Glacier Bay

Helen and love to travel, but we really haven’t been to all that many places. We do to some spots over and over, and have a list of new ones that we get to slowly.

We went to Germany once. Stuttgart has a swell downtown, with a long pedestrian mall surrounded by palaces and old churches. There is a nearby town on the commuter train line that has an accessible city wall. Both would make wonderful morning runs.

Passau is the cutest little medieval city you could ever imagine. The lanes are too crampy to make a decent run, but there are rivers all around. Running alongside of those would make a swell 3 km loop.

Vienna would be a runner’s paradise. The center is very pedestrian friendly, and surrounded by the Ringstrasse (Ring road) which is a 5 km circle. About a half mile away is Prater Park. Green zones are always good. The city is home to many palaces and their palace grounds. Can’t beat jogging past and through the history of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

North American cities often hide their gems under a layer of late 20th century car dominance. They all must have fabulous runs somewhere.

None spring to mind in Florida, except along Miami Beach. Sand running, however, is an acquired taste.

California is much the same. I would love to run from San Francisco’s fishermans’ wharf area out to the Bridge and back. How about out and across the Bridge and return. Then sourdough bread full of chowder for breakfast. I could do that.

I love running the early morning Vegas Strip. There are a fair number of runners, all sparkly and bright, and tons of folks still up and not quite so wide-eyed.

I love tons of other places in North America, but their runners’ haunts haven’t been obvious. I adore Kissimmee, Palm Springs, Disneyland, San Diego, and Monterey. All are tourist meccas, but where does one run?

My wife and I fantasize about a round the world cruise after we retire. Wouldn’t it be swell to do at least a short jaunt at each port, and be able to claim that I’d run around the world.

It would be like the time I swam in Alaska’s Glacier Bay. Granted, I was in the Cruise Ship pool when I did it.

But still.