"Going for a Walk," I Yell Into the House. "I'll Be Right Back." Then, 8.8 miles and 2 Hours Later, I Think, "Dang. There's Still More Audio Book Left."

I had two plans for Saturday. Read, and take a walk. Then I said, "Wait, why not walk to beach and do an audio version of Tiffany Jackson's Grown?" I looked it up and saw it was do-able, I only miscalculated the miles by 2.6. Back in my 20s and 30s, I'd run 11-12 miles on the weekend, so I figured a good walk would be fine. I was into the book and figured I'd kill two birds with one stone, which I did.

It's actually 8.8 miles round trip from Mt. Pleasant to the sand of Short Beach, and it was good to be on the streets to see details missed when one usually is driving. There were a few other runners, bikers, walkers, but for the most part, not too many people were on the sidewalks. I knew it would take some time, but I just put on my hiking mindset and took off.

The water was calm and there were few people taking advantage of the sand, sound, and sky. I found a port-o-potty (dang coffee), meditated for a short bit, then trekked my way back home (glad not to meditate in the port-o-potty).

Tiffany Jackson can write. I've said that about each and every one of her books, and I thought I'd finish this one during the walk. Nope. There's still 3 hours to go. As I said, she can write, and intrigue the reader (well, listener), In this novel, she takes up the R. Kelly / young girl(s) appeal to imagine how it is that a few rich and famous fellas find ways to mentally manipulate teenage girls in their lives. It's something. The topic is not one I'd usually gravitate to, but Jackson's craft makes it alluring, psychological, and clever. In short, the hike was more of a longer-than-usual bout to a book store. 

I will say, though, that at mile 7 there were pains in my hip and I was really thirsty. I figured I might be sore this morning, as I've aged into 5K runs and walks, rarely anything longer. I awoke this morning, however, with nothing to complain about - just a desire to do it again, although I'm not sure I can commit the time.

A perfect day is outdoor recreation and a book; audible allows for doing both together which I appreciate (and thanks to Chitunga for loaning me his ZOOM headset).