Fun with a Fitbit

After Tuesday's walk, I decided to kill two birds with one stone and go through to Cape Town to collect my returned passport and Schengen visa application. Living in the Deep South means that most trips 'over the mountain' via Ou Kaapse Weg should be combined with as many errands as possible, as the traffic congestion is horrendous. I left the Silvermine reserve car park and followed the rest of our group down to the Steenberg Village for a quick lunch, then set off for town in an effort to beat the traffic home. It was only 2pm and as I drove through Newlands, the traffic out of town was already backing up to the University of Cape Town and I envisaged my route home via Camps Bay, Hout Bay and Chapman's Peak - always a great pleasure due to the scenic beauty, but annoying to have to pay a toll.
When I reached the building I was going to, I didn't park outside the door in the bus stop like last time, as I could arrive unannounced and without an appointment. So I rode around the block a little, looking for cheap parking, but none was to be found and I u-turned back down Strand Street to the Picbel Parkade. I haven't been into the Parkade for probably 25 to 30 years, but remember it as one of the very first multi-storey parking garages in the city and quite a marvel of convenience at the time. I wound my way up, up and up to the 6th floor where I was able to park quite easily in the ample space provided - unlike many newer parking areas where you can barely open your door once you have squeezed into the narrow space; it's about making an extra buck on an extra car.
The lift area was bright, white and immaculate, with a box in place of an up/down arrow to summon the lifts. The instruction was to punch in the number of the floor you were parked on, and the appropriate designated lift would arrive - no floor selection in the lift except for the shopping floors on the lower levels. Very interesting and convenient, and although it took me a while to figure it out, on my return I pressed that button like a seasoned commuter.
The shops in the arcade brought back memories of the 70s when I worked nearby and did all my shopping during lunch hours. Nothing had changed too much except for new names and modernisation, and the area was spotless and well-served by security. Living in a little backwater by the sea tends to make one forget the bustle of the city, and it's good to make these trips into the streets of Cape Town from time to time to reconnect with the vitality found there.
In no time, I was in the queue to collect my passport, only fractionally anxious in case the visa had been rejected. I needn't have worried - I was granted a 2.5 year visa just by ticking the request! What a feeling of freedom it is to clutch in your clammy hand a passport with visas to see the world!
Anyway, the purpose of this whole lengthy tome is to say that, when I finished the hike, I didn't turn off my Fitbit and so my entire day, from the time I began the hike at Silvermine, to lunch and town, looking for parking and circling up and down the Picbel Parkade, the drive home to Kommetjie until I eventually parked in my garage, is recorded on my Fitbit App. I was treated to a congratulatory  display on my phone screen to celebrate a hike of 63.3km achieved in 7 hours 33mins. Lunch took 64 minutes. My passport was retrieved in 36 minutes (including going up and down in the lifts and leaving town), and I took 15 minutes to get from the Sun Valley robot to the Kommetjie Road.
Just to show you can have fun with a Fitbit. It doesn't have to be a serious exercise tool!