A rare shot of my brother!

My brother David and his wife Maria have zero social media accounts that I know of. Well, David made one here because I require it for commenting and he wanted to comment one time. That means there are far fewer photos of them floating around since they don't take them to post. I was glad to get a chance to pose with them at my inlaws' anniversary party last month.

Not exactly new territory

There was nothing new or special about today's route. The only thing different from the last couple of times I've been over by Howarth Park was that the garbage truck turned down the road I wanted to take, so I used the next one. It's always best to avoid anyone doing pickups or deliveries, as we end up getting in each other's way over and over.


5.02 miles in 1:28, 10,805 steps, 594ft gain

It was the first time in a while that it wasn't pitch black when I got to this point, though.



It's not that it's getting bright early, I just left earlier the last couple of times. But I had a very busy and productive morning and decided to get quite a bit done before stepping away for a spell. I've been having a harder time getting my phone to take pictures with my touchscreen gloves, not sure what that's about. That's why that one's a little blurry; I'd hit the screen several times and was clearly getting frustrated.

Of course I could have used the morning light and explored those side streets I've been eyeing lately, but they're around the halfway point in the walk and I was pretty ready to head back.

The new hydration pack that I wasn't expecting until tomorrow arrived yesterday, and today was the first day using it. The inner bladder's a bit more complicated than the last one, and I didn't like the new closure at first, but I've warmed up to it because it's easier to empty it out after the walk.

My last one's mouthpiece was pretty leaky and I had to reconfigure the hose so it wasn't upside-down. It's weird to have a new one set up the way they come. Well, almost. I switched it so I drink from the left side because my iPod cord's on the right. Speaking of which, I'm curious how long that thing will last. I bought it used on eBay years ago, and I'm shocked it still works. I wanted to see who the artist was on a song today, and the whole thing got a little glitchy when I unlocked it. Eep.