PING

I often leave my home when I am about to embark on an urban hike with no idea where I am heading. There are times that I walk out the door and have not yet decided whether I will walk North, South or West.  (East is not really an option as within just four blocks or so is Lake Michigan)  Yesterday, I had a very specific goal to walk to PING TOM MEMORIAL PARK in Chinatown. Chinatown is only about 5 miles south of my home. I took a rather circuitous route to get there.  I did not arrive at Chinatown before I had walked approximately 14 miles. Although I had only visited Humboldt Park for the very first time on Friday, I decided to revisit it on Sunday morning. From Humboldt Park I walked south to Douglas Park. Douglas Park, like Humboldt Park has been available to Chicagoans since the 1800's. After cruising through Douglas Park I was finally headed to Chinatown to find and see for the very first time, Ping Tom Memorial Park.  I 'discovered' it online early on Sunday morning while trying to figure out where I should go.

The sign announcing Ping Tom Memorial Park was not particularly grand.

I made sure to take at least one photo that would show that I was in Chinatown while I visited Ping Tom Park.

Inside Ping Tom Memorial Park one is greeted by these four tall decorative concrete pillars.  The assumption is that they have some significance, but whatever that is was completely hidden from me until I learned a bit more from wikipedia...

The park's entrance is marked by four 20 feet (6.1 m)-tall columns, each etched with Chinese dragons and is modeled after a traditional Chinese courtyard. The park contains Chinese-influenced gardens that include ginkgo trees and bamboo. 

On Saturday my urban hike was only 7 miles, apparently I had stored up a lot of energy by the time I set out on Sunday morning. I don't think that I planned on walking 20 miles. One does not often plan on walking 20 miles - it sometimes just happens. At least it does to me.

Sunday's 20 mile urban hike covered a lot of ground.

Ping Tom Park was not so easy to find. Unlike most parks which can be accessed from anywhere around its perimeter, this park had a narrow entrance/exit. There was only one way in and the same way out. 

.

Your Food Diary For:

Sunday, September 25, 2016

BREAKFAST	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
Roundy's - Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal	360	72	6	12	780	12
	360	72	6	12	780	12
L U N C H
Philadelphia Roll w/Brown Rice, 8 piece	320	40	12	8	520	8
WHOLE CASHEWS (RAW), 35 g (approx 1/4 cup)	180	8	14	5	0	2
Whole Foods - Pulp-free Coconut Water, 32 ounces	200	56	0	0	240	44
Homemade - Breakfast Burrito	300	26	20	12	790	2
Roundy's - Center Cut Bacon, 3 Slices	70	0	4	7	220	0
	1,070	130	50	32	1,770	56
D I N N E R
Codfish - Codfish fillet	250	0	3	54	186	0
Fried Okra, 1.0 Cup	175	14	6	2	123	2
Brussel Sprouts - Roasted	50	12	0	4	29	3
Cream corn - Cream Corn	60	14	0	0	0	0
Bread - Cornbread	150	28	3	3	0	0
85% Dark Chocolate Bar	400	32	36	8	0	13
	1,085	100	48	71	338	18
S N A C K S
Trader Joes - 73% Extra Dark Chocolate	80	7	5	1	10	4
	80	7	5	1	10	4
Totals	2,595	309	109	116	2,898	90
Your Daily Goal	7,192	899	239	360	2,300	269
Remaining	4,597	590	130	244	-598	179
	Calories kcal	Carbs g	Fat g	Protein g	Sodium mg	Sugar g
	*You've earned 5,262 extra calories from exercise today

If every day were like today...
You'd weigh 163.3 lbs in 5 weeks     

I think congratulations are in order... All I need to do for the next five weeks is keep my daily consumption of food to 2600 calories and walk 27 miles each day.  If I can do that for the next 35 consecutive days, I will soon weigh 163.5 pounds.  This may be a bit difficult to attain - but it is fun to contemplate. If nothing else, somewhat like Steve Martin, I am a wild and contemplative guy.

Your Exercise Diary for:

Sunday, September 25, 2016

Cardiovascular	Minutes	Calories Burned
20 MILE URBAN HIKE	264	3,907
7 MILE URBAN HIKE	125	1,043
MFP iOS calorie adjustment	N/A	312
Daily Total / Goal	390 / 30	5,262 / 590
Weekly Total / Goal	1345 / 210	19,537 / 4,130

.
For most people a long 20 mile hike in the early morning would be quite enough for one day. I am not most people. I managed a seven mile hike which included meeting my family at a nearby store in the early evening.

some history from the Chicago Park District website.

The Chicago Park District acquired the site for Ping Tom Memorial Park in 1991. For years, its surrounding Chinatown community had suffered a total lack of open space and recreational facilities. The only nearby parks, Hardin Square and Stanford Park, had been demolished 30 years earlier to make way for the Dan Ryan Expressway. Two full generations of children in Chinatown grew up without access to a neighborhood park or any recreational area. Ping Tom Memorial Park's 12-acre site was originally a Chicago and Western Indiana Railroad yard located along the edge of the South Branch of the Chicago River. In 1998, the Chicago Park District began transforming the old rail-yard into a beautiful rolling green space, taking full advantage of impressive river views. The park has a children's playground, community gathering areas, and Chinese landscape design elements. The park was named in honor of the leading force behind its creation, Chinatown's most noted civic leader, Ping Tom (1935-1995). A lifelong resident of Chinatown, Ping Tom formed the Chinese American Development Corporation in 1984. The private real estate firm transformed a 32-acre rail yard site into Chinatown Square, a $100 million dollar residential and commercial expansion of Chinatown. Active in numerous prominent civic and cultural institutions, Ping Tom was also an advisor to U.S. senators, Illinois governors, and Chicago mayors. In 2002, the Chicago Park District acquired 5 additional acres on the northeast side of the park. Landscape improvements to the expanded area of Ping Tom Memorial Park will soon follow.