An interesting thing to note since the sabbatical year in 2010 is how I’ve recognized the important things that have taken place on this day each year. I’ve found it to be a fun thing to do, to consider what I (and others) have done on the same day over time. And for some reason, July 23rd stands out.

If you’re interested in checking this out, you can use the “View by Month” feature to the right. Click on the Select Month pull-down menu and select July of each year. Scroll until you find the 23rd and read each post. You can also look at my post from 2014 for a further sense of this.

Now about this year’s July 23rd, it started out with having to regroup. The initial plan was for us to travel with Frederique and Laurent to Pornichet to see their (and our) friends Luc and Isabel. The plan for the men was to run along the boardwalk for maybe an hour or so. And the women were going to do an exercise-walk in the ocean.

Melinda even bought some special shoes for this purpose yesterday! But then the weather turned on us, rainy and chilly, and the planned trip was scrapped. This is a classic situation of plans being “rained out,” to use an American baseball reference (the “game” is tentatively rescheduled for next Sunday).

So instead of the trip to Pornichet, Frederique and Laurent walked to Melinda’s and my apartment. Then, together, the four of us walked into the center of Nantes. This is an important route for me, in that I’ve run it many times. And there are some fun art installations along the way. We had brunch in Nantes, wandered around town a bit, and then walked back. All together, this was 17,000 steps, according to my pedometer.

All of the photos, including the selfie below with its lovely message, come from today’s walk. July 23rd, you know how to treat me.