Dec 4

Okay- I was wrong about getting you caught up last time. And you definitely didn't need a tall cup of coffee. Maybe just a demitasse. But now this post... well, we'll see.


So I am an "in" at the Pressroom. On Day Two the bartender said hello and then inquired,  "Club soda? With lime?" So there you go. Acceptance. He doesn't need to know my name, he knows my drink.

Last night I didn't want to order dinner, or even an appetizer, but did tell him I'd like a little something- maybe some chips or pretzels- something with salt? They didn't have anything like that but he went around to the vending machine (that I didn't know existed), and bought me a handful of cashews.  Nice! A man who meets my basic needs! My newest BFF.

Soooo, in case you don't know, I'm big on walking. Not necessarily for transportation or aerobic health but for problem solving conversations or meditation.   (Here's a shout out to all my walking therapists, and to Debbie B, who invited me to walk with her a couple of days before I left WL. What I thought would be a short, chatty stroll was actually a THREE-HOUR Bantam march. I admit I liked it but I think Debbie owes me a piece of pie or something.)

Besides walking around downtown (more on that later)  I'm also seeking different types of trails or paths while I'm here. One day I found Vaughan Woods.   If you were to google it, you'd read descriptions like "Hobbit-like" and "enchanted" and "quiet solitude." I don't know why it all comes together that way. Maybe it's the 100 year old trees or the very still river that it hugs.


The walk started out pretty, although maybe a little familiar,

but a little deeper in it began to feel quite mystical. 

And it is a trusting place. Look how you pay admission to the park:

You just put your money in the green "Knights Who Say Nie"- looking thing. It's on your honor, right? Makes you consider your ethics before you drive in. My hostess said she has been going to this park for years and even that her father's ashes are there and yet had never realized there's a park entrance fee. What?  Really? Hmmm.
And oops! And I just realized in looking at this photo that I shorted the park out of a dollar, not realizing nonresidents pay an extra buck. The Universe is laughing at me for being judge-y.
No judging, Mia Moh.