Off the beaten path

Mister C and I try to take a walk every weekday that he's not traveling and today was no exception. Our walks are usually about an hour long and we spend the time talking. Some days we discuss our finances. Some days we talk about Master J. Sometimes we talk about where we'd like to be in 1 year, 5 years or 10 years. Whatever the discussion, it's generally a great time for us to connect.

The problem is that we tend to stick to our immediate neighborhood and a few that are connected to it. Which can get kind of boring. So today when we got to a main street we decided we wanted to see a neighborhood that we've never been in because it's hidden behind a wall. We had to walk a ways out of our way to find a way in and at first it seemed like it was just a small neighborhood that was pretty standard. But then, we decided to walk out a different way than we had walked in and instead of finding the main thoroughfare that we expected, we found a boulevard. That had a wide side walk, was well shaded and extremely well kept. That ran next to a huge golf course. And some small man made ponds with fountains. And there were huge trees and gorgeous flowers everywhere. It was like a different world. We live in the desert, but this community reminded me of something you might find in California. It was amazing. There were lots of people out doing various activities and when we got close to them, they were all very friendly. By the time we got all the way through this enjoyable enclave, we were a good distance from our home. We ended up walking back on a more main street than we usually like but even that wasn't that bad. When we finally got home, we had been out walking for over two hours. I was tired and yet I felt like it was totally worth it just to have been there. In fact, I've already gone on Google Earth and figured out how to stay in the neighborhood longer and come out closer to home while mostly avoiding the main streets. I think I've found my new stomping grounds.