[The gang, minus two...one's taking the picture. Thanks Ed! And one cut out before 4th Street Bridge. ]
We all gathered at noon on Sunday at Union Station and were eager to begin the adventure. I came prepared with some information for the walkers on Merrill Butler, the City Engineer responsible for most of the Bridges we were about to ascend, and Eric was loaned a book which contained other various information on each Bridge that he shared with the group at appropriate points along the route. Bright eyed and bushy tailed we set out for the Cesar Chavez Bridge which was the shortest of the bunch. A quick, uneventful jaunt down Mission and we were soon heading over the 1st Street Bridge back towards Downtown. This was a wonderful bridge partly due to the fact that there’s currently construction barriers set up for the impending widening of the bridge which allowed us to walk on the roadway itself. Then we walked down Santa Fe in the shadow of SCI-Arc stopping briefly at the Molino Street Lofts for a rooftop view of Downtown and the 4th Street Bridge…next up on our list.
The 4th Street Bridge was, a one walker described, “the bridge most in need of a good scrub down.” On the Boyle Heights side we stopped at a local corner market to grab refreshments and then had a pleasant walk along a stretch of Boyle that consist of lots of lovely Victorian homes as well as the Hollenbeck Park. An oasis in the city with a freeway running through it. 6th Street Bridge was next and by far the longest one of the bunch. Unfortunately the day was hazy so taking pictures of Downtown proved to be not quite as fruitful as I had wished.
The best views on all bridges were to the North and South respectively and of the various trains and graffiti that line the riverfront. Back in Downtown and after the 6th Street Bridge is where we lost a few walkers due to various reasons: a tired puppy and prior commitments. 9 of us continued down Mateo and East over the 7th Street Bridge. From here I was essentially on auto pilot, pacing the rest of the pack by about ¼ of a mile with fellow walker Larry. At that point I just wanted to get out of the hot sun and have it all be over. Seriously, what was I thinking when I put this together?
We ended the day by refueling at Royal Claytons. FYI, you’re allowed to eat fish and chips and beer without any worries about calorie intake after you’ve clocked 7 miles walking. That’s a cold, hard fact. At least in my mind it is…
All in all I think everyone had a good time. One person drove all the way from New Mexico for this outing and since then I’ve received a few requests to do this walk again....although I think next time I’d take out the last 2 bridges, making it a shorter walk and ultimately much more manageable on many levels. Hollenbeck Park could be explored in more detail as well in a shortened version.
There were a handful of local bloggers that attended and have since posted words and pictures from the event: Melanie at Daily Guilt, Ed from View From A Loft, Scott from Go For Locations and Penny from Penny's Playhouse.
It’s only a matter of time before I create some other crazy urban exploration adventure…and to think, this all wouldn’t have come about if it weren’t for that darn Wilshire Walk. Thanks Mike.
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