Walking Against Traffic

Birthday party! John, Gabe, Melissa, Larry (my big brother) & Barb  (SIL), Emily,  & Mitch

I was out on my run today and a young family I passed made me decide on todays post.  Many of us are trying to stay healthy and are out there walking and running which is exactly what we should be doing. It is not unusual in the campgrounds and RV parks that we are in that there are no sidewalks or trails so we must share the road with traffic. Luckily most of the areas we are in don’t have heavy traffic but we still need to to be very aware, after all cars and trucks are much bigger than us. I have found that many people don’t realize that pedestrians should walk on the left side facing traffic. For some that seems counter to how we do other things but it is important for our safety. When you walk facing traffic you are able to observe the traffic coming towards you, if you are walking on the right side then the traffic closest to you is all coming up from behind and you are blind to it. We would love to think that cars will watch out for us   but this is often not true, sometimes because they don’t want to (luckily this is a small minority) and others that are just plain distracted. Those drivers when they come up from behind us, we may never realize it until it is too late. Facing traffic gives at least a chance to get out of the way. I try to be very aware of the cars as I run and walk. If it doesn’t look like they are going to give me room I will get as far off the road as I can. The family I watched today was a mom walking the dog with 3 young children, one on a bike with training wheels and the other two walking, and yes they were walking on the right side and it really frightens me. Even trying to be aware I’m not sure she would hear the traffic behind her over the squeaky wheels of the bike and the chatting kids. I think of others doing the same that have their mp3 players going and the music  turned up, again I doubt they will hear the car coming up behind them. So please for your own safety walk on the left and watch those cars and trucks, even then it is not a guarantee but our chances are much better. Happy walking.

Today was a record for me, I made it 40 minutes on my run. It was a good day for a run, overcast and below 70 degrees. I feel like I am making progress. I’m still the turtle out there but that’s ok with me, the only one I ever compete with is myself.

Me, Emily, & Mitch in front and John, Gabe and Melissa 

We had a busy week. My sons birthdays are June 4th and the 6th so Sunday the 5th we all went out for dinner. It was a wonderful dinner, both their girlfriends were able to join us as well as my older brother and his wife. Good to see everyone and we went to our favorite Mexican restaurant.

Wednesday night I went out for dinner with one of my girlfriends, Mary. Some of our other girlfriends weren’t able to make it so we will try again for a girls night out later this sumer. Then Thursday we were off to visit Chad and Jenny and their new little girl, Brenna. There is nothing more beautiful than a baby so I’ll share a couple photos of Brenna. Hope you all had a great week.

Happy Trails.....................