Yesterday, I repeated the seven mile walk along the Erie Canal Trail that I made back in June. And as the title of this post suggests, the second trip was even better than the first. For starters, I made a point of wearing sunscreen this time. I almost decided against it, since it was supposed to be cloudy and rainy. But at the last minute, I grabbed the bottle and started slathering. I was quite glad of it, too. As soon as I started walking, the clouds parted and I found myself making the trek on a glorious and sunny day.

The other factor that improved this walk over the previous one is that I made a point of buying new shoes. It’s hard to believe what a difference such a detail would make. However, I was a true believer last night when I realized that while my feet were somewhat sore, they felt about the same as they had felt after several days of healing the last time.

This isn’t to say this trip wasn’t frought with it’s own difficulties, mind you. The whole plan was nearly upset when I arrived at my planned starting point, only to discover that the park was completely closed off due to some sort of tournament. This meant that I had to find a new place to leave my car that would be near an access point to the trail.

Fortunately, after several minutes of driving around while muttering and cussing under my breath (not to mention considering calling the whole thing off ever twenty seconds or so), I decided to settle on one of the parking lots at the University of Rochester. I was a little nervous as all of the UofR lots are clearly marked “permit only” (and I managed to find and choose the faculty lot no less). However, as I considered the facts that (1) it’s the summer, (2) it was a Saturday, and (3) the lot was practically empty anyway, it would be safe. (And if push comes to shove, I’d simply have to pay towing expenses and whatnot anyway.) Fortunately, my reasoning proved fine and my car was still there — without so much as a fine on it — when Belinda dropped me off to pick it up around 2:30pm.

I’m disappointed that I yet again chose not to take my camera with me. In June, I made the decision based on the fact that I wanted to just enjoy the walk and not worry about picture taking. This time, the weather report had disuaded me. I reasoned that if it really was going to rain, I’d rather leave the camera someplace dry. I don’t mind if I get wet (after all, Fran Baum made that whole business about witches melting out of whole cloth), but I was a bit concerned what a hypothetical downpour could do to a camera, even if it was protected by its case and my backpack.

I’m currently a bit distraught because I’ve realized that making this journey next month might prove to be a bit of a challenge. The first two weekends are already booked with preparing for and attending the 2007 Northeast Naturist Festival. The Saturday after that, I have a party to attend. The final Saturday, there’s a chance I may have to help out at the shop. So unless I schedule the walk for the third or fourth Sunday rather than on a Saturday, I may just be out of luck. Hopefully, I’ll figure something out, though.