after finishing my potato salad for lunch, i rode the trek in the early afternoon to the UPS store to drop off my amazon returns before heading to market basket to pick up some groceries. i caught my first spearow in the parking lot. on my way back home i took out my phone to see if i could find any pokestops along the way. biking is the best way to make a lot of grounds in a short time. it's not as easy to pick up pokemons when you're biking - unless they happen to appear right around a pokestop. i noticed it yesterday but i'm beginning to see it more and more, just of people playing pokemon go. the demographics tend to skew young, and at least in camberville young adults. people who are older play in cars, i see plenty of people pulling over to the curb playing with their phones in a way that makes me suspect it's pokemon go. at the beacon street community garden - which happened to be a pokestop - i encountered a scyther. it took a few balls to capture it, but as soon as i did, the server went down and my capture never registered, just a frozen ball.

i live in an area where i'm surrounded by pokestops and gyms, but none close enough that i can tap from the comfort of my house. the closest pokestops still are about a block away walking. i decided to walk the community garden, which passes no less than 4 pokestops, courtesy of a nearby park and an elementary school. even the garden itself (a public space) is a pokestop. this was actually my first time playing pokemon go while walking (rather than biking). i tried not to look conspicuous, but people who are playing can probably spot other players. i picked up a bunch of pokeballs and eggs, and collected a few more pokemons. i decided to explore a bit more and see if i could circle the block, visiting even more pokestops. that's when i noticed a pokestop showering pink petals, which i learned is what happens when a pokemon lure is activated at a stop. so i turned back, hoping to score some pokemons. i looked around to see who casted the lure but didn't see anyone. there was a metapod and spearow, but i already have them, so i didn't bother collecting.

back at home, i decided to test out a pokemon incense, which apparently attracts pokemons for 30 minutes (unlike a lure, an incense is private). i read that it spawns more pokemons if you're walking compared to if you're just stationary, so i paced around the house, trying to trick the game into thinking i was actually out walking. there didn't seem to be that many pokemons, but i did catch a paras crab and a drowzee. that game me just enough experience points to attain level 5, which i can finally battle at the gyms. i also had to choose my team and i went with blue mystic.

the rest of the night there was no more pokemon activity, although i did catch an oddish while watching the republican national convention on tv. i'm also learning to transfer any repeat pokemons in my collection. finally, i incubated my first egg using the infinity incubator. i need to walk (or bike) 3 miles before it'll hatch.