After lazing around all afternoon and most of the evening, I decided that I wanted nothing more than a relaxing walk through the neighborhood before the sun set for the night. After arming myself with seldom-used designated walking shoes, my iPod, and a bottle of water, I set forth on my journey. Walking on Hillside (my street) towards Grandview was easy, but then I met my foe: The Hill of Doom (cue villain music). I cannot find a good picture of the road anywhere on the internet (and Google Maps Street View fails me as well; the best I found was a view from the intersection of Grandview and 157, which hardly does this hill justice). Suffice it to say that the hill is steep enough that one can see clearly and quite far into St. Louis from the very top. Having climbed the hill once before, I knew what I was in for, but I was determined I would defeat it once more.
I managed to get almost a third of the way up the hill before my legs weakened to a jelly-like consistency. Following several stops and starts (several being extremely liberal), and several intervals of desperate panting and subsequent gulps of water, I made it up the dastardly hill, victorious. I rested for a moment at the summit of Grandview, relishing my victory (and trying to quiet my trembling limbs) before moving on to the rest of the neighborhood.
Having only been on one short walk in the neighborhood before (which ended prematurely due the damage inflicted by the climb up Grandview), I decided to explore a bit. I walked around the perimeter of the neighborhood (which I like to call "The Triangle", due to its resemblance to a triangle on the map), carefully considering which way to go next. I wound back up on Grandview (where I encountered an old man with a skullet who resembled a Scooby Doo villain that was mowing his yard with a motorless push mower) but wasn't quite ready to make the deep descent down the hill back to my house just yet, so I decided to snake around behind Grandview to see what was happening back that way. I passed a few houses, then wound up on a very narrow road in a heavily wooded area that somewhat resembles Beer Can Alley in Salem (anyone from the Salem area reading this will know what I'm talking about) in that the trees on either side of the road grow together so that they effectively form a "tunnel", which makes it unnaturally dark. I was a little spooked, but was then pleasantly surprised to find a clearing in which a small park of sorts with a narrow but deep meadow resided. Noting the basketball goal for later use (I wouldn't mind shooting a few hoops one of these days, but I will have to buy a basketball), I continued down the unfamiliar path.
As I continued, I came upon a cemetary that was familiar (St. John's Cemetary, to be exact), but that I had seen from the other road that goes by it (St. Louis Road). It was not lost on me that the cemetary was up on a hill, and I was walking on a road that very gradually sloped downhill. As hilly as my neighborhood is, I knew that what goes down must come up (namely, me).
I finally reached the end of the road, and thus had to climb back uphill to get back home. By this time, my legs had nearly forgotten the detriment that The Hill of Doom had wrought; that is, until I started walking up Crown, which is almost as steep as Grandview. A mere few steps into it I realized that I had more than met my match, and my legs felt completely impotent as I willed them to bring me back home. Every few feet I had to stop and pant, and I exhausted my water supply about halfway up. The cell phone in my pocket was beckoning me to call my dear husband to drive down Crown to come get me, but I was determined that I would finish the remainder of the journey unassisted. Finally, I was at the top of Crown and Grandview once more, victoriously atop not one but two conquered hills. I stopped to enjoy the breath-taking view (and to catch my breath); one can see both neat fields of green and the St. Louis skyline from the top, and the sun was setting, casting glorious shades of red and orange as far as the eye could see.
I made my way back down The Hill of Doom, turned the corner, and at last I was home; soaked in sweat, thirsty and tired, but glad I had gone on my walking adventure. Once I have recovered from this trek, I think I'll make this my regular walking route, and I'll bring my camera next time so I can post some pictures of the landmarks. For now, though, I need my rest.
In conclusion, things I learned on my neighborhood walk:
1) Bring more water next time.
2) There is a basketball goal in a mini-park within walking distance, along with a replica of Beer Can Alley.
3) There are not one but two challenging hills to climb on this particular route.
4) There is also a graveyard within walking distance (I've always been fascinated with graveyards; no, I'm not goth or emo).
