The threat of heavy rain and strong wind didn't dampen the spirits of 14 participants in the weekly Walking on Wednesdays group and two of their fearless K-9 best friends on January 16.
They all showed up at the Exedra for a walk through Piedmont Park and the streets beyond
Sponsored by the Piedmont Recreation Department, the group has an informal goal of walking every street in Piedmont. One street they had not been to was Annerley Road, which is in both Piedmont and Oakland. Walking through Piedmont Park on the way to Annerley, the walkers were greeted by all the preschoolers at the Community Hall, a nice start to the day.
The walk through the park provided an opportunity to read the History of Piedmont article in the October 24th Post, titled "Piedmont's Mineral Spring and Mark Twain." The walkers stopped and inspected Frank C. Havens' upper grotto near the Community Hall and also the lower grotto where Mark Twain visited the Piedmont Springs in 1868 and sampled its supposedly healthy, but certainly smelly, Sulphur mineral springs water.
After heavy rains the night before, the walk provided an opportunity to see the park's creek at its best. The rushing water through the cascades and waterfall that Havens built more than 120 years ago as a park attraction were substantial and enjoyable to see.
The walkers emerged from the park at Wildwood Avenue and crossed the street to continue down Prospect Road to Harvard Road where they arrived at their Annerley Road destination. They
walked up Annerley to Oakmont Avenue before reversing course and walking down to Raleigh Way, so that they could say that they had walked all of Annerley. Raleigh Way took the walkers to Portsmouth Road and its extremely steep hill that ends at Wildwood Avenue and Wildwood School.
About this time their luck with the weather began to run out as the sprinkles turned into rain. Umbrellas were unfurled and the walkers made a faster than normal return to the Exedra through the Park. Thought a stormy day, it was a good walk with a group of walker who have become friends, By the time they arrived at the Ex edra, their starting point, the rain was coming down fairlv heavilv. so it was an ideal time to stop.
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