Boldly Go Solo

The Christmas 11. Holiday hiking for those looking to get out of the house

The "11" refers to the number of miles.

While others were unwrapping presents or scarfing down turkey or perhaps banging forlornly on the doors of closed stores, 20 of us gathered for a Christmas Day hike.

A long one.

It was hosted by the Wanderbirds, a hiking club that more typically hires a bus to drive hikers from the Washington, D.C., area to the Shenandoah Mountains for day-long, scenic hikes.

The hike was one of at least three offered by area hiking clubs.

We started at Brookside Gardens in Wheaton, Maryland. Everything was closed but the gates to the parking lot.

After hiking out of the gardens, we ended up on trails in the Rachel Carson Conservation Park.

Just one pileated woodpecker made its presence known during the four hours we tromped through the woods. Often I hear lots of them on local hikes, "creating starter homes" as a fellow hiker joked.

The day was chilly. But you warm up nicely at a brisk pace and this pace was more than brisk. That leader had some long legs!

9 outdoor ice skating rinks for the solo traveler, with bonus rinks slipped in

The cold weather is starting to settle in here in the Northern hemisphere.

Instead of settling into your sofa, how about slipping out for some ice skating in the great outdoors? At scenic ice rinks around the world?

The globalgrasshopper writes about 10 of the world's best outdoor ice rinks, (However, the one in Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, is no longer open.)

Ice skating is a perfect way for solo travelers to people watch and get some exercise at the same time.

Rinks with magnificent backdrops can be found in front of the town hall in Vienna; beneath the Eiffel Tower in Paris; within sight of the stunning El Capitan and Half Dome in Yosemite National Park in the U.S. and elsewhere.

I'd like to add two others, only because I've personally tested them. Skip the skating at the expensive and packed ice rink at New York City's Rockefeller Center and head straight to the skating rink in Central Park.

You get views of the city but also feel the spaciousness of the park around you.

And then there's the National Gallery of Art's Sculpture Garden ice rink in Washington, D.C. Open already. Skate to the music while gazing at the terrific sculptures, by Roy Lichtenstein and others.