Living in the Scoot Utopia

Well, the year is at an end, so I thought I'd look back at some of my favorite things to happen on this blog in the past year.

Favorite Barhopping Trip
I made 11 posts about barhopping trips this past year, including a trip though JoCo, a trip through East-Central Kansas to Salina, a 2-day trip through southeastern Iowa and northeastern Missouri, two separate trips through KCK, a trip through outlying areas north of town, a trip through outlying areas northeast of town, and a trip down 40 Hwy.

The barhopping post that received the most hits, feedback, and private emails (surprisingly to me), was Drinking NEMO, part 2 of a 2-day barhopping trip in June. The people in that region who read this post were just tickled that we visited their towns and had photographed and written up their favorite watering holes.

But my personal favorite barhopping experience was the day before where we decided to see how many bars we could have a drink at in one day. Driving the first part of the day and walking the rest, we ended up having drinks at 30 bars and I connected with a distant ancestor as part of the experience.
Read all about it here: The Big 30.

Favorite Walking Moment
This is a tough one. I walked from Liberty to Olathe [photos], walked from William Jewell to JCCC, and so far have led about 50 people on 3 group walks totaling about 40 miles. But the best moment wasn't part of one of these walks...

In May the Kansas City Star did a writeup about my walks and for the next several weeks people would stop me in the street and ask me about them. But the very best walking-related moment for me came from someone who did not recognize me. It happened in an elevator in one of the downtown office towers, as two women chatted with each other as a rode down with them.

Woman #1: "Where are you going for lunch today?"

Woman #2: I figured if he can do that then I have no excuse to not at least take short walks on my breaks.

I smiled and slinked away when the doors opened. It was the best feeling I had all year.

Most Unexpectedly Successful Post
On August 11 I wrote the story of a successful old quest of mine to find the source of a faint childhood memory involving a witch who makes happy pancakes and lots of polka dots.

Little did I realize how many people were haunted by the same memory!

Just look at the comments and feedback to my post about the Happy Pancake Witch...

I don't know what 2008 will have in store but I'm sure it will involve lots of walking and lots of beer, though I make no guarantees about magical pancakes.

Be safe New Year's Eve and have a Happy 2008!