Lately, I've been getting out and about on days where the sun is out and when I'm not working. I've been trying to build up my time and distance endurance before I decide to do some serious hiking with groups in the region.
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Given that in male mode, I am bald, wearing a wig and going out for a long walk doesn't make any sense. Without makeup, my face looks masculine, and that's not the image I want to present on the trails. So I have decided to exercise in male mode. 😢 This is a hard choice for me, but one I needed to make.
Since the quarantine began, I've been out of the house as much as Mario as I have been as Marian. It's certainly strange to be finding some practicality for my male presentation. But with a life like mine, I'm used to "strange" by now. But after one outing as Marian with a little bit of blush on my face, reality hit me in the face. If I had decided to go all the way and have FFS, plus hair transplants, I'd be out as Marian. Yet, I'm not uncomfortable as Mario anymore. I can live in a half and half mode.
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Recently, people have started to go outside to enjoy the outdoors. Theaters are still closed, restaurants are only open for takeout in New York, and there are few diversions open to the public, save for walking in a local park. And the local parks have been overrun. In the case of Croton Dam Park (and its vicinity), the park is overflowing with cars, the road stub which once crossed the dam is packed with cars, and the overflow from that stub led to cars being parked on both sides of the road for a half mile up and down from the road stub. The county has had to put up signs to tell the public that this overflow parking is prohibited, and that cars will be towed if necessary. This has caused me to drive further North to enjoy my nature walks.
Virtually all of the walking I have done has been North of me, save for two walks along the Old Croton Aqueduct. I'll save walks along the aqueduct trail for days I don't have much time to drive to a trail head for walking. Most of the time, I've driven North to places which are (at least) an hour away from here, such as the Harlem Valley Rail Trail, Walkill Valley Rail Trail, and Dutchess County Rail Trail. Some of these trails are well maintained, such as the Dutchess trail. And others are poorly maintained, such as the Walkill Valley trail. I wonder what the O&W Rail Trail will look like when I go there. However, I will need to make sure to avoid certain sections of it for personal reasons.
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Soon, I expect to see restaurants in the Hudson Valley open up, now that the region is meeting the governor's criteria for reopening the economy. Once this happens, I'll walk a trail in the Kingston area and visit The Little Bear again. Hopefully, they will have survived the shutdown, and will again be serving great meals.
