Rambling

I love walking. In the UK, they call it rambling. The footpaths that cross the country are a national treasure there. No matter where you go - in the heart of London or in the countryside you can always find a footpath marked out. They're literally everywhere.

But even before we lived in the UK, I loved walking. Whenever we would go on a vacation or holiday, especially in the National or State parks, I'd scope out the map looking for a good walk to go on. It's like the trail is calling to me. I can barely resist the urge to get on the trail. I'm forever promoting my agenda to everyone else - let's go on a walk. "Listen to this," I'll say. And then proceed to read the synopsis of what we might see on this particular walk. I've found that waterfalls are a good lure for others. But to me, I really don't care. I just want to walk.

Walking is not just a countryside activity for me. I love city walks. Our neighborhood in Miwaukee is a great one. There's always a garden to admire, a house being renovated, or the boats of the lake (Lake Michigan) to watch as you stroll through our neighborhood. A walk into "downtown" Bay View is always nice for a cup of coffee and a browse through the independent shops up and down the street. I'll miss being able to pop in to Schwartz Book shop.

This is one of the things that Dubai is missing for me - walking. (Well, they do have the "Mall Walkers" club.) There are some hikes that I've scoped out - and when it's winter again I'll try and lure the family to head out for a walk. Will be hard to convince them of any exciting waterfalls that will await us.