the sherwood merrywalkers  the great easter egg hunt in sherwood, march 31st

The sun was shinning and it was crisp out there, just perfect for a walk.  There was one detour, but we made it around the other puddles.  On the way out to the viewpoint, we saw three deer, and it's been a long time since we've seen them meandering out in the bush.  Barb was trying to show us a gaggle of buff geese and of course we heard buffalo geese, so I'm sure they will be every known to us as that.  

What a wonderful day Mother nature planned for all the walkers who turned out today. The sun was out to warm us up and stayed out to energize our souls and bodies. Dar lead the 10K group through parks, trails in the forest and through neighborhoods. The group kept a nice even pace and the time and miles just fly by. I'd like to thank Dar for a diverse walk and all the other walker's.  Their kind words, big smiles and friendliness made this a truly great walk!!! Starr*    We had close to 50 walkers out there today.  On the way over to the walk you say a lot of bikers, both regular and motorized bikes, on the road today.  It did get warmer as the walk progressed, but it was a bit chilly when we started out.  
Joe was kind enough to figure out a 5k where we didn't have to do a remote start, but we had the slow and slower group and of course, we both ended at the same time, but coming from different directions!  So you can see how very directionally challenged we are.
Linda who came to her first walk every on Thursday, came again today with her friend, Linda.  We had so many Merrywalkers out there today that I wouldn't even venture to say how many there were.  
I think the best part was seeing Starr doing the 10k today (so there will be more pictures for all of us who have missed them).  
Afterwards we headed to the Cruise In for burgers, but we didn't realize how far it was, but it is a great place.  I love their burgers, but the chilli is good and Jane(2) had the fish, and she really enjoyed it.  But it's almost in Hillsboro, and we lost Larry and Rita on the way out there...but there's always next time.

It really felt like the first day of spring out there.  We even saw a rhododendron
starting to blossom.  As far as wildlife, we did see a really big newt, but we did enjoy the sunshine and blue skies.  We  had about 25 walkers out there today.  Our 5k group did some exploring in Villabois to check out where we think there might be some coffee shops or eateries going in.  We are  hoping by next year we can have a start point in Villabois and then we won't have to have our remote start.  
Today we had a new walker join us, Linda.  Her first time out and she did the 10k with Mary.  She was tired, but she really looked like she enjoyed it.
After we did make it over to WOW burgers, but we had a hard time finding it.  Andrea found it first and then called us to make sure we could get there.  It's right across the driveway from the new McMinnamans.  Our take on it, not too bad, but not the best.  The service was great  and we loved their t-shirts that read "I didn't get all the way up the food chain just to eat vegetables" or something pretty close to that.  Great day for walking and off to Beaverton on Saturday.  We will meet at 10 a.m. on Brockman.

On  Monday it was raining here in Southern California.  The morning was just a drizzle but the afternoon it was hard rain with some winds.  We elected to go to the San Diego Zoo.  We ended up being the first ones there and because of the rain did not have much of a crowd.  After lunch it really poured for a while and they had their express buses letting you off at non-stops so you wouldn't get as wet.  A lot of the animals took shelter from the rain so many times they were real close to you other times were hidden.  They closed Sea World because of the rain.  Doesn't make sense.   The people in charge must think that the animals and fish that live in water don't like the rain.
Tuesday we did 2 five km walks one real nice in the old town area of San Diego.  The other was along sidewalks with lots of traffic so not much fun.  Both walks went by early Spanish Missions.  Warm in the 70's in the afternoon.
Barbara and I had to suffer thought 80 degree weather this morning.  We started a walk in Bonita at a Library which opened at 9:30.  The walk was similar to Glendover in that the 5 km went completely around a golf course on a packed dirt trail with a small portion in a park.  The walk was filled with other walkers and joggers.   By the time we finished I was too hot as I wore a long sleeved t-shirt and jeans.
 When we finished we drove to Coronado and did a walk there.  See photo of us on beach.  After lunch we visited the Coronado Musuem of History and Art.
Tomorrow will be shorts and short sleeve t-shirt for me.  Mid 80's.  No I don't miss the winters in Oregon.  Dick

First things first, I put the battery in my camera and the memory card is clear, so I am ready for tomorrow's walk in Wilsonville!  Starr, you just have to start walking soon, everyone misses the pictures, heck, we just miss you.
The last time we saw the sun was in Gresham, but today we had our whole walk in cloudy, but very mild temperatures. The sun came out as we were just leaving Pasta Pronto (aka Pasta Veloche.) Andrea, Larry and Rita, Koyko, Pat and Steve Finnegan, Delores, Giesala and her husband, so it was a small group and it made for interesting conversation.  Pat and Steve are getting ready to leave on a Tator Tour of Florida next week, and then I said Mary Ann and I were leaving for Chicago on the 15th.  From there we got on the topic of books and going to the places where the novels take place, and then it almost turned into a book club discussion, where we received all kinds of new ideas for books, from Ken Follett's new book to the Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.  I also said  Looking at the last book might just send us up on a trip to Seattle.  
Tomorrow we will meet at 10 a.m. at the Visitor's Center in Wilsonville to sign up with the Albany Fit Walkers to do our Graham Oaks Walk.  If you haven't done it, it's a great walk and if you only want to bring your dog and do the part in the park, we will meet you at Graham Oaks at 1010 a.m. I believe the Albany group is heading to WOW Burghers, so it might be a good time to check that place out..  See you there.

Last week we decided to change our meeting time to 10 a.m., and about 8:50 I decided that I better run over to the Refuge just in case ...  Well we did have 1/2 that showed up, so since it was muddy, some of us decided to walk downtown by the park while the others braved all of the puddles.  Mary Ann showed up at 10 a.m. to meet the rest, but we all met for coffee and we did decide, we would leave well enough alone and kept the 9 a.m. meeting time the same.  So next week the Snails will meet at their regular time, 9 a.m.
But we had a great turnout at the BBC.  We discussed all of the upcoming walks and we decided on doing the one in Beaverton on Wednesday and the one at Graham Oaks on Thursday..  Both meet at 10 a.m.  I'll send out a link for both walks.  After the Thursday walk, the Albany Fitwalkers are going to try out the new WOW burger place, so that's always an option..

Over 30 walkers showed up for the Gresham walk today.  We had 8 walkers in the slow 5k, Joe and his 5k walkers and the rest went on the 10k.  Our group really lucked out having Regina with us.  We had our own personal guide and she pointed out all of the places of interest and the best places to eat.  We were able to see the new Monument, parks, a Carnegie Library and to top it all off we had the best damn caramel corn ever.  We all started out with a tasted and then we all brought some to take home.  
Andrea and Mary took off on the 10k today and we were able to meet up with them at the Jazzy Bagel.  Their bagel dog looked amazing.  Mary gave me a bite, and I thought "I ordered the wrong thing."  It really tasted like a Chicago hotdog, but in a bagel..  Definitely a place we need to go to again.
Great walk and the sunshine was a plus.  

Only two walkers showed up for the Snails walk today, Sandy Reid and Andrea.  But we had a lot of our walkers show up at 10 a.m. for coffee.  We decided since it can be pretty icy in the morning, we are changing our time to 10 a.m. till the end of February.