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For some reason, potato chips with my coffee before an 8:30 a.m. Pluvicto infusion felt mildly rebellious. No lingering guilt.

No walking today, but I did do about 150 steps and an elevator ride to the workout room. For some reason, a lean-forward posture on an exercise bike is fine for a short while. ​I was the only taker; everyone else was either at work or enjoying the beautiful weather outside.

Well, that was fast! This morning, the physical therapist recommended a lumbar roll, so I ordered one on Amazon. Four hours later, it was in the mailroom downstairs at no extra charge. Beyond sitting with this, I’ve got exercises about six times a day and no walking for now, though we decided the 0.2 miles to Maxwell’s Pub for dinner this evening doesn’t count.

On the way back from a cuppa, my friend asked to be reminded about the red building. I explained it was originally built as a brothel and owned by a woman, which was unusual for the era. Right on the next block, as if to counteract this, we passed a modern building slated for a major remodel to become a Lutheran seminary.

Today, as usual, my range was 0.2 miles, just enough to reach Open Book. The kindness of strangers brightens my day, like the young guy who noticed me approaching two sets of doors and turned back to hold both open for me. Seats are always welcome, including this one where I can rest while waiting for the lights to change. I’m certainly gaining insight into the slow-go years, but I’m hoping physical therapy and an MRI will put me back on the path to the go-go years.

Sunday is a day without medical stuff… usually. This morning, our building’s community room was turned into an efficient vaccination clinic where we got our flu and COVID shots. Not so efficient, the pharmacists will be spending their Sunday afternoon manually entering all that insurance information.

My hiking pole gives me extra stability on walks, but I have a bad habit of leaving it behind, including at home. Today I attached a tracker, so now my watch vibrates if I walk away without it. I posted on social media to see if anyone has a better way to mount it.

Walking is very important to me. This morning, I walked to Open Book for a cuppa and an old-fashioned donut, and in the afternoon, I saw my family medicine physician, each about 0.2 miles from our building. For now, walking 0.2 miles slowly is plenty, made possible by Gabapentin until physical therapy hopefully resolves this. I’m so grateful for my compassionate care team.

Gangs* of wild turkeys at the U believe they own the campus. Today, they were doing very effective traffic-calming duty as we drove back from early morning medical appointments in the rain. (*Yes, that is the correct collective noun.)

Gold Medal Park was looking very fine today from our home, though it’s a reminder of excessive healthcare profits. It was funded by a former CEO of UnitedHealth, the world’s largest healthcare company, headquartered here in the Twin Cities. When he retired, he walked away with an enormous haul, fueled in part by backdated stock options. Even after repaying roughly $600 million, he had plenty left for local philanthropy. Tomorrow, we sign up for our 2027 health plan through a Minnesota nonprofit, definitely not UnitedHealth.

On our way home, we stopped south of Duluth at the Purple Car Cafe, which had a fun grade-school vibe with bold colors and handwritten chalkboard signs.

Dwight and my brother-in-law went off for a hike, while I contented myself with gentler horizons. We’re in a ski area, so I took a gondola to the top of Moose Mountain. I’ve hiked up this mountain and to points beyond many times, but today I satisfied myself with a seat in the cafe at the top, admiring the view.

Sunrise over Lake Superior this morning from our unit as we prepared to check out, meet up with our brother-in-law, and head to Lutsen for a change of scenery for a couple of nights. (Photo by Dwight.)

I felt my age until I got on my bicycle on this beautiful fall day. While Dwight hiked the hills, I explored a short section of the Gitchi-Gami in the opposite direction from yesterday, staying a little closer to Lake Superior this time.

Dropped Dwight off at the Sawbill Trail trailhead for the Superior Hiking Trail. Went for a short ride on the Gitchi-Gami Trail, which goes right past where we’re staying. Here, I’m looking down at the Temperance River, so named because there is no sandbar (“no bar”) where it flows into Lake Superior. I’ll go with the Ojibwe name: Kawimbash, meaning “deep hollow river.”

We’re back at Bluefin Bay on Lake Superior’s North Shore for maybe the twentieth time. The unit has a kitchen, but we usually eat breakfast and dinner at the resort’s restaurants. Tomorrow, I’ll go for a bike ride on the Gitchi-Gami State Trail while Dwight hikes the Superior Hiking Trail.