"Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan." JFK

I accepted the challenge and now I am now am feeling the intoxication of victory. I set out, cautiously, to walk 10,000 steps without the crutch of my walking poles. I made it, exactly 11,413 to be accurate. I never felt a festinating step. It helped, I think, that the temperature hit 80F. Tomorrow, I will challenge myself once more.

One problem; we have been coming here for 15 years and I remember running the "board walk" (it is a tiled path) with ease. Now I am reduced to walking. I also remember 14 George Hamilton tans but this year I have had to slather myself with sun screen. The reason: on the 11th, I have an appointment with my dermatologist who has warned me, quite harshly actually, to keep out of the sun and there is no way I will show up in a precancerous shade of brown. So no more running and no more sun tanning. Bummer.

Tune in tomorrow.