Nicholas Klank

This has become one of my favorite hiking trails. It splits off in several directions and you never really know where you're going to come out. Some of it goes right behind the Dufief neighborhood. There's always wildlife and the muddy branch there to lower your blood pressure and give you some exercise. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

It's a lovely park just behind Dufief elementary school. It's smaller than the Kentlands' massive pond/lakes so it's easy to do multiple laps of the park on a walk. Dogs are allowed and there's often deer munching away. I usually stay to the walking path around the main soccer field so I'm not familiar with the park off to the to the North. There re several tennis courts and parking available as well as walking access to the various neighborhoods that surround it. It would be a great place for a community event except there are no public bathrooms except an HC port-a-jon at the end of the parking lot.

I'm here at least once a week to shop at Wagshals. Their stock is usually high quality but it is definitely not a supermarket. I love their baguettes, key lime pies, and other baked goods but they also have liquor, a deli, and a nice selection of produce and cheeses.

There are some great features to this place. Year-round there's a gym in the basement with free weights and exercise machines. Outside, there are two pools out back, one just for laps and one that's for goofing off. The main pool gets some shade in the afternoon and has two lengthy ramps to get into the pool without ladders. On Labor Day, the last two hours they let your dogs play in the pool too.

Only two complaints and that is that the pool gets a lot of stuff like leaves and twigs floating around in it. The other complaint is that there's no diving board. Nothing they can do about that though. :-(

The YWCA offers classes to people in need to get nursing certificates, help using computers, and other assistance for women who have survived abusive relationships and with other needs. It's a wonderful organization that has been around for over a century and is still going strong.