Saturday Morning Grexwalks and Lunches

Oct 11 19:47 UTC 2003

GREXWALK BULLETIN  -- Starting time reset to ** 10:00 am ** beginning
                      October 18.   Start gathering at 9:45.
 
(10:00 am was originally the start time of the walk, but it has drifted
later about two minutes every year.  To prevent the after-walk lunch 
from turning into a after-walk dinner, the regular walkers have agreed 
to move the start time earlier by a half hour.  We hope this will set 
lunchtime around 12:30 pm.)

OK, now here is the usual text to introduce the Grex walks to 
newcomers.
-------

If you are near Ann Arbor, join us for a Grex Walk!

Every Saturday morning, between 9:50-10:00 am, a bunch of Grexers gather
for a 75-90 minute walk, followed by lunch at a local eatery.
Newcomers are most eagerly welcome; this is an opportunity to meet
and socialize with other Grex folks and get some exercise in the
bargain.   Not all the walkers are Grex users: we have regular
attendance from friends, children and pets, and sometimes complete
strangers join us from our Event listing in the Observer.

   Fall is the season for some of the most beautiful Grexwalks, as
   the leaves change color and the weather gets crisp.  Towards the 
   end of the season we might even have to dress for a bit of snow.

   After the October 18 walk, we will travel to Dexter for lunch and 
   a visit to the Dexter Cider Mill; this is usually the most popular
   Grexwalk event of the year.

Feel free to come to the walk but not lunch, or the lunch but not 
to the walk.  Everything's very informal.

Currently we pick a different place for lunch each week. Watch this
item and make suggestions if you have a favorite place that we could
visit.  With few exceptions, any restaurant that receives a nomination
and a second will be put on the list for a future debriefing.
The upcoming lunch schedule can be seen with the  !lunch  command,
or on the web at
     http://www.cyberspace.org/~krj/lunch.txt

On most Saturdays -- all except FIRST SATURDAYS -- the walk
starts in Gallup Park, and we gather by the parking lot near the
entrance on Fuller Road.  Directions for how to find us are in
response #1 ( resp:1 ) of this item.

On the FIRST SATURDAY of each month, the walk is held at
Bird Hills Park.
Those dates will be:   Saturday, November 1
                       Saturday, December 6

Directions for how to find us in Bird Hills Park are in
response #2 ( resp:2 ) of this item.

response 2 of 68:

Oct 11 19:51 UTC 2003

For FIRST SATURDAYS, at Bird Hills Park,
Mapquest will get you close to our meeting place if you type in this address:

     1900 Newport Rd,   Ann Arbor, MI

Here's an ASCII text description of how to meet us in Bird Hills Park: 
                                              (credit: Jan Wolter)
          
     Jackson   Dexter     \\\/                    NORTH =>
       Road     Road       \X\
         |     /           /\\\      Maple Road
      ---|----/-----------/--\\\----------------
         |   /           /    \\\
         |  /           /      \\\ M-14
         | /    Miller /        \\\ 
         |/     Road  /          \\\ 
         |           /            \\\ 
         |          /      school |||  Newport Road
         |         /---------------------,------------------
         |   7th  /               ||| --'               |
     ----|-------/                |||  Park Here        |
         |      /                 |||                   | Bird
   Huron |     / Miller           |||                   | Road
         |    | Road              |||                   |
    Downtown  |                ___|||___________________|___
      Ann --------------------'-. |||   Huron River Drive
     Arbor            Main       \|||
                                  |||
  
 So you want Newport road, just where it crosses the M-14 highway. 
 Just a wee bit north of the bridge is a little dirt road that slopes
 down to a little parking lot.  The walk meets there.  If you are 
 coming from the highway, note that there is no exit at Newport, just 
 at Main Street and at Maple and Miller.  Getting from Main to Huron 
 River Drive is a bit tricky.  Be alert.  Amateurs may do better 
 approaching Newport Road from Miller Road.  Occasionally the parking 
 lot gate is left locked.  Park at the school and walk across the 
 bridge.

response 4 of 68:

Oct 12 13:32 UTC 2003

Yesterday's walkers were valerie, janc, arlo, kendra, kaplan, mutsie, ross,
chanur, Carol,aruba, and krokus, who caught up to us near the river.  It was
indeed a very slow walk, because it was a nice day and there were lots of
rocks to climb on.  We left poor Ken waiting at Kai Garden for an hour
before we arrived (around 1:30).  Thus the decision to reset the walk time
to 10:00, in an effort to make it again possible for people to join us for
lunch at a reasonable time, and to ensure that a little bit of Saturday
daylight is still left after lunch.

I don't think it's right to say "the regular walkers decided" to make the
change; not all the regular walkers were there, and anyway I have a problem
separating Grexers into the categories of "regular walkers" and "not regular
walkers".  Everyone should feel welcome to come on a Grexwalk, because
everyone *is* welcome.

But anyway... I forgot (despite Valerie's reminder) to ask for no MSG in my
food at Kai Garden, and once again got a monster headache in the afternoon.
I guess I learned my lesson this time, and have no doubthat it was the food
that did it to me.  I'm undecided on whether I want to go there again and
remember to ask for no MSG; I feel more inclined at the moment just to skip
it all together.  But maybe I'll feel more adventurous when the time comes
around again.

response 6 of 68:

Oct 16 22:48 UTC 2003

yeah

response 8 of 68:

Oct 18 20:31 UTC 2003

Walkers who left at approximately 10:04 were janc, arlo, danr, Carol, and
aruba.  Valerie and kendra started later and walked backwards, so we met
them on Geddes.  We finished about 11:40.

response 10 of 68:

Oct 20 13:30 UTC 2003

I find it hard to see where I'm going.

response 12 of 68:

Oct 22 12:46 UTC 2003

Don't forget the glasses with the mirrors mounted on them.

response 14 of 68:

Oct 24 04:06 UTC 2003

Just use the force, then?

response 16 of 68:

Oct 25 03:30 UTC 2003

(if the walk time has been reset to 10am, the MOTD should reflect
the change.)

response 18 of 68:

Oct 26 01:31 UTC 2003

This morning, Mutsie and I were the only walkers.  We started at 10:04,
arrived at the traditional resting spot at 10:37 (but did not stop), and
got back in the car at 11:11.

People I saw at Cottage Inn were chanur, Ross, valerie, janc, Arlo,
Kendra, mary, remmers, polygon, and Sarah.  Carol and aruba said they
were going to head over to Cottage Inn too.  Unfortunately, lunch
started too early.  I did not get to see Carol and aruba.

response 20 of 68:

Oct 26 14:56 UTC 2003

No, there was light rain for the early part of the walk.  We might have 
avoided the rain if we had started walking at 10:30!  ;)

response 22 of 68:

Oct 30 15:09 UTC 2003

According to the motd, the after-walk lunch this week is at the
Michigan State game.  No thanks.  :)

(I assume that's a typo...)

response 24 of 68:

Oct 30 15:13 UTC 2003

Not a typo, but a place-holder.  I think the lunch czar has yet to pick a
place.  The game is out of town, so it shouldn't affect the lunch choices.