After leaving Fort Kent, I realized that today would be a day to ease into pushing my cart again....with quite a bit of weight. Yep, I packed way too much stuff in it. Things like rain boots, big container of peanut butter, etc, you know, heavy things. But they make me happy, so I will push them across the country! Another happy part of my day, besides pushing my way-too-heavy cart, was walk/running beside the St John River and the Canadian border - all day. It was like a up close and personal tour of the border towns. I ohhhh'd and awww'd at their magnificent churches, their mountains, and their quaint little towns. After all, it just was a stones throw across the river. And that river - just gorgeous! It helped take my attention away from the mountains of Maine. This goes back to my acclimation. I'm adjusting to having my cart again, and I will need a feed days to acclimate. John and I both started out slow today, he with only a pack, and doing a run/walk with it. After a few hours of us moving along at a adjustment-pace, I took off to set my own pace. We would meet up in Van Buren that night. He had a particular place he wanted to stay (the only motel in this small town), after a long day on the road. I was fine with that, as a shower would feel good!
I made it to Van Buren and checked us in. John will arrive a bit later. Our dinner choices in this small town, where everything closes "early ", was a convenience store and a dollar store. Since they would both be closed when John gets here, I got him a sandwich and diet Mountain Dew at the convenience store (his request) and put it in his room. The sandwiches there did not look that great to me, so I went to the dollar store for my dinner. Let's see.....lunch meat. Check. Expiration date looks okay. Crackers. Check. That will be just fine tonight. I'll eat better tomorrow. The options today were limited, as these small towns we went through had minimal choices. No fancy lobster dinner for me. Poo. Dollar Store food is better than no food.
My biggest challenge today was a off-and-on shoulder. Smooth shoulder, nice size. Then BAM. No shoulder, and gravel/grass to contend with. It takes a lot of my time to push through that. Either that, or I go up on the road when no cars are coming, then back in the gravel when a car is approaching. I have to really watch. But the smooth road is to hard to resist. I ended up with quite a few bug bites from the side of the road. Part of the deal. I even had bug spray on!
I did spend my fair share of time talking to people who had a thousand questions about what I was doing. I try not to use too much time doing that. But people are inquisitive and curious creatures. I oblige as much as possible. What I did succeed in was NO police-pullovers today!! Yay!! How did I do it, you ask? I used fabric paint to say "Run/Walk to Key West" on the front of my cart (reflective bright yellow). And I did the same type of thing on the back of my shirt. "Run/Walk across America". This eliminated passerby calling to say I'm pushing a baby in a stroller down the highway. It's now clear what I'm doing. Success so far!
Tomorrow, we plan on going 35 miles to Presque Isle. Short day compared to today. I know I said we would do around 30 miles a day. We probably will sometimes. Just not yet.
I'm pooped, and will head to bed. We'll get a early start tomorrow and enjoy the cool morning weather. Love it!!
One last thing.....Maine is beautiful! It's well manicured, clean as a whistle, and has more mountains than I realized. I've never been here, but the summer here is amazing. I did see a huge dead moose on the side of the road. It's a thing here. To watch for moose. Because when you hit one, it's like hitting a wall. Deadly. Often for the human - and the moose.
Let's do this again tomorrow!
Cyndi
No comments:
Post a Comment