Today, Bethany’s daughter Lola joined us on our walk, so we didn’t go on the trail along Lake Bemidji.

Instead, we took the stroller and walked from downtown to Lueken’s South, where we sat on the curb and ate sandwiches before heading back. Like many days so far this spring, the weather couldn’t decide what it wanted to do. It was a tad chilly when we left (we were both in sleeveless shirts), then we were sweating when the sun came out, and on the way back we were feeling raindrops.

I have to say that while I like temperatures around 75 in general, the temps so far this spring have been pretty good for working up a sweat hiking. We’ve only had one really hot day and a couple of also-rans.

I think our quote of the day this time has to come from Lola, and it’s "Waaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

This she said while I made silly faces at her trying to get her to smile. Obviously, it didn’t work. She is teething and apparently not very happy at the moment. But hopefully she enjoyed the ride. I don’t think I ever saw her crack a smile, but at least she didn’t cry again. And she happily gobbled up the treats her mom handed her.

It’s been a while since I’ve used a stroller, but I remember how handy they can be, and not just for transporting human cargo. For once I didn’t have my cell phone in one back pocket and my car keys in the other. We even stashed our groceries in the back of the stroller.

While I like our trail hike, it’s nice to get out and see more now and then, whether it’s walking on sidewalks or other trails. If you have any hiking spots to recommend, let us know!

– Laurie

It was wonderful to see the sun this afternoon! That was a very welcome change.

Today’s quote, from Laurie (while laughing at me): "That didn’t work."

She said that almost right after we saw this little guy:

He was super friendly and didn’t seem to care about us at all. So, I had decided to take a picture. But I wanted him to look our way. So I decided to whistle, thinking he might turn toward us. Nope, he took off like a rocket up the nearest tree. Oh well, I tried.

We didn’t encounter too many interesting things this afternoon. We saw some birds (I’m not a birder, so you’ll have to ask Laurie what they were) and a family of ducks swimming rather quickly away from us:

We had a nice time today, on a shorter hike since I had to get back to work.

Now, we’re just hoping the sunshine sticks around for more than a few hours!

– Bethany

Lilacs are everywhere right now. During my vacation, I’d smell them before I saw them. It’s one of my favorite scents. I only wish they could be around all summer long.

As much as I enjoy our daily hike, I wouldn’t be doing it if Bethany hadn’t pounced on my idle suggestion, which I was crazy enough to make in February.

There’s something about having a partner that keeps you accountable. On my own, I would have turned back on many of those bitterly cold, windy walks early on, but knowing the other person is just as miserable somehow makes it feel less miserable. That goes for hot days as well.

Quote of the day:

Bethany: "Even when I was playing college tennis, I never had any endurance."

That quote came as we commiserated over our lack of endurance as we huffed and puffed for several minutes after trekking up a steep flight of stairs near Bemidji State University. Stairs do me in every time. During my recent vacation, I declined a climb up the steps of Mount Royal in Montreal, which I scaled in 2000 and 2001 with younger friends who mocked me (in the way that good friends do).

I’d ideally like to lose 50 pounds (OK, fine, 40 is more along the lines of reality) and fit into some of those clothes that lie hopefully folded in totes in my basement, but besides that, I’m getting valuable exercise, taking in the sights and sounds of Bemidji and enjoying chatting with my hiking buddy.

– Laurie

This wall is one of our many obstacles along the trail.

Welcome to our new blog!

We started this blog to document our daily lunchtime treks in Bemidji. "We" are Bethany and Laurie, employees with the Bemidji Pioneer. I, Bethany, am the city reporter at the newspaper and Laurie is a reporter/copy editor.

We started our daily walking regime on Feb. 11. I needed to get moving in an effort to lose some of these leftover pregnancy pounds, but I never seemed to actually leave the office. Meanwhile, Laurie heard that I was at least thinking of going walking and suggested that we go together.

During winter, we walked along the downtown streets. But once the ground thawed out a bit, we moved to the Lake Bemidji waterfront, where we began following the dirt trail circling the lake.

We walk every day, usually between 30 and 60 minutes, depending on our schedules. We’ve met some interesting people and seen some pretty sights.

So, we decided to begin sharing them with you.

We’re going to try to mix our voices, with me writing one day, Laurie the next. To get conversations started, we’re also going to try to pull a quote a day from our conversations on very random subjects.

Today’s quote, from Laurie: "I neither lost nor gained weight, so I guess the pigging out and the walking balanced each other!"

This quote references that Laurie has finally returned for a two-week vacation to Montreal, Quebec City, Ottawa, New York, Boston, Philadelphia and other parts of the world. I swore I would walk by myself every day while she was gone, but of course didn’t do so once. Meanwhile, Laurie walked for hours every day while sight-seeing and visiting friends. I am quite jealous.

Anyhow, we hope this blog becomes interesting. Might take us a few days to hit our stride, though (ha ha, stride, get it?! Yes … I’m very much an English geek.).

– Bethany