73. Afternoon walk

I took myself out for a walk this afternoon, before rain sets in. My old habit was to turn left from my house, walk through the local park with its children's playground, basketball court, baseball field, and dog park, and across the highway to the Frog Pond Wetland Reserve, a 17-acre oasis with an encircling path, whereupon I would complete several circuits while listening to podcasts. Here are a couple of photos; it's a beautiful spot, a wonderful place to indulge in nature and only a five-minute walk from home.

But as I say, I used to do that. For the past year-plus, the Frog Pond has been off-limits as a bike path is constructed that, upon completion, will allow users to walk or cycle under the busy highway—a definite improvement. 

So I have had to find other walking options. Today's took me out of the house to the right, past a plant nursery (that is in the process of shutting down—I wonder what will come in in its place), and along the constantly changing other half of the bike path—the most recent progress being pavement (last week) and tall black lightposts (the last couple of days). I then pass the Safeway supermarket (parking lot jam-packed today, two days before Christmas), cross the busy thoroughfare that is Fremont Boulevard, and descend some railroad-tie stairs—where homeless people often hang out, but not today—to Laguna Grande Regional Park. Sometimes I just walk around the laguna, but today I continued on across also-busy Del Monte Boulevard to another bike path that takes me up on the dunes with lovely views of Monterey Bay. From there it's back to Laguna Grande and home. It's about 4 miles in all. 

Today I took some photos, ranging from view shots to close-ups of patterns that I found interesting. Here they are. Click on them to see them larger. 

Laguna Grande. As I took this photo a weathered man on
a bike pulled up. He commented on how lovely the hotel was,
reflected in the water. I pointed out the ducks, which he admired.
His name was Mike. 

Beat-up reflectors on the bike ramp

Two people and their dog—and Santa Cruz across the water

Peeling paint retaining wall

The sandy bike path and a big sky. (This is approximately
where the two people and their dog were when I snapped them.)

A remnant of what was next to a tennis court; I wonder if the
construction workers are preserving it as something of a joke.
Will it survive the finished project? Will the tennis court return? 

Santa has been hiding under these fake flowers for a very
long time, by the looks of it...

I enjoy using my camera to see what I can see. It reminds me what a beautiful place I live in. I do need to find some more walking options, though. The Frog Pond will be closed off for another year.