A few weekends ago it was unseasonable warm day for March in Philly. So I decided to take my dog Hurt (yes, that is his name not a typo and no I did not name him nor do I know where his name cam from) for a nice long walk along the river. This is a real treat for him, it being a much more scenic walk with more interesting things for him to smell and pee on than our normal walk in my neighborhood. I got hurt in the car and we got on the highway.
It is a short little trip only about two exits from my house to the off ramp for the river. Well just as we get off the highway and approached where we should park we run into a detour. The detour takes us on an unfamiliar route through the park. Unfortunately after the first detour sign there were no others. My strategy to follow the traffic ahead of me back to the river failed. Apparently the cars ahead of me were not taking there dogs for walks by the river. We ended up on the other side of town :-(
Hurt was getting anxious to get out the car and start his walk so I parked where we were, in the park, on the other side of town and Hurt and I set out walking. He was just as happy with this new location as he would have been by the river. He sniffed all of the plants, grasses, and rocks and peed on every tree, post, or stick that was taller than him.
You cant tell but that sign above the picnickers says no picnicking lol
While Hurt surveyed the area from ground level to 12 inches up I took in everything else. I noticed a group of people having a picnic in the park. It was a kind of a large group. They were playing Frisbee. As we walked along the path I noticed another group playing Frisbee, and another and another. I thought Wow! I didn't know people were that into Frisbee. I also noticed signs with numbers and heard the people yelling "FOUR".
When Hurt and I turned around to head back to the car, that is when I saw the sign for Sedgley Woods Disc Golf Course. I had never heard of Disc Golf before. So, when I got back to the car I asked a young woman who had been hula-hooping (yes hula-hooping, you did not misread) if she knew what Disc Golf was. She was more than happy to explain it to me. She said Disc Golf was just like real golf except instead of golf balls and clubs you play with discs similar to Frisbees (but smaller) and instead of the hole being in the ground a metal "hole" basket like contraption hangs from the trees.
from wikipedia
Here is what wikipedia has to say about Disc Golf. Disc golf is a disc game in which individual players throw a flying disc at a target. The object of the game is to traverse a course from beginning to end in the fewest number of throws of the disc. The game is played in about 40 countries around the world.
So I am now a throwing round things into wholes obsessed Disc Golfer. OK, no I'm not. But its nice to know that if I wanted to be one there is a course filled with Disc Golfers less than a 15 minute drive from my house.
There is a quote that says “The really happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery when on a detour.” That day I was reminded that there are all kinds of people with all kinds of interests in this world even 15 minutes from my own back yards. That day Hurt and I enjoyed the scenery along our detour.
Have you ever heard of or played disc golf? What interesting things have you found while lost or on a detour?