Back From Topeka

I just got back from a wonderful four-day work trip to Topeka, Kansas. Okay, wonderful may be overstating things a bit, but I had a good time. The Coast Guard's Personnel Service Center is located there, and I was stationed there from 1990-92. I got to see a few old friends who retired and stayed there, transferred and came back, or are civilians who simply never left the place. I was able to run a couple of times while I was there. On Tuesday, the temps jumped up to almost 60 degrees. By the time I got out for a run, it was still in the mid-50s. On Wednesday the high temps were back down to the 20s. I was going to run, but I just don't own the right gear for that kind of cold. I could have kept my body warm, but my hands, face, and feet would have been freezing (maybe literally!). I ended up running ten miles in Gage Park on Tuesday, and I ran 5 miles on the treadmill before work Thursday morning. This was the first time I've run on a treadmill in over a year and a half. I remember the treadmill being easier than running on the roads, but it sure seemed tougher on Thursday.

Here are some pictures of my trip:

This is a lake in Gage Park.

An ice skater on a smaller lake in Gage Park

A pool with water slides that weren't there when I lived in Topeka

This is the house my wife and I lived in during our time in Topeka.

It became our daughter's first house