2018 is drawing its last labored breaths. Some are reflecting back on the year’s past “highlights.” I will do something similar tomorrow (I hope) with my own year-end wrap.

This morning, in preparation for the evening’s “Auld Lang Syne,” I got out early hoping to beat the grocery cart zombies that will surely clog our local superette later in the day. Getting there a few minutes after 8:00 delivered zombie-free shopping aisles, fresh stock in the produce section, and a well-stocked beer and wine supply. By 8:20, I was at my car, ready for my next daily task: this one related to fitness, which today would be a a brisk walk around town.

I beat the grocery cart zombies!

Thanks to my good friend, Paul, I’ve grown fond of walking at Bowdoin College, like him. I’m now improvising my own treks around the historic campus where Civil War heroes once strolled. Paul and I are regular walking buddies and his own routines that he’s shared with me out and about at Brunswick’s historic campus now inform my own solitary rambles.

This morning, it was geometry courtesy of the traditional New England small college model of a central quad ringed with structures dating back to the founding of the region. Of course, schools like Bowdoin are well-endowed, so there are always improvements taking place, too.

Classic New England Small College Quad (Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME)

Walker Art Museum/Bowdoin College-Brunswick, ME

Whittier Field where Polar Bears have been frolicking on the gridiron since 1889 has seen extensive upgrades. The facility is a tasteful mix of old and new. For walking, it’s hard to beat circling the rubberized track that rings the football field.

Making my way around the track at renovated Whittier Field (Bowdoin College)

Aerial shot of Whittier Field updates (Bowdoin College)

Whittier Field’s preservation of the past (Bowdoin College, Brunswick, ME)

Back home for a day of writing, reading, and waiting for my better half to return from her day before New Years at work. Then, we’ll make dinner together, play Scrabble, maybe have a little popcorn around 10:00 with some Prosecco and then, see if we can make it ‘til midnight’s ball drop from Times Square.

Happy New Year!