Day 98

I wanted to wake up at 2 but woke up at 5 instead. I slept great and didn’t want to get out of “bed”. When I got on the road it was already daylight. I knew it would be a hot one so I tried to get as far as possible before taking a break. There was a lot more traffic than I’ve seen in a while. I could tell I was in the suburbs now.

One of the mothers who had heard about my walk and had been following along saw me and messaged me on Facebook. She told me that she was going to come back with breakfast. About 30 minutes later she messaged again and asked where I was at. I was very impressed with her navigational skills as many times when a mother is trying to find me, they have no idea what “I’m walking west on the eastbound side of hwy 40” means. Traci figured it right out.

We met and I got to take my first break of the day after walking 9 miles straight. She was awesome and we talked about how she was affected by this epidemic and I tried to share some of my story that related to it. I will always remember Traci and thought it was so cool that she just happened to see me passing by.

I kept going and was trying to push because it gets hotter every minute. The sooner I got to my destination the better. People kept stopping me. I never mind talking to people. I always stop and talk about the cause when given a chance.

It started to get really hot out. I saw a shady spot under a bridge and took a long break. I only had about an hour left from there. So I took my time and got all the rest I needed to push through the last few miles. Me and Domino were just laid out under the bridge with people passing by. We probably looked crazy. I didn’t care. I don’t think domino did either.

I finally made it to the hotel after being stopped by a few more people and having to conquer a few big hills. I get to the hotel and they tell me that the rooms aren’t ready and I’d have to wait at least an hour. Cool. I laid on the floor in the lobby hoping that my crazy appearance in their place of business would force them to want to get me into my room quickly. It didn’t work. I had to wait there along with a few others.

We all talked and I spread the word about the drug epidemic. I finally got my room and I went in to shower and get ready for the Royals game. An employee with the Royals had heard about me and hooked me up with a great seat! I was very excited to go to a game and feel normal again.

I got there early and it was a bobblehead giveaway night. That was cool. I went to the team store and bought a few souvenirs and a scorecard. I got seated and enjoyed watching the entertainment. The people around me were great and the Royals were winning.

David, the Royals employee who got the ticket for me, came by to say hello. He sat down and let the fans around me hold his world series ring and take pictures with it. I got one too of course! That was pretty cool. So was David. He was my age and we had a lot in common. He offered to take me back to the hotel after the game.

I had a great time and a long day. Domino was all sprawled out on the king size bed and I could tell that she was perfectly content with me being gone for so long during the game. I took her out and then we both passed out.