Surprises

Over the last several weeks, I've become increasingly convinced that it's high time to share some of my thinking (if you can call it that) behind the idea of the Newport to Newport Transcontinental Pilgrimage.  I should probably start at the beginning, but since I've never exhibited any undue fondness for doing things the way they should be done, I'm going to start in the middle instead.

One of the unanticipated side effects from the training I'm doing for the walk is that I keep turning over surprises. I started this whole effort with a picture of what it would be like in my mind, and I have to tell you that not very much of it has lived up to my fantastical expectations. Today, after becoming convinced that I'd seen the range of panoramic shots produced by Google Photos, my phone spit out the following gem.

The single widest panoramic shot my cell phone has ever produced.

There must be five or six photos stitched together to form this bridge to bridge panoramic view of the Anacostia River.  To the left, there's the Suitland Parkway Bridge and to the right is the 11th Street Bridge. The photo is centered on the defunct power plant near the Washington Navy Yard.  I took it from the new floating docks adjacent to Yards Park.

This is a little surprise dealt up to me courtesy of the universe with a little help from Google, but I've found these little pleasant "gotchas" materialize more often when I walk.

I speculate that walking slows me down to a pace I've evolved to handle and I can grasp these gifts instead of whizzing right by them at highway speeds. Whatever the reason, being open to surprise and not often being disappointed by their appearance has become one of the primary benefits that I get from my walking. I don't know what might happen tomorrow, but I'm looking forward to finding out in due time.