New distance record
There are just a few hours left in 2013. I am not going to
make my goal of walking the 1.7-mile length of the Biloxi Bay Bridge end to
end.
But walking buddy Ann and I have made it to the shrimp plaque
at eight-tenths of a mile twice now.
Both times the weather has been beautiful.
Shrimp boats
The day we reached the .8-mile marker the first time, shrimp
boats were passing beneath the bridge on their way to harvest those delicious
Gulf of Mexico crustaceans.
We stopped to take in the view and spotted a mama dolphin and
her calf. That made two firsts for me that day--the .8-mile marker and the mother dolphin and calf. I had seen a mama and baby
manatee in the wild before, but the pair on our bridge walk was my first
sighting of a dolphin mama and baby.
At eight-tenths of a mile the marker is almost half way to the
Biloxi side of Biloxi Bay. We have been walking nearly equal to 1.7 mile as we
walk toward Biloxi then retrace our steps back to Ocean Springs and Ann’s
vehicle.
Over coffee and tea at Coffee Fusion after our most recent walk,
Husband Walter floated an idea that Ann and I liked. Here’s the plan:
For our
next good-weather bridge walk, Ann will park as usual on the Ocean Springs
side. We will ride with Walter to the Biloxi side of the bridge, and Ann and I
will walk back the full length of the bridge to where Ann’s vehicle awaits.
Hubby had an ulterior but benign motive. His suggestion was a
strategy to avoid what could prove a lengthy wait for us at the Biloxi end of the
bridge, depending how long my rest stops would be at the benches on the bridge.
As part of his plan, once he drops us off, he can wait in the comfort of Coffee Fusion with a latte, his computer and free WiFi.
As part of his plan, once he drops us off, he can wait in the comfort of Coffee Fusion with a latte, his computer and free WiFi.
And I won’t have to gradually work up to making the
1.7-mile one-way distance then another 1.7 mile back to Ann's car. The 3.4-mile round trip will be a longer-term goal.
I hope to be celebrating accomplishment of the end-to-end
bridge walk goal at Coffee Fusion one day early in 2014.
Happy New Year!