Superbowl Sunday with a Serving of Gratitude

It occurred to me this morning that the fracture in my left foot has caused me to slow down quite a bit over the last several weeks, and because of that docile pace, I've been granted the opportunity of noticing things that have escaped my observation over of the last 14 months. I certainly didn't relish giving up on my walking streak, but overall, it seems to have become a welcome respite.  It has given me the opportunity to refocus some aspects of my daily practice that had taken a step or two out of the foreground.

This morning, I drove down to the Annapolis Yacht Club parking lot, and I was able to recapture some of the gratitude that I felt early on in my walking discipline.

Sunrise over Eastport

Once again, the still of the morning radiated a sense of serenity on both the water and the land. The day, in all its promise, was just breaking over the horizon.

Gratitude on Spa Creek

When I was walking over the bridge, I spotted this sloop moored at the AYC piers, and I did a double take upon reading the name.  I really wish this panorama had lined up, and it hadn't given the double image to the left, but I suspect there's a message in the imperfection that manifested itself. Gratitude has been clearly doubled, and I'd venture that message is something that I should take onboard. While not intrinsically perfect, the message was just what I needed to start the week.

Gratitude and Serenity on Spa Creek

In spite of some slight flaws with the panorama, I was able to capture some of the Gratitude and serenity of the morning from the overlook of the Eastport Bridge.

The foot is feeling much better, and I only have about two and half weeks to go before I can start getting back into my ambulatory swing. I looking forward to tomorrow and whatever it may bring.

High Milage Sunday

A little bit of early morning tardiness payed off rather handsomely today with a total of just under seventeen miles in the books by the end of the afternoon.  I headed out around 0800, and the start was far too late to take in the full glory of the sunrise, but the view over the river was still rather pleasant.  Once again, the relatively calm winds and reflections off the boat wake waves captured my attention, and I spent a little more time than really necessary trying to capture a good photograph.

Severn River about an hour after sunrise

This is a decent view although the Google panorama resulted in a bit of discontinuity in the waves.  The right hand side of the photo captured the relatively long period swell created by a boat heading up river just a few minutes before, but the overall impression of the photo leaves a little to be desired.  I can assure you that the view in real life was worth the short walk to view it.  The weather was fantastic with temperatures in the mid-50's at this time.  The final high for the day was just below 70 Fahrenheit, so it only got better from here on out.

Severn River a hour after sunrise, Shot #2

The lighting a waves were a tad more cooperative in this photo, but the gist of it all is about the same.  This is the dawning of another great day, and I was there as a witness near the beginning.

Annapolis Harbor with the Annapolis Yacht Club in the background center of the shot

One of my principle goals was the walk over the Eastport Bridge and take a gander at the carnage caused by yesterday's barbeque of the top two floors of the Annapolis Yacht Club (AYC).  It should be noted that I've been walking in downtown Annapolis for over a year now, and Sunday morning is always a relatively tranquil experience until about 1000 at least.  There are usually only a handful of people out and about, and vehicular traffic barely registers on a normal Sunday morning.

Annapolis Yacht Club After the Fire

Today's traffic was a different sort of animal all together.  I've had it in my mind that capturing images that centered on the beauty of the outdoors might one day might encourage folks to take up the mantle of pedestrianism.  Apparently, I've been approaching things incorrectly because while a beautiful sunrise or sunset can be reliably counted on four or five times a week at least, a fire at a yacht club is a relatively rare event.  This one brought out the "tourists" early on a Sunday morning like no sunrise ever has in the past.  In this photo alone there are at least seven folks that have come out to view the damage.  I had to wind my way through a small throng of people to get to this point, and the vehicular traffic was also noticeably denser on the Eastport Bridge.  If one wants to get people outside, one might consider channelling their inner arsonist because the torched building and campfire pall that it cast into the air drew people to it like moths to a flame...so to speak.

Weems Creek Around Noon

I wrapped up this morning's jaunt with a little over twelve miles, and I topped it off in the early afternoon with another hike that came in just under five miles.  It was a great day for walking, and I feel like I accomplished what I set out to cover.