It was another beautiful morning which has morphed into an even more beautiful day.

For sure, we are blessed with a weekend of perfect weather – blue skies, no humidity and coolish temps, all pretty uncharacteristic for August in Michigan. It was chilly in the house when I got up, and, unbelievably, when I was fastening my pedometer to my waistband, the metal clasp actually felt cold on my bare skin; in fact … it startled me.

Yup, the moon and stars must be aligned right to give us such stellar weather, and, I know that most people will be enjoying the outdoors today unless their job forces them to be inside. Speaking of perfect planetary alignments, I’m thinking of my friend Evelyn who will be participating in a moonlight bicycle event tonight. She and her husband are avid weekend cyclists, and he competes in alot of bike marathons. Tonight is a 15-mile ride under the moonlit sky, where the cyclists even adorn their bike spokes with light tubes to glow in the dark to make the event more festive.

I hit the ground running for my destination: Council Point Park.

As I traversed the neighborhoods, they were silent, the drone of the A/C gone as windows were wide open to catch the cool morning air.

Even most of the pooches must’ve been sound asleep, as I had only one dog bark at me, and that was a a small terrier-type who tried to terrorize me from the top of his owner’s couch and behind the safety of the living room window. Really?! Though I admired his vigilance, I stared him down, and just kept moving, and he barked for a block afterward, finally stopping … no doubt because he was hoarse and I was long gone by then.

Once at Council Point Park, I just intended to do two loops and be done with it, but, after one time around the perimeter path, I decided to recreate the “Tour de Parcs” , a visit to all the nearby parks in the area, something I have done in the past. I decided there was no better day to do it than today.

So, after one time around, I veered off the perimeter path and exited onto River Drive to head toward Lions Park, which runs parallel to the Ecorse Creek, and, quite truthfully looks like a miniaturized version of Council Point Park, right down to the asphalt pathway. After two trips on that pathway, and the sun warming things up, the bright-red park bench pictured above sure looked inviting, but that surly robin had parked himself smack dab in the middle, hogging it for him and his brethren. He didn’t fly off as I neared, and, since he didn’t look willing to share , I decided not to break my stride, took his picture, then just kept going.

After leaving Lions Park, I cut through the large baseball fields at Propspinner Park, followed by walking through Kiwanis and Jaycee Parks. Next, I wended my way to Ford Park where my trek took me through the playground equipment, some of which I myself had climbed upon back in the tail end of the 60s.   The last stop on the tour was Memorial Park, where I did a complete trip around the property, then stopped briefly at the memorial pavilion.

Whew! But, surprisingly, after my mission of seven parks in six plus miles was accomplished, I still had some energy left in me. Just like the song “I could have danced all night”, I felt the same way … energized by the slight breeze on my face and the cooler-than-normal weather.

So, should I do another turn around Memorial Park?

In the end, I thought better of it, as it was risking potential shin splints, not to mention those two cups of coffee before I departed, and listening to all the homeowners’ splashing water fountains and sprinklers spritzing me along the way. Just by mere power of suggestion, it reminded me I should be heading for home, sooner rather than later.

It was an enjoyable trip. A wondrous walk on a perfect Summer day is something to savor and relive in those cold Winter months … you know they are coming.