Walking On Sunshine

I am burning up with spring fever, so I'm not too thrilled with this rainy weekend ahead of us. Every year the warm weather arrives and my list of places to go and take a walk grow, and every year various factors get in the way.

With working full-time, my adventures are limited basically to the weekends. There are days when the weather doesn't cooperate, other weekends that are jam packed with obligations, and then other days where my walking companions are busy. Well, the latter applies more to walking in the parks. I think, "Is wandering around the woods a good idea when you're on your own?" I recently realized if I go to a park on a weekend afternoon, most likely there will be a number of people there, and I will be reasonably safe. That problem solved!

But when it comes to bad weather, there's not much I can do except plan the walks for the sunny and not so sunny days to come in the months ahead. And I am planning!

As always, many of the local parks are topping my list. I am very fortunate to have Smithtown's Blydenburgh County Park and Caleb Smith State Preserve just a few minutes away from me. Both not only offer beautiful trails to enjoy nature but are also steeped in local history. I also plan to visit Avalon Park and Preserve in Stony Brook again. I have only been there once with a friend, and the view is gorgeous and there is even a labyrinth, which always intrigues me. I also hope to finally get to the David Weld Sanctuary in Nissequogue. I didn't even know the sanctuary existed until I started writing my history articles for Smithtown Patch. The Weld family that owned Blydenburgh Park before the county acquired it is also responsible for this wonderful gift to our area.

Of course, there are more places to take a refreshing walk in the area. The last couple of years I have made it down to Sunken Meadow a few times during the summer to take an early evening walk along the boardwalk. There are also all the little villages and towns filled with stores to be discovered and re-discovered. The summer isn't complete without a visit to Port Jefferson, and this year I would like to roam around Northport Village, Huntington Village and more again. And while Smithtown may not be known for its shops, I think I'm going to take a walk along Main Street. In this economy it's important to support our local businesses, and I must admit I barely know what's there anymore.

During my stint writing history articles for Patch, I found myself a few times needing to visit local cemeteries for my stories. One of the things that surprised me was the intrigue and beauty of these local graveyards. You can actually spend a good amount of time at the cemeteries behind Hauppauge Methodist Church or St. James Church or at Smithtown Cemetery. There are the details of the gravestones, the landscape, the serene atmosphere. And if you are familiar with the local history, when you discover some of the stones, you feel like you are visiting an old friend. So yes, with the warm weather here, I may even be visiting a cemetery or two.

Of course, as I visit all these places I plan to blog about them. If anyone has suggestions for other places to enjoy a day of walking, let me know, and I will try my best to get out there and write about it. Seems like I have a lot of writing and walking in my sunny future!