Wednesday, June 4, 2008

A walk around "the wall"



A walk around the path at the East Campus Wall at Duke is beautiful, any season. One of my very favorite things to do, in fact. Even tonight, when at 8:30pm, the thermometer was still reading in excess of 90 degrees.

The magnolias are blooming now and they smell so sweet, but not as sweet as the Linden trees. Nothing compares to that scent--mmmm, so nice it stops you in your tracks. Other things that were pleasant to observe on this night: a Very Serious game of soccer by some young Latino guys on the grass near Broad and Markham; a fellow placidly doing T'ai Chi under the canvas of one of the enormous trees; a softball game at the brightly lit Williams Field; a 'beach' volleyball game on the big square of sand cut into the grass across from Whole Foods; some middle-school age guys walking the path and dribbling their basketball--either going to or from a pick-up basketball game I suppose.

People on the path were either serious about walking or running, earbuds attached, or just strolling and talking. Some (such as myself), sans blaring music in the earbuds, just enjoying the sounds of a lazy humid evening in the city. There was one couple hand-in-hand, others with kids in strollers, and dogs on leashes happily panting and trotting along.

Most everyone is willing to give a smile, or a nod of the head to say, "Hi neighbor."

Pic taken last fall on my walk around the wall:

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Enjoyed your entry. It's a beautiful area of Durham.

To find out what song writer for Norah Jones was 'born on a kitchen table' near the East Campus wall... or where Richard Nixon lived as a Duke Law student, the origin of Walltown or why Ninth Street is called Ninth Street, you can click here...

http://www.owdna.org/selfguidedtourOWD.htm

Anonymous said...

I had two favorite walks in high school: Around the Duke Wall and To the Reservoir.

To the Reservoir is also lovely (I suppose depending on your direction), as you can see all the unique homes and trees on the way.

Anonymous said...

The beautiful East Campus wall!