Hello,

Okay .. well it took me a week but I made it to my first destination! I originally wasn't counting my daily steps but now I think I might starting counting them towards my journey. Otherwise I'll be 80 before I reach Pike's Peak. But for now I made it to stop number one ...

Martinez, California

-Martinez means "son of Martin" in spanish ..

-In 1849 Martinez was a weigh station for 49er gold rushers .. awesome! By 1850 it was the county seat of Contra Costa County - it still is today ..

-This one's great .. John Muir made Martinez his home from 1880 until his death in 1914. John Muir, for those of you who may not know, was born in Scotland and traveled the world advocating the preservation of wilderness. Once he came to California, he never left again. He spent a lot of time in what is now, thanks in part to him, Yosemite National Park and what is now known as Muir Woods, north of San Francisco. He also founded the Sierra Club in 1892. The Sierra club is a group which continues Muir's ideology of preserving nature and ecosystems so that we all may be able to enjoy them in their wonderful natural states. After having been all over the world, John Muir is now buried in Martinez.

-Martinez is the purported birthplace of the martini. Not sure if that's really true but hey, sounds good to me! I don't like martinis so next time I'm hanging out in Martinez I'll celebrate the birth of the martini, with a margarita perhaps!

Well, I'm so proud of myself for having made it (virtually) to Martinez. And even though I've lived not more than 5 miles of it for a lot of my life, and even having worked in Martinez, I still found out several things I never knew. I love that my new exercise regimen is also exercising my brain. And I can't wait to reach my next destination and learn more about it too.

Benicia, California - here I come!

Total 7 miles walked, 3 miles to go ...