Days 50 & 51

Day 50 was an off day. I thought it was supposed to thunderstorm so I took the whole day off and had plans later in the evening. I’d realized that I had left a package back at the hotel I was at in Cincinnati and I really needed it. A friend of mine sent me some insoles and I left before they got there. One of the day’s goals was to get back to Cincinnati to pick it up.

I tried Uber but I was in a small town that hasn’t gotten there yet. No Uber. I asked the hotel if they had an airport shuttle. I was thinking I could shuttle to the airport and then use public transportation to the hotel and then do the same thing back.

No shuttle at the hotel. There weren’t many options. I asked a nice lady I’d been talking to who offered to help if I needed anything. I needed something but I still was shy to ask. I asked and she showed up to pick me up in 20 minutes. We drove to Cincinnati and picked up what I needed and drove back and her and her husband bought me lunch and we ate on a patio with Domino. It was great.

Later that evening I had plans that she had put together for me. It was something like a dinner party. There ended up being like 20 people who showed up and we all ate and talked and took pictures and I got to meet them all. Not One More is the name of the organization that they work with and they do great work for the cause. It was so nice of them to come together to help me out. They arranged to have another organization 1Voice there too. As well as a few mothers that live in the area with children who battle addiction.

They also arranged to have the news there. I did an interview with Fox 19 which is out of Cincinnati. So I ended up getting on the Cincinnati news after all.

It was so nice to have the company of so many nice people to have dinner with. I wanted to stay all night. It was a great welcome into Indiana!

The next day I woke up late and packed up to get ready for a long walk. I was excited to see how these insoles hold up. My feet have been a small concern of mine for a while now. If I don’t find a solution to this certain pain I’m having then I may have to take a long time off to figure it out. I don’t want to do that.

Anyways, I was still in the hotel room at 11 am and the house keeping lady knocked on the door. I answered to tell her that i just needed like 10 more minutes. She recognized me from the news that aired that morning while I was sleeping lol. Crazy.

I got going and the first 5 miles or so were on a paved trail off of the road. No traffic!!!!!! I was loving life. The weather was good and the trail was great. My feet were still hurting though. I could tell that these insoles are going to help but that I still needed more arch support. My arches are like the McDonald’s logo. I will have to pick up some other insoles when I get a chance. I did some research while I was in Cincinnati and I think that may do the trick.

So I walked on anyways. With my feet hurting more and more as I went on. Whatever. I was so happy. The trail I was on was awesome! I got to walk through Lawrenceburg, IN. A really cool town with a casino. As I was walking through the “main street” area I had people waving and cheering me on as they had seen me on the news that morning also. Nice people are awesome.

I make it to Aurora, IN and the end of the good trail. From here I would be on the shoulder of a major highway for the rest of the day. I stopped to get lunch before I put myself within 6 feet from semi trucks going 70 mph. I figured mexican food would be a good last meal…

I went in to eat and was recognized by some people at another table. They said hello and told me that they knew one of the people that I’d met the night before at the dinner. Small world. I thought that was really cool. They were very nice. They paid for my lunch and I didn’t find out until I was done eating and the waiter never brought a check.

Aurora was a pretty town at the bottom of a hill. A hill that I knew I’d have to climb. Ugh. I get onto the highway of death and start pushing Lieutenant Dan while trying to be as far to the left of the pavement I can go. This is a 4 lane highway but no one likes to use the 2nd lane I guess. For some reason, it was perfectly ok to not move one lane over as they flew past me. I guess that’s not exactly wrong of them but it sure makes the few people who DO get over look a whole lot better. I always wave and thank those people.

It wasn’t so bad though. The shoulder was big and I was safe …ish. People would honk and wave and I knew that it must’ve been from the news. When people know what I’m doing there is a whole new way of how I’m treated.  When I started in Delaware a lot of people knew about me and I got on the news on DC and that spread for a while but I started to get to a point where people didn’t really know anything and when I was in those areas people tried to avoid eye contact and some were even rude to me.

That’s ok though. I get it. I look crazy out here. Some people don’t mind either way though. Like the woman who pulled over and asked if I was ok and if I needed something. I said that I was ok for now but thanked her anyways. She wouldn’t let me off the hook that easily. She gave me some juice and some pretzels before driving away.

Always makes me feel better. Not even so much that I am on the recipient of a random act of kindness but moreso that I got to be a witness of a random act of kindness. I’ve always loved hearing about people doing nice things. I get to see it done on a daily basis now and it is really amazing.

People were honking and waving all day. I felt like a celebrity. The same lady from earlier came back with some money and some hygiene items and an awesome blanket that I will totally be able to use for the rest of the trip. She was so sweet. Can you just think about that?! She already had done a good deed and then went home and thought that she should do more. Got some stuff together and drove all the way back out to someone that she doesn’t know and pulls over on the side of a busy highway to give away items that will help that person. Amazing!

I kept going and a woman who lives about 30 feet off the side of this busy road steps out her front door and says something. I couldn’t hear her over the highway noise. I parked Lieutenant Dan and walked closer and she was asking if I needed anything. I asked her to top off my water which she happily did and she told me that she’d seen the news and was waiting for me all day. Awesome. Just awesome.

Shortly after that I see an SUV with sirens on top pull over. Uh oh. I keep walking and doing a mental check to make sure I’m legit. Like anyone does when they see a cop pull up behind them… I get closer and realize it’s not a cop. I assumed it was probably a fire and rescue truck as I’ve seen some similar ones to it along my walk. That’s what it was.

A young guy got out and asked if I was the guy walking across America for overdose awareness. Yep. He asked to shake my hand. I asked to shake his. I also asked him when was his last time that he reversed an overdose. He said 2 nights ago. It’s a problem guys. If you haven’t learned yet. I thanked him for doing that and told him to keep it up. He said it’s frustrating because in Indiana when they wake someone up using Narcan, the person who overdosed then has the choice of going to the hospital or not and most of them refuse. Then the Narcan wears off and the can go back into overdose. That is unfortunate. I told him to keep it up anyways. There is always hope as long as they are still alive.

Kept on going and more people honking and waving. Another car pulls up and it’s a man and 2 teenage boys. They were nice and the guy had 2 friends who died from overdoses. We took a picture and they went on to a baseball game. He gave some money too. Indiana was beginning to blow my mind. Nice people everywhere.

I approach the town that I’d been trying to get to all day and had plans of asking the fire department if they knew of a place to set up camp as this seemed like a good town and I figured that I’d be able to come up with something legit rather than hiding out somewhere and being nervous all night.

I was literally 20 steps into the town when a couple pulls up and asks if I am the guy walking for his sister. I said that I am and they told me they saw the news and asked if I had a place to stay for the night. I told them that I was looking for a place to pitch my tent in town and they said to come on out to their place. It was just on the other side of town. 2 miles. Small town. I was blown away and accepted.

I get there and they were so nice. They let me in for a shower. Cooked dinner for me and let me sleep in an extra bed indoors. Unreal. A lady who I’ve been talking to on Facebook wanted to come meet me since I was near her area and she came to the house with a friend and we all talked and I was so happy to have met them. It’s just nice to have people tell me that what I’m doing is touching their heart. That right there is the only reason I’m still doing it.

I hung out for a while and went to my comfy bed for the night and just reflected on everything for a while. I’m going to take an easy day tomorrow I think. I THINK!