Pokémon GO ‘Adventure Sync’

What could be in this egg, which we incubated while walking via mobile-game Pokémon GO? Actually, we hatched MANY eggs, spending yesterday almost entirely on-foot.

We began our day with a walk from our apartment to Santa Rosa’s transit mall. We had Route 4 drop us at Maria Carrillo High School on Montecito Boulevard. That’s in easternmost Santa Rosa, right off Calistoga Road.

We walked 3 miles for a Walk MS fundraiser, then headed down Brush Creek Trail and out along Mission Boulevard.

Our route then took us down Montgomery Drive for a rest at Montgomery Village, before continuing on our walk back to Santa Rosa downtown.

While in the downtown, we stopped for “Free Comic Book Day” at Outer Planes Comics and Games, before walking the remaining few blocks back to our apartment.

Altogether, we walked about 11 miles (according to a step-counting app). We used “Adventure Sync” to help incubate the eggs when not running Pokémon Go.

‘Walk MS’ in Santa Rosa, California

Walking has ALWAYS been Team Darkhill’s thing, and wherever we lived, we’ve looked for ways to harness that power for good.

In Lake County, California, we walked each year in the “Vineyard Run for Literacy,” which benefited Adult Literacy at the Lake County Library. In Ashland, Oregon, we supported Ashland schools via the “Monster Dash.”

As of yesterday, we each walked 3 miles in the Santa Rosa Walk MS event. Our route began and ended at Maria Carrillo High School; it took us past Rincon Valley Library, through Rincon Valley Community Park and along neighborhood streets before heading back along Montecito Boulevard.

Walking has been such a core part of our lives, you might even call it our “super-power.” It feels good to channel something that we enjoy so much, into making the world a better place. Jonathan and I will be looking for additional fundraiser-walks, as well as continuing to walk nearly everywhere during our day-to-day travels.

Feel like contributing toward Walk MS? You can share a donation at http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/cynthiaparkhill

SRJC: Free bus-rides with valid student I.D.

Image credit: SRJC Student Affairs Office

This spring I am enrolled in a class at Santa Rosa Junior College. And one of the perks of being an SRJC student is that I can ride the bus for free.

When I board the bus, I show the driver my student photo-I.D. with a validation sticker for the current semester. SRJC has partnerships with Sonoma County Transit, Santa Rosa CityBus and with Petaluma Transit to allow SRJC students to ride free. For more information: Transportation on the SRJC website.

Textbook delivery via bicycle

Rode my bicycle to Santa Rosa City Schools this morning, for a district meeting. The distance represents just a few minutes’ ride from Santa Rosa Charter School for the Arts. I stuffed my pannier, trunk bag, and backpack full of instructional materials for delivery back to my site. Talk about a win-win; my school’s teachers will get their books as soon as I’ve cataloged them; my bicycle was that much more stable during wind-gusts thanks to the added weight; plus I’ve saved someone else maybe having to make a delivery that put them out of their way.

Trackable coin found in Santa Rosa geocache

On Friday afternoon, we took a walk down to the Friends of the Santa Rosa Libraries’ book sale, taking place this weekend at the Veterans Memorial Building. The book sale, in itself, would have been a highlight — but, while there, we decided to attempt a nearby geocache.

To our excitement, we found this trackable coin, from the 2010 “Geowoodstock” event in Carnation, Washington. Trackables, like this one, are part of the fun of Geocaching. Once you release a trackable, you can follow its progress as other finders move it from site to site.

Geocaching expedition through S.F.’s Golden Gate Park

Caught Golden Gate Transit​’s Route 101 down to San Francisco on Saturday, Sept. 29, for an adventure in geocaching. San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency​’s Routes 28 and 5 brought us out to Ocean Beach, and we then made our way through S.F.’s Golden Gate Park​, hunting for caches as we went. Our final geocaching stop for the day was outside the de Young Museum​, near its “Pool of Enchantment.” Cool, overcast weather made a great day for traveling through Golden Gate Park on-foot. We’re looking forward to further geocaching expeditions aboard the area’s public transit.

Sonoma County employer earns ‘Bicycle Friendly’ status

​For the first time, a Sonoma County employer has earned certification as a Bicycle Friendly Business by the League of American Bicyclists. (​This welcome news comes via the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition.)

Dare we hope that more businesses follow the example of Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital?

My husband and I live and travel throughout a city that’s a Bicycle Friendly Community — but too often, sidewalks are the only safe place to ride along roads that were only built for cars. ​​It’s vitally important to have safe and complete routes to get us where we need to go.​

When we reach our destinations, we frequently find no secure place to lock up our bicycles. Too often, around town, we’ll see a bicycle still attached via a lock through its frame to a rack — only to see that someone has stolen one or more tires. Or a reflector. Or the seat.

What sort of message does a business think it sends when it posts a sign proclaiming itself “not responsible” for the theft of your bicycle?

In addition to exposing our bikes to weather and possible theft, many of the racks appear designed and installed by someone who doesn’t ride — someone who, therefore, doesn’t understand the practical needs of cyclists.

For example, we’ll find racks that were placed too close to a wall or other barrier — so there isn’t any room to attach a bike to the now-useless, solely decorative rack.

This absence of safe, usable, bike parking at the majority of Santa Rosa businesses really shows in glaring contrast to what Sutter is doing right ... specifically, providing “secure covered parking” for its employees who ride bicycles.

Personally, we’d love to see more BikeLink® lockers at business and government buildings. ​For a few cents per hour, we can lock up our bikes safe from thieves and inclement weather. Sadly, however, BikeLink® locations are still few and far between; we find them mainly at SMART Train stations and on the Santa Rosa Junior College campus.