We’ve been taking our morning walks in the neighborhood for the last couple of weeks. We were going to head over to the Gathering Place this morning, because Wednesday is the day they reserve especially for dogs. I’ve never been there, and I was so excited, I don’t think I slept very much. Since I was up early, I figured my brother would be, too. He didn’t seem quite as excited as me, but he got up anyway, and we headed up Riverside Drive.
Well, I guess the Gathering Place folks are not morning people. It was closed! Maybe the sun was not technically up yet, but there was definitely light. We weren’t sure when it would open, so we decided to walk the tried-and-true Utica Square-to-Temple Israel-to-Cascia Hall-to-Nakatomi Gardens circuit.
After being gone for a couple of weeks, it’s always nice to get reacquainted with all the good smells. Plus, there are so many new ones! You know what I mean, right?
One great new smell: bacon! The Wild Fork was open for breakfast and, when we got out of the car, it hit us like a breath of fresh air! I don’t think the Gathering Place has bacon.
Temple Israel’s garden was beautiful, but their sprinkler system was going full blast, so we side-stepped it and headed toward Cascia Hall. There was a good crowd at St Rita’s Chapel for early morning church. Maybe one day I can go inside. I promise not to sniff around too much.
There was a group of young folks getting ready to play tennis. And we saw a sign we had never noticed before.
Oops! There goes our shortcut. Oh well, it’s a nice walk the longer way around – and more new smells!
After a quick swing through Nakatomi Gardens, we got back to Utica Square. My friends weren’t open at Anthropologie yet – they always come out to say “hi” if we’re there during business hours – but I think my brother finally understands why I always plop down in front of their door. Their air conditioner runs full blast and it comes out of the gap between and under the doors like an icy jet!
A pleasant reward for a walk well done!
