Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Walking a Little More, Driving a Little Less

I'm excited that this summer my son will be participating in YMCA programs based at the Armory downtown. Not only does the schedule look like a lot of fun, but the location is ideal: he and I can walk the six blocks downtown together, as the Armory is right on my way to work. During the school year I often feel I need to have the car for convenience in picking him up from his after-school program at the end of my workday, since it is a little too far to walk unless I leave work earlier than would be ideal, but this arrangement frees me up delightfully. I'm far too sedentary, and this will be a nice restructuring of my daily routine. I bought some springy but work-suitable shoes from the Clark's store-wide sale at MOA last weekend that will let me avoid having to change shoes at the office. With the current parking crunch downtown due to the Water Street parking lot construction, I'll also feel good about removing one vehicle from the street more days than not. And I'll save some money on gas (the shoes will almost certainly pay for themselves by the end of the summer, and I needed some new shoes anyway). It's a good situation all around.

4 comments:

Mary S. said...

Good for you, Penny! With gas nearing or at $4, it seems smart for everyone to figure out how to get around town on their own power, especially in the summer. Now that school is out and I do not have to haul people with big books and violins, I've been biking to my office downtown (about 2 miles each way) and biking as much as possible on errands, such as returning books to the library or picking up a few things for dinner.(Mike's Bikes has a great basket set up that has enough room to haul a full bag of groceries.) Even living on the edge of town, most stores, etc., are not more than 10 or 15 minutes away by bike.

Unknown said...

I forgot to mention the "big books and violins" reason I drive a lot during the school year. That will change this year, with younger daughter living in St. Paul with her dad. I am longing for a bike, myself. Maybe I will borrow older daughter's while she is out of town for a couple of weeks this summer, and see if I actually use it.

Brendon Etter said...

You should get yourself a penelopedometer to measure your steps.

Unknown said...

I like that! If I ever start a blog about walking, I'll pay you $20 for permission to use that name.