Happy Wanderer

Ended up taking a tour of downtown today, just looking for the restaurant where I met a friend for lunch. I was VERY "fashionably" late, of course:( Happens a lot. But I figured out more about where things are/which streets to take where, so I guess it was a lesson in spatial awareness? Complicating matters was that MOST of the downtown area seems to be under construction. This posed problems even for me as an exclusively "sidewalk kinda girl"...everything's torn up! So I had to go out of my way to avoid obstructions almost everywhere I went. Lunch was so worth it though--kudos to my wonderful new friend for hanging in there 'til my sorry sense of direction finally got me there! I do tend to overestimate my own command of the area, that's for sure. And I tell myself I'll be able to navigate just fine through instinct alone, which is yet another fallacy! I'm hopeful that the construction is to smooth over some of these hopelessly uneven sidewalks, but I KNOW they won't do a thing to differentiate one street from another around here, ensuring that they all look alike ad infinitum:( Lunch was worth the trouble though, and we did have a nice time catching up, finally. Even our waiter who helped ME with directions on the phone, was very happy I'd made it in finally:) I told him that I was glad too, 'cause if I'd given up trying to find the place, it'd be like I "let you both down." Thank goodness the downtown area is fantastically walkable! If this had been any other day, I'm sure I would've loved to continue my walk, exploring more of my little metropolis after lunch. But all the unnecessary walking I'd down to find the darn restaurant tired me out, and jacked up my shoulder just a bit. So I just asked my friend if she'd drive my pathetic sense of direction-having arse home, and she obliged. So here I am, very proud of the fact that lunch was a successful failure. We didn't meet at the time we SAID we'd meet, thanks to me, but we did meet. And I, instead of collapsing on the couch this fine Saturday to sleep away the memory my superfluous sojourn, forced myself up to blog about it. That's my version of a healthy work ethic I suppose:) I'll close with this: aside from the well-represented "curb cut effect" in this town, there is one spot in the entire area where they kinda messed up. One little section where there is clearly SUPPOSED to be a ramp, where the curb dips ever so slightly and there are rows and rows of bumps to let the blind know the curb is ending--the ramp and the street don't match up exactly. I still had to lift up my walker to get over the "lip" of the curb, which was a bit of a pain, when I was already weary and working up quite a sweat! Now it looks like I've made it home just in time to watch the rain from the comfort of my neglected couch! I always stare at the building kitty corner to our rear-facing apartments, one not run by the same management company as this and almost every building downtown. When I looked up this building kitty corner to where I ended up, the apartment rental site online cautioned that it's not near ANYTHING. But it is! It's downtown, where everything is walkable and nothing is too far out of reach. If I'd gone there instead of where I am, the only difference would be a slightly longer bus ride to the grocery store:) But there would also be a much more arduous trek to my church, and in the winter that would NOT fly. So I'm glad I am where I am. Deep in the heart of it all, a stone's throw from all my favorite places. It's humble, but it's home. Now to nurse a shoulder I somehow overworked during my aimless wandering!