ChasingColeridge: A Walk

In an effort to save money on this trip I decided to forgo the normal bike rental for the week($55). I honestly didn't feel right renting just for myself and not the boys. Even though they seem to be off on their own most of the time I chose to just let it go this trip. A few trips ago I was at a different part of the Jersey shore. I had gone down with a close friend to keep her company while she went on a 3 day interview for a job. It was there that I discovered 'urban hiking.' I found a 10 mile loop map posted in a coffee shop and decided to do it. It was a sense of accomplishment and an almost renegade move on my part.

When you walk a small city or town you see things you would never notice from a car. You appreciate architectural details, shops that you otherwise would never be able to slow down and look at, a public water fountain (yes some of these do still exist - people are drinking from them and aren't dying!) And then there are also relics from days gone by; public pay phones, hidden graveyards, alleys and nooks and crannies where people read a book, write in journals, or strum guitars - I have seen all of this) There definitely is an almost subcultural autonomous vibe underneath the rushing the commuting and the endless appointment keeping. Not that long ago I finished a book on audio (through my phone while I walked) called A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. It is actually read by Bryson who possess an acerbic wit and a comical 'that figures' type of charm. It made me laugh. It made me reflective. And in some spots scared the hell out of me. It's a story of his haphazard doomed hike on the AT (Appalachian Trail) but it is peppered with interesting statistics ranging from extinct species and eco systems to the lost art of being a pedestrian. As I listened I found myself having Eureka moments.

In the US it is becoming harder and harder to be a pedestrian what with our massive highway systems. A small town can literally be severed down the middle by a 4-6 lane highway so to walk from the post office to the general store you basically take your life in your hands crossing a highway with a speed limit of 65/mph. My favorite example he gives is of a woman that drives 600 yards to go to a gym to walk on a treadmill because she has a mileage based workout on that treadmill and doesn't want to deviate from it. Apparently, as a species, we have become intelligent to the point of idiocy. It's the same mentality as trying to diet and saying 'well I already had one apple - that should be it for the day I shouldn't have another...' but that bag of cookies goes uncounted...

So I set off with my newer sneakers that are literally falling apart (Thank you Kohl's for your overpriced crap-as a side note forget trying to find a shoe with a good arch as they no longer exist and give up the notion of that good leather dress shoe that will take you into old age - the life span of a shoe seems now to be 6-12 months...ahhh the power of planned obsolescence....ok my rant is done) And I began walking toward the bird sanctuary which is a few miles to the east. It was warm and I was doing a good pace, nothing crazy, just real good movement. I was listening to an apocalyptic novel (hey it's my vacation ok?) when I came upon a house of worship to my left with a playground and many garden beds!

I meandered through it for a bit taking note of the different growing plots, seeing a few things I have never seen before - hollowed out hay bales with dirt thrown in and their plants growing prolifically, climbing ramps made from what appears to be old refrigerator shelves. It was a very hip and peaceful find. On a little plot enough food grown to feed quite a few. Had I been in a car I would've whizzed right by it - somewhat distracted in thought of where I needed to be. But when you walk you truly can only be in one place at one time. It is you and the pavement, or meadow, or trail. I don't know if there is a scientific reason for it (I'm sure there is because there seems to be one for everything) but there is something about the legs moving in opposite unison from the arms and the forward motion that creates a sort of zen cadence. Thoughts seem to come and then evaporate and everything seems a little less harsh a little bit easier to deal with. 'A walk to clear your head' was an old saying I heard alot as a kid - and it has proven true over and over. We are meant to move both in body and thought. As I headed back this was my reward