Day 127

So I woke up in a hotel that was built in 1886. That was a cool way to start the day. I tried to be quiet as I left but every step creaked. I heard Kathy yell, “good morning!” I stopped and said goodbye to her. Signed the famous guest book and went on my way. I only had 11 miles to go today so I was feeling easy breezy. 
I found a gravel road that runs parallel to 50 with a railroad between the two. I loved not being 6 feet away from semi trucks all day. I was cruising down the gravel road and enjoying the birds and the snakes and the cows and no people or vehicles. It went by quickly and easily. I had some quality time with my thoughts that I was thankful for. 
I get to the rest area that I had planned to stop at. The reason that I had planned to stop here is because Angela was going to be meeting me there. Angela is walking from California to Maryland for veterans with PTSD. We had heard about each other before both of us even started. We have stayed in touch and found out that we were finally going to cross paths. 
She was already there when I arrived. I was a little awkward at first. She had quite a bit of enthusiasm and wasn’t afraid to show it. It took me a few to settle in. But once I relaxed we had such a great time. We were able to tell stories and talk about how we were impacting so many people and how those people have impacted us. We talked about other stuff too. It didn’t take long before we felt like we’d known each other for years. 
She called a woman named Robin who lives in Garden city, the town where Angela was last night and where I’ll be tomorrow night. She asked if Robin could bring us pizza and Dr Pepper to celebrate. Robin did. Oh but she brought so much more. Robin is on a hero mission of her own. Simply to just do nice deeds for people. One at a time. In hopes that they will pass it on to someone else. The whole pay it forward concept but just a little different. She told me that I can stay with her tomorrow night so I am very excited to talk to her about all of that. 
Angela and I stayed up way too late because why not and played cards through the sunset and never stopped talking. I think she did most of it though lol. I do wish our paths would allow us to travel together for a while. But for this time it’s just one night. We’ll say our goodbyes tomorrow but I know without a doubt that I’ll see her again. 
We set up our tents in a hidden spot behind the rest stop. Robin told us to watch out for ‘the gays’. Hahaha.. bless her heart. It was a great day. I’ve been excited about this happening since before I even started this walk. Great day, great moment, great memory!