Sunny, Blue Skies, Warming Up, Sort Of (Hiking the Westside Overland Trail)

7:30

I slept in until 7:20, amazing to get up to a living room not cloaked in darkness.  The sun was already up over Wells Bay, though a few clouds hid it.  It's 34º, getting up to the 40's later in the day, melting most of the snow no doubt.

Hitting The Westside Trail Again

A Forest of Spruces

Yesterday was still cold in the morning, a great temperature for a hike, so we drove off to the Westside Trail Head, on the Mayville/Sherman Road, about two miles beyond Hannum Road.  We had walked this trail for the first time two years ago with a group, our first long hike of close to 8 miles.  We did not walk as far yesterday, a total of three miles out and back, as part of the trail was closed.  We did walk from C to D and beyond some, at first somewhat boring but we  finally got into it, as we got to a forest of Spruces, thick and dark, the kind of woods we like.  It was supposed to be a windy day but we did not really notice it except when we began and ended our hikes, when we were in more open areas. The forest was winter like, brown tree trunks, leafless, no snow, just row after row of vertical stripes against the sky.  The trail was frozen in some areas, wet in others, so we had to pick and choose the trail, trying to avoid getting a 'soaker' though we both had on Gortex hiking shoes.

Checking Out Sherman Livestock Diner

We were out an hour and a half, then headed up on towards Sherman, stopping at the Sherman Livestock Auction and Market, a huge barn like structure,  in operation since 1937, a muddy parking area, with lots of pickups and horse trailers sitting outside, as well as a sign that said Restaurant--11:00-4:00.  We reversed course, walked into a charmless cement block building with a sign 'kitchen' on one door, 'open' on the other.  Five or six older farmers were sitting at  the counter, downing burgers and fries, a few couples sat at tables, including a couple of Amish farmers.  We looked around, decided to pass because there was no soup, but will stop back next time we are in the vicinity.  The restaurant or diner is run by Dan Johnson's wife and sister in law, the owner, having opened it recently, or so I think.

Hot Dogging In November

We didn't get home till after 1:00.  Before we left, I put together a black bean soup, so we had that for lunch and Evie made some guacamole, a healthy lunch, all veggies except for the Tostito's.  We did little in the afternoon; I finished MOHAWK and started my next David Downing novel, Lehrter Station.  Around 4:30, we decided to get some fresh air, so we drove over to the Long Point Marina and walked out to the tip of Long Point and back, hoping to see the sun set over Woodlawn but we were too late as it was hidden by the tree line.  I forgot to mention that just before we went for a walk, a Sea Doo raced by, did tricks out in the middle of the lake, before driving back to Wells Bay.  It looked like fun. After our walkt, we stopped in at the Seezurh House for a beer, talked with the bar tender for a bit, then went home for dinner.

Algae Residue On Shore Line

We had the left over meat loaf, just as good as the first day.  I had mine with mashed potatoes and gravy, again, and Evie made herself a meat loaf sandwich, her favorite.  We watched two more episodes of The Enemy Within, one more to go, and then went up to bed to read.  I am now immersed in post WW II Britain and Germany, as John Russell struggles to put his life back together.