Ouch.

So last Friday, I was waiting on a call from a company, because they had called me back into their office to ask me a couple of questions and find out when I was available to start work. I was under the impression I would have heard from them on Monday. The whole week passed, and I heard nothing. Today has pretty much passed, and I've still heard nothing.

I'm irritated that a company can flake out like that on their job candidates. It seemed like 97% certain to me that they wanted to hire me. However, I'm not losing sleep over it.

I have a second interview on Thursday that I'm looking forward to, and a second interview next week for the job that I want the most. I think I'm really close to a job that I will definitely enjoy, and it's about time!

That's not the ouch that I'm talking about, though. I am talking about the ouch of a lot of exercise all at once! Our friend Mike invited us hiking yesterday in Wissahickon Valley Park, which is part of the massive Fairmount Park system in Philadelphia. It wasn't so much a hike for me as a long walk--I know my limits, and I know that climbing up and down hills will wear me out really fast. I stuck to the flat, picturesque path. It's a fun walk with scenery that is both pretty and historical. Where we hopped on the trail was the Cedars House, which has been around since the late nineteenth century. The whole trail area used to house several mills, so there are some dams in the creek, and many bridges you can cross on various trails.

It's just a happy trip. People are riding their horses or their bikes. They are running alone, or with a friend, or in a group. There are families walking together with dogs and babies in strollers. There are old couples holding hands. There's plenty of greenery and flowers, and there are benches if you get tired. Fairmount Park is apparently home to a lot of sculptures, including this one that we could see across the creek from the path we followed, way up on the hillside. He's built right in, looking west. If you don't stop to look for him, you might miss him along the way:

We stopped for some drinks and ice cream cones at the Valley Green Inn, which is right along the trail. Where their actual parking lot is, I'm not sure, but it's like coming up on an oasis if you don't know what's about to hit you. The inn itself serves really tasty-looking food if you scan their menu, but they maintain a snack stand with picnic tables at the side for anybody passing by with ice cream, sandwiches, water, Gatorade, soft pretzels, etc. And how cute is this little building?Needless to say, today I'm sore. My thigh muscles especially. It was a 3 mile jaunt from our car to the Valley Green, so another 3 miles back. I didn't expect to have so much fun, but I thought it was really great. If anything, it inspires me to exercise more during the week so if I get the urge for a long weekend walk, I won't be hurting so much the day after. Also, if Matt and I are looking for a nice, romantic evening out, we might just want to figure out where the Valley Green's parking lot actually is (walking 3 miles in heels to get dinner? haha!) and try the real menu. Hey, that soft serve was pretty delicious...