16-229

Mile 638.  This afternoon Lou found himself leaving Orange County on his way to Rancho Cucamonga.  Along the way, he stopped and walked miles 22 and 23 of the Santa Ana River trail in both directions.  He has now completed it from the ocean inland as far as where Yorba Linda Blvd. becomes Weir Canyon Rd.  And the river actually has water in it!  The day's walking thought was by Larry Wilson ...

Cheerio!

15-9

Mile 28.  After finishing client meetings this afternoon, Tortoise headed to Glassell Street just off the 91 Freeway in Anaheim to pick up where he left off walking the Santa Ana River Trail on December 11.  Lou's first order of business after parking at the Embassy Suites hotel was to cross the river on Glassell to the trail connection, then walk back to Mile 16 (the previous ending point), after which he retraced his steps.  He then continued to Mile 17.5 near the intersection of Riverdale and Tustin Avenues before once again retracing his steps, this time back to his point of origin.

It was a spectacular day for a walk as you can see in the picture!  For more on this walk, including additional pictures, along with today's walking thought by Richard G. Scott, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

15-8

Mile 24.  Tortoise was not feeling 100% today, but it takes more than that to stop Lou, so he proceeded to the trail conveniently adjacent to his client's Costa Mesa offices, then connected with the Santa Ana River Trail.  He followed that trail under the San Diego (I-405) Freeway and continued as far as Adams Avenue before retracing his steps.  His only concession to an uneasy stomach was to slow the pace to an average 19:07 minutes per mile.

For more on this walk and today's walking thought by Jeffrey R. Holland, his first as an Apostle, please click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

14-345

Mile 975.  Ball past Lincoln along the Santa Ana River Trail as far as mile 16, then back.  A beautiful December afternoon as you can see!  Lots of other bicyclists and runners were enjoying it with me.

Please click below for more pictures, a map, and today's walking thought by Elaine Jack ...

Cheerio!

14-344

Mile 972.  Katella to Ball to ARTIC along the Santa Ana River Trail. No spelling error here.  ARTIC is an acronym for Anaheim Regional Intermodal Transportation Center, which looked to be under construction when I walked by on November 20.  Today the parking lot was full and buses were delivering passengers.  I arrived this morning for 4 days of work, and shook off the 402 mile drive by walking briskly before heading on to my clients.

Please click below for more pictures, a map, and today's walking thought by Richard Scott ...

Cheerio!

14-324

Mile 922.  Tortoise walked 4.48 miles at the end of the work day on a quick trip to Orange County, picking up the section of the Santa Ana River Trail from the 22 Freeway to Katella Avenue and back. In little pieces, I've now done a round trip marathon on this one, and I'm just getting warmed up as far as this trail is concerned:  13.1 miles each way from the start on Pacific Coast Highway in Huntington Beach to Katella Avenue in Anaheim. The view shown above is looking north towards a fire department training structure complete with 9-11-01 memorial.  Beyond that is the big Red A of Anaheim Stadium. More on that later.  There were 61 feet climbed in 2.24 miles along the way, giving that portion a 6.7 tortoise rating.  The rest of the path was flat or downhill.  Lou burned 658 calories in 1:23:11 hours doing this.

Please click below for a map, more pictures and a bonus day of walking thoughts!

Cheerio!

14-142

After my appointments in Orange County today, I headed over to 1st Street in Santa Ana to continue my walk on the Santa Ana River Trail.  It was a beautiful day, and I made it to the 22 freeway near it's intersection with the 5 and the 57, and about a mile from Anaheim Stadium.  Overall, I have now walked 11 miles each direction from there to the beach; it's one of three trails I'm working on gradually completing.  The other two I will do the next two days.  Definitely better variety than the treadmill.  Totals for today were 5.82 miles with 85 feet climbed in 1:43:21 hours.  Tortoise rating:  6.7, but being over five miles gives us our third Benjamin category override to 5.0.  Calories burned:  903.

There's a few goodies waiting for you if you click the button below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

14-116

Got up early today to walk before my 9 am appointment.  A cool, breezy, delightful morning for a walk!  I've got lots of pictures this time that I hope you enjoy.  The stats:  5.44 miles walked with 59 feet climbed in 1:29:55 hours.  That includes 3 or 4 minutes of enjoying the beach before turning around and heading back, and all the picture stops.  Tortoise rating:  6.8, but this was a long enough walk that we get another Benjamin category overide to an even 5!  Calories burned:  881.

So what are you waiting for?  Click that button below to check out the map and pictures ...

Cheerio!

14-88

Got up early before my first appointment and walked some more of the Santa Ana River trail.  I got within two miles of the beach.  The closer I got the better the smells got.  Salty sea air.  Fragrant bushes growing in the river bottom when I got past the paved section.  In places they have full trees growing in the riverbed, and this is southern California!  Then a little before mile 2 as measured from the beach starting point, the trails on both sides of the river are combined by sending everyone on the east side over the classic bridge pictured above.

I'm clearly not the only one who was enjoying this ... I quickly lost count of all the cyclists and even pelatons that passed me both directions. It was sunny, around 60 degrees, and a fine morning.  In the true meaning of the word fine, not the misused version when someone doesn't want to tell you how they feel.

Walked 5.44 miles, with 46 feet climbed going below streets and back up afterwards, in 1:27:39 hours.  I continued my normal practice of not stopping the clock when taking the pictures, so the tortoise got a good workout today.  Feels good! Tortoise rating was 6.8; calories burned:  903.

There's a map, lots of pictures, the promise of Eli coming (a fine tune, there I used the word again), and more waiting for you when you click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

14-87

I liked the Santa Ana River trail so much yesterday that I did it again today and will wrap up my 3 day business trip in the OC by walking some more of it tomorrow.  Today's segment picked up where I left off yesterday at Harbor Blvd near Warner and continued to Moon Park in Costa Mesa just south of the 405 freeway.  There's no way to cross to the other side of the river between MacArthur and Adams, so I retraced my steps on the east side of the riverbed until I go to MacArthur, then took the west side trail back to Harbor and on to my parked car a couple blocks from the trail.

Today's walk was 4.82 miles with 26 feet climbed in 1:16:06 hours.  Tortoise rating:  6.9.  Calories burned:  817.  There's a map and several pictures waiting for you as soon as you click below to continue reading ...

Cheerio!

14-86

Went looking for a trail near my hotel on the Santa Ana - Tustin city border today, and was very excited to discover the Santa Ana River trail.   This is a cooperative effort of Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, apparently still in process and is eventually intended to be a 110 mile trail from Big Bear Lake to the ocean at Huntington Beach.  Today I started near Warner Ave. and Harbor Blvd., went north as far as 1st Street, and then returned by taking the trail on the opposite side of the river.  That's right, most of the way there are actually two trails.

I especially like the picture above, typical of the colorful plants and flowers I saw and smelled on this 5.16 mile walk, on which I climbed 70 feet in 1:24:56 hours.  Tortoise rating:  6.7.  Calories burned:  837.  For a map and lots of pictures, please click below to continue reading.

Cheerio!