5) There's a weird guy on the corner with a skullet who looks like a Scooby Doo villain and likes to mow his yard with a motorless push mower while mumbling to himself.
6) Someone in the neighborhood has a sign in their driveway directing travellers to "Jim Morrison Blvd".
7) Take a camera next time.
8) I love my neighborhood.
I managed to get almost a third of the way up the hill before my legs weakened to a jelly-like consistency. Following several stops and starts (several being extremely liberal), and several intervals of desperate panting and subsequent gulps of water, I made it up the dastardly hill, victorious. I rested for a moment at the summit of Grandview, relishing my victory (and trying to quiet my trembling limbs) before moving on to the rest of the neighborhood.
Having only been on one short walk in the neighborhood before (which ended prematurely due the damage inflicted by the climb up Grandview), I decided to explore a bit. I walked around the perimeter of the neighborhood (which I like to call "The Triangle", due to its resemblance to a triangle on the map), carefully considering which way to go next. I wound back up on Grandview (where I encountered an old man with a skullet who resembled a Scooby Doo villain that was mowing his yard with a motorless push mower) but wasn't quite ready to make the deep descent down the hill back to my house just yet, so I decided to snake around behind Grandview to see what was happening back that way. I passed a few houses, then wound up on a very narrow road in a heavily wooded area that somewhat resembles Beer Can Alley in Salem (anyone from the Salem area reading this will know what I'm talking about) in that the trees on either side of the road grow together so that they effectively form a "tunnel", which makes it unnaturally dark. I was a little spooked, but was then pleasantly surprised to find a clearing in which a small park of sorts with a narrow but deep meadow resided. Noting the basketball goal for later use (I wouldn't mind shooting a few hoops one of these days, but I will have to buy a basketball), I continued down the unfamiliar path.
As I continued, I came upon a cemetary that was familiar (St. John's Cemetary, to be exact), but that I had seen from the other road that goes by it (St. Louis Road). It was not lost on me that the cemetary was up on a hill, and I was walking on a road that very gradually sloped downhill. As hilly as my neighborhood is, I knew that what goes down must come up (namely, me).
I finally reached the end of the road, and thus had to climb back uphill to get back home. By this time, my legs had nearly forgotten the detriment that The Hill of Doom had wrought; that is, until I started walking up Crown, which is almost as steep as Grandview. A mere few steps into it I realized that I had more than met my match, and my legs felt completely impotent as I willed them to bring me back home. Every few feet I had to stop and pant, and I exhausted my water supply about halfway up. The cell phone in my pocket was beckoning me to call my dear husband to drive down Crown to come get me, but I was determined that I would finish the remainder of the journey unassisted. Finally, I was at the top of Crown and Grandview once more, victoriously atop not one but two conquered hills. I stopped to enjoy the breath-taking view (and to catch my breath); one can see both neat fields of green and the St. Louis skyline from the top, and the sun was setting, casting glorious shades of red and orange as far as the eye could see.
I made my way back down The Hill of Doom, turned the corner, and at last I was home; soaked in sweat, thirsty and tired, but glad I had gone on my walking adventure. Once I have recovered from this trek, I think I'll make this my regular walking route, and I'll bring my camera next time so I can post some pictures of the landmarks. For now, though, I need my rest.
In conclusion, things I learned on my neighborhood walk:
1) Bring more water next time.
2) There is a basketball goal in a mini-park within walking distance, along with a replica of Beer Can Alley.
3) There are not one but two challenging hills to climb on this particular route.
4) There is also a graveyard within walking distance (I've always been fascinated with graveyards; no, I'm not goth or emo).
5) There's a weird guy on the corner with a skullet who looks like a Scooby Doo villain and likes to mow his yard with a motorless push mower while mumbling to himself.
6) Someone in the neighborhood has a sign in their driveway directing travellers to "Jim Morrison Blvd".
7) Take a camera next time.
8) I love my neighborhood.
I hate Grandview. I haven't even climbed up it, but dear lord, would I hate to try to slide down that during an ice storm. Oh hell, I wouldn't even try it. So, you go, girl, for making it up that way twice!
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