papa’s loving partner for 66 years) as a house guest, and attending the 7th birthday party of Papa’s great granddaughter.

I walked every day and what really caught my attention were the harvest and Halloween decorations sprouting in the front yards of neighborhood homes.  There are autumn wreaths on front doors and harvest garlands entwined through front porch railings.

Lawns have been transformed into graveyards with funny headstones such as:

Here lies John Yeast,
Pardon me if I don’t rise.

There are skeletons, witches, ghosts, mummies, and zombies hanging from trees, and pumpkins dot the landscape.  Some houses are so elaborately decorated, I have to pause to take it all in.

I love this time of year and the different ways people celebrate the season.

Today is Day 109 of the Papa’s Walk Challenge!

I had just finished climbing to the top of a steep hill when I heard a woman’s voice say, “Hi!  Can you help me? I’m up here on the roof.” 

I looked at the roofs of the houses around me and spotted a woman waving to me from her rooftop. She said, “I’m washing the windows and forgot to turn the water to the hose on. I’d rather not have to climb down the ladder to do it. Would you mind turning the water on for me?”

She directed me to the hose bib in her yard and asked me to turn the water on all the way. I followed her instructions and was showered with appreciative comments: “You’re so sweet to help me. Thank you so much. You really helped me out.”

Now that’s something that doesn’t happen every day!

Days 106, 107, & 108 of the Papa’s Walk Challenge!

I filed an extension on my income tax return and the deadline is fast-approaching. I fantasized that if the U.S. government shut down I might not have to file my return and pay taxes.  No such luck.

So, for the past three days, I’ve been combing through receipts for deductions and putting together the information my accountant needs to file the return. I find this process stressful and used my Papa’s Walks to let off some steam. Today, I completed the tax package and drove to San Francisco to deliver it to my accountant.

It was a PERFECT day in the city by the bay – sunny, blue skies, about 70 degrees, with a gentle breeze. After dropping off the tax stuff, I decided to take a walk through the financial district. I walked from Harrison and 2nd Street to Market and then over to Kearny.

It was noon, so the sidewalks were filled with young, white-collar workers stopping at tiny deli’s, cafés, and food trucks to get lunch. I never saw so many people carrying salads in clear plastic containers!

I walked down Kearny to California where the monolithic Bank of America skyscraper soars 52 stories above the ground. I stopped, hoping to ride the high speed elevator to the top of the building for a view of The City. I expected to find The Carnelian Room restaurant with a stunning panoramic view located atop the tower. The security guard informed me that the restaurant closed in 2010 and there isn’t an observation deck accessible to the public.

I was a little bummed out as I headed to the plaza, but smiled when I saw the gigantic granite sculpture that is shaped like a human internal organ.  It’s titled “Transcendence,” but the locals call the big, black blob the “Banker’s Heart.”

I walked down to Montgomery Street and joined the crowd of lunch-hour walkers who were ducking in and out of doorways to mega-businesses in the “Wall Street of the West.”  Once again, many were carrying salads in clear plastic containers.  That’s a lot of lettuce being eaten, traded, exchanged, and (in my case) forked over to the U.S. Treasury to support a government that is shut down.