along the way

This afternoon at 5:45 I decided it was time to take Junie out for a run.  I quickly changed into my running gear, put dinner in the oven, topped off June's sippy cup with juice, and then loaded her into the jogging stroller.  We started running at 6:02, and by 6:06, we were at Duke's East Campus.  Thirty seconds later my Tuesday night running crew came strolling along, so we joined them for the two-and-a-half mile journey to Duke Chapel and back.  Tonight as we ran through the "tunnel" a train passed noisily overhead.  Then the sound of the carillon and the luminarias dotting the Chapel's lawn welcomed us to the halfway point of our run.  Despite temperatures in the low 40's, June was happy as a clam.  After a short water break, we started back towards East Campus.  Along the way I gave Rob some tips for his first 50k and updated Anne on my family's adventures.  Back on East Campus, June and I left the group and headed towards home.  The lasagna needed to cool, so we took a shower.  Junie put on her pajamas, we ate dinner together, we read some books, we sang some songs, and Junie sailed off into dreamland.

Nothing extraordinary about that story.  It was just the run-of-the-mill Tuesday night here in Durham, but it illustrates what I like most about living here.  In a matter of minutes and with virtually no planning whatsoever, we went from sitting in our living room to enjoying a picturesque run with some of the nicest people I've ever met.  That's what I call easy living.

In case you don't already know, we're moving to Colorado by month's end.  Please pardon the sudden drop off in blog posts, but trying to tie-up a million loose ends is a rather time consuming endeavor. We didn't really know what we were getting ourselves into when we moved here five years ago, but it has been a wonderful place to live.  The barbecue, the Durham Bulls, the trails, the Museum of Life and Science, the YMCA, the parks, and the friends are second to none; we'll miss Durham dearly.