It Was a Dark and Foggy Morning ...

 Sounds like the beginning of a scary movie, but no.

Those were the words running through my head when I started out early Wednesday morning to walk the DC Batman Virtual 5K.

Driving the 17 miles to a different mall than I walked last week, I ran into fog almost as thick as pea soup. Arriving at the mall, it felt even more like the beginning of a scary movie when I walked up on a funeral being set up.

But actually, the mall walk was great ... safe. So safe that I felt comfortable with the pepper spray canister placed in my fanny pack, rather than lock and loaded, at the ready in my hand.

With not the usual mall traffic one would experience before the pandemic, the mall was taken over by us walkers. And there were a lot of us. All giving friendly waves as we passed at a distance. And all wearing masks, because it’s a requirement to be masked to even be on the property. Not just to enter any of the shops/stores, but to be on the property ... period.

My Runkeeper app failed halfway through the walk, so I didn’t get a reading showing route, time. However, inasmuch as that’s happened before ─ when an app failed, I carry a backup fitbit as a precaution, which backup indicated I ended up walking three and a half miles. Didn’t indicate how long it took me though, but I’m guessing a while because I stopped to take pics of interesting window displays.

Like this one at H&M of the spooky twins in The Shinning.

And there with this Christmas tree, gifts, snow at Anthropologie, the chain which sells boho-chic womenswear, shoes, accessories & home décor.

Too Soon?

Passing the posters at the movie theatre, I stopped to take a selfie ─ to show off the Batman Hair Buff I was wearing, which came in the race packet.

I also liked the message on the movie poster.

So, at three and a half miles, I’ve more than earned my race swag  ─ medal, cap, jacket, hair buff.
 

I’m passing on the Halloween Spooktacular 5K, opting instead to do the Run for Claus in December.

In the interim, I'll probably drive the 17 miles to take short walks though the mall and it's surrounding neighborhood.

Speaking of which, I so enjoyed the area that I looked into what it would be like to live close by.

Turned out to be the perfect examples of why we shouldn't judge a book by it's cover AND all that glitters is not gold.

The senior complex in the area had the WORSE reviews and, though already charging a fortune to live there, raise the rent on the seniors every six months.

The regular apartment buildings I spied in the area, also costing an arm and two legs, are plagued by car thefts, burglaries. Plus, parking is commented multiple times as being "a nightmare".

Here isn't perfect, but upscale appears to be disappointing and far far worse.

I'll continue to live here, drive the miles.