A new Sunday routine

Two Sundays in a row we've been blessed with beautiful weather. So it's been a great time to establish what I hope will be a weekly routine for the forseeable future -- a neighborhood walk of 5 miles or so, paired with lunch at a locally owned restaurant.

The impetus for this new adventure? Laura O. Foster's book, "Portland Hill Walks."

Foster is the author of two other books, "Portland City Walks" and "Walk There!" As her web site says:

Each book leads readers and walkers on urban excursions of two to six miles, telling the stories of neighborhoods' geology, human history, and architecture, along with offbeat tidbits ranging from how Native Americans used local plants, to the story behind those glass squares (vault lights) embedded in old city sidewalks.

Lori gave me the book for my birthday in December but we had to wait past the worst of the wet weather and our own busy schedules to get to this point. We took our first walk a week ago in Southwest Portland, from Willamette Park all the way up to Capitol Hill Road and Barbur Boulevard, then over to Terwilliger Boulevard and back down to the park, via Laview Drive, a street with spectacular views of Mount St. Helens, downtown and the Willamette River.

Afterward, we drove to the Sellwood neighborhood, happened upon a food cart named Bruce Lee's Kitchen (how could we resist with a name like that?) and sat down to a delicious meal of red curry and pad thai prepared by Liza, the owner, cook and cashier (below). Definitely recommend it.

Today we took our second hike through our own part of town -- the Alameda Ridge loop, starting at Northeast 52nd and Sandy Boulevard, then bearing north and west out to 24th and Alameda, where we turned around. When we got back to Sandy, we had lunch on the rooftop patio of Laurelwood brewpub. This time we took Otto. He laid at our feet, just happy to be along, as we switched from shade to sun.

As much as I enjoy running, I have to say there's a different kind of satisfaction that comes from going at a slower pace through both new and familiar neighborhoods. You notice so much more -- the flowers, plants and yards; the individual personality of each house; even a different angle on something you've seen dozens of times before.

It may seem silly that it took a book on urban walks to get me into this new routine. I've been running for so many years that it never seemed necessary. I was wrong.