By Cynthia Robertson | SDUN Reporter
Like clockwork, every Friday evening at 4:20 p.m., Pat Peterson arrives in front of Espresso Mio, located at 1920 Fort Stockton Dr. in Mission Hills. She walks just a few blocks from her house and waits by the newsstand at the corner. One by one, a dozen people show up to join her.
Right on the dot at 4:30 p.m., the walkers push off in search of familiar sights and neighborhood surprises.
Peterson is the leader of a walk called Mission Hills Meander, one of the countless walks offered by Walkabout International, a San Diego-based organization. Since 1993, she has been leading the walk through the neighborhood of fine homes, charming gardens and along canyon rims.
The friends who join her have long been faithful walkers with her, some since the first day she began the walk. They walk at a moderate pace through the neighborhood as they talk about family and health, friends and vacations. Many believe that the walks offer a sort of therapy, giving people the chance to mingle with one another.
People who are shy may not feel they could ever participate in such a walk. However, they will find that usually their fellow walkers respect each other’s needs for privacy. Sometimes it is just good to get out and listen to others talk, smell the roses and admire the warm fires of a family enjoying their meal in the dining room.
Peterson said that after a long term relationship broke up badly, she needed an activity to distract her. That is why she began the walk.
Then again, she has lived in Mission Hills for forty years. “I have friends here and love the homey one of-a-kind-homes and the friendly atmosphere,” she said. “Besides, I needed a moderate walk on Friday evenings.”
The happy group has its own kind of “The Price Is Right” game in guessing the prices of homes for sale. In 1970, Peterson noted, the price of a middle-class house might have been $25,000.
“Now that same house would sell for $700,000 or more,” she said. “Many one-story homes have now become two-stories.”
So the walker who provides the winning bid gets a slap on the back and a joke that they’ll all share the home.
“We often see movies being filmed here,” Peterson said.
“And we often are invited into homes, usually by the husband—what wife wants an unexpected flock of strangers to view her not-dressed-up-for company-home?” she said.
Such an invitation was how the group got to see the Orizaba Housek, with the original stairway from Captain Johnson Orizaba that was shipped from San Francisco to San Diego in the 1800s.
“On another visit inside a home, everyone in the group was treated to a glass of wine,” Peterson said.
Most Friday evenings, the flock of walkers—as Peterson calls them—are greeted warmly by the neighbors sitting out on their porches watching their children play in the front yard.
