Day 34 – Ohio!

Slept in late and ate a huge free breakfast at the hotel. As we were checking out a female softball team came in the door and they attacked Domino. It took forever for us to leave. That was ok though. I was in no rush. I was feeling good because I was done with West Virginia.

I had a mile until the bridge to cross the Ohio River. I really liked Parkersburg. It was nice to be in an actual place where people actually lived haha. The route I took through West Virginia had no cities in it. Just small towns. SMALL towns! I was ready for a new state!

I crossed into Ohio and had a victory moment with Domino and the guy walking behind me who thought I was insane until he figured out what I was doing. I went to a Kroger about a half a mile later and stocked up on groceries. When I came back outside a $5 bill was tucked onto the handle bar of Jenny (my stroller). I was also followed out by the girl bagging groceries because she heard that I had a dog. More attention for Domino.

As I was packing the groceries into Jenny I was bombarded by more of the store employees who heard about Domino when the first girl went back in. I let Domino off the leash and packed my groceries while they had all the fun. That was ok though. I talked about my walk and my cause and told them to spread the word. That’s all I’m here for.

Ohio started off great! I was in the town of Belpre. People were very friendly and they had sidewalks everywhere. That’s a huge perk for me anywhere that I go. About 5 miles later a car came screeching to a stop and a woman got out and darted across the busy highway to get to me.

I was impressed already. She told me her name and that she’d lost her son 8 months ago. I shed a tear or 2 with her and we talked about it and she was so nice. I was very glad that she found me. It was something that was supposed to happen for sure. She gave me a bottle of water and a bracelet that was very special to her. That’s when I noticed her sparkly purple fingernails. I’m assuming that it was for overdose awareness and I was proud of her for that.

It saddened my heart to have heard that she lost her son but it motivated me to keep pushing as she reassured me that I am doing something that needs to be done. So I did. I pushed on. I had a wide shoulder to walk on and the hills weren’t bad at all. I have to thank the girl who worked at the hotel for that. She recommended me to take a different route than I had planned to and I’m glad I listened to her.

We rolled on and on and I kept telling myself to stop and put sunscreen on but I never did. I am definitely a little red right now but I think it should be fine. It usually turns to tan the next day. I will start wearing sunscreen now though. It was brutal today. I loved it though! Domino was struggling. I gave her a Zyrtec which makes her sleepy anyways. Plus the heat. She was exhausted. I pushed her most of the day and she still tried to sleep every chance that she could.

A man drove by a honked and waved. That is pretty normal. About 20 minutes later he came back though and pulled over to tell me that his house is up ahead and when I pass by to come get some water and dog treats. I was elated as I needed to re-up on water anyways. A break is always worth it when you have good people to talk to.

I approach his house and he’s outside waiting on me. His wife and granddaughter come out to meet us as well. They gave me a sandwich and Domino about 500 treats haha. I told them all about Brittany and what I was trying to tell people. The teenage girl said that a boy at her school died of an overdose. It took about 3 seconds and then it hit me… I asked the girl if his name was Hunter. She said yes.

She was talking about the boy of the mother who stopped me earlier. I showed them all the bracelet she gave me and told them about what she had told me about Hunter. I will continue to share his story whenever anyone asks about that bracelet. I said goodbye to this lovely family who blessed me and Domino and they said a prayer for me before letting me go. I will never forget them.

I walked on to a town called Coolville. I saw an abandoned building across the street from a gas station and a dollar store. Boom. Camp site for the night. It’s nice to be out of site and close to resources still. From what I understand there is nothing between this gas station and Athens. The place I’ll end up tomorrow night. It’s about 20 miles away.

As I was setting up my tent and cooking dinner I turned my phone on and saw a message from a girl who wanted to come meet me. She had her son and was in the area so I said of course. I also said not to freak out but I was behind an abandoned building haha. She was totally ok with that. She was so nice. Her boy was cool too. He was very excited to meet me and Domino and they played while I talked to her. So glad that it worked out. I felt bad that I had my phone off all day. I usually check it more frequently but for some reason I didn’t today.

Well it was a great day. West Virginia sucked. I absolutely loved the people there but the weather and the hills and the lack of civilization were really hard to deal with. It was fun overcoming it all though. I’d do it again right now if I had too. But I’m looking forward to seeing a new state and meeting new people. Ohio is badly affected by overdoses also. One person every 6 hours in fact. So I’m in the right place for special things to happen. Let’s hope they do!