Stepping Out

Stepping Out
            Heavy rain turns street corners into ankle-deep creeks. Days are short and temperatures are low. Getting out in nature is not the obvious choice on rainy season days here in San Francisco.
            I took my dog out for long walks in blinding snowstorms as a kid, and we take our autistic son for at least a short outing even on Northern California atmospheric river days, but that’s not for everyone.
            Our older son, born and raised a city boy in San Francisco, known for chilly foggy days, now lives and works in London, where days are darker, colder, and rainy days seem to outnumber sunny ones.
            I am grateful that he embraced our family example of stepping out for a fresh perspective every day. Cold wet weather frequently puts a damper on exploring the streets of London on foot. I applaud his outings to the large shopping complex near his flat in London on bad weather days. Even if he takes a bus instead of walking the two miles to get there, he still gets exercise and a scenery change walking around indoors.
            Whether to a field near your house, a city garden, an indoor museum or shopping area, or to your back window to look at the sky, moving our bodies and changing up our surroundings is important.
            Keep moving, open your eyes and heart, and keep putting one foot forward!
            This week the featured hike from the archives is Ferry Building/Pier 7-San Francisco Stroll, an urban area that offers a scenic outdoor walk but also a lively indoor space to explore, always an option in inclement weather.
 
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This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
Hike Notes 202: Ferry Building/Pier 7-San Francisco Stroll