Day 37

Woke up and ate a big free breakfast at the hotel. I did laundry and packed up. I wasn’t sure if I was ready to walk but I started to walk anyways. I first had to back track a mile to go to a pet store to get Domino some shoes. We were going to be walking on pavement until Cincinnati so I had to get something for her.

We get there and I them on her and it was hilarious. Poor thing. I have a video that I’ll post on my Facebook page. She adjusted to them quickly though, as I knew she would. She really is a great dog and learns very fast. We get back on the trail that leads to the highway and I saw a Sonic up ahead. I contemplated it and chose to go ahead and eat a good cheeseburger and tots rather than beef jerky and protein bars as I would be for the rest of the day.

Ate and it took forever. Of course. I got back on the road and FINALLY  made it out of Athens. I was happy to leave there. It was a bummer that I overdid myself to the point that I couldn’t enjoy such a cool town.

As I was walking I started to use techniques that I’ve learned over the years to get myself out of my funk. I thought that one major factor could’ve been that I was in Ohio. Before I even started all I was telling myself was to just get to Ohio. I knew that West Virginia was going to be tough so I prepared myself for it. Once I made it to Ohio and had the high of reaching my goal, I then felt a little lost. Like I lost my purpose.

So now I’m going to work towards reaching the Mississippi River. I’m going to put it all on the line to get there and then I’ll get sad again and then tell myself to get to the Rockies.. and so on..

So I started to feel better about that part. Music was helping with the walking. I was taking care of myself better so the chafing and hydration and calorie intake were all good. I was getting back into it I thought to myself.

I came upon a rest stop. High heaven for a person walking across America. I stop and take full advantage of the amenities. A guy from Facebook was nearby and I messaged him to come meet me there if he could. He wanted to come say hello. He has been clean since December after 13 years of using. I was happy to meet him. I talked to him and a few other people at that rest stop. I found my purpose in again in the conversation with Jay. He gave me a bracelet that supports the organization that is helping him stay clean. Warriors 4 Christ. He told me that if I needed anything while I’m in the area to hit him up.

Things were looking up again. My head was back in the game!

I set out on the busy highway again and started my music and Take it Easy by the Eagles came on. Yeah.

I had about 3 hours left of sunlight and I was determined to get at least 6 more miles before looking for a place to camp. I was feeling good and the hot sun was getting cooler as the evening was approaching.

A pretty woman pulls over and hops out of her car to see what me and Domino were up to. She approved and gave us some money to help out with food and got back into her car quickly as to not slow us down too much. I really appreciated her doing all of that. It was just so nice to be back in the right state of mind and all of the positive interactions just made it all even better.

I passed by a small airport and watched a couple of planes land. I rolled up and down the hills of Ohio. Listening to great music without a care in the world.

My mom calls and asks if I knew where I was going to be sleeping tonight. Nope. Hadn’t even thought about it haha. It was 6:30 at that point. I told her I had another hour before I needed to worry about that. That’s what I did. Kept walking for a little over an hour more and as the sun was getting low I found a spot out of sight and set up my tent and threw everything I needed for the night inside.

I got out my food and cooked chicken and rice and threw my food bag back into Jenny and wrapped the tarp around her. It keeps the morning dew from getting all of my gear wet. Also gives any critters who want to get in a harder time so that me or domino have a better chance of hearing them trying to get into it and allowing me to scare them off  before they get the loot.

I set up the inside of the tent and left the rain fly off for the first time since I’ve started. I have been keeping it on either for rain or to keep the heat in as it’s always been cold at night when we sleep. Tonight it’s not supposed to go below 50 degrees which is easily manageable in my sleeping bag. Domino should be fine too. So I get to look out at the stars and moon all night and it should help vent out the tent so it won’t be so wet with condensation in the morning.

I’m about 135 miles to Cincinnati. I’m setting a tentative goal to be there in 10 days. I am hoping to spend a few days off while I’m there to hang out and explore the city. We’ll see!

It’s nice to be back to being Brett again. I owe all of you guys for helping. I get overwhelmed at times but I do love having you all to share this experience with. I’m hoping that tomorrow will be another good day. I’m trying to take it easy and make sure to remember the important things like gold bond and sunscreen and all the stuff that prevents discomfort if ignored. We’ll see how that goes…