Day 82

So sorry that it took so long to post a blog. My family came in town and I took a break to spend a few days with them.

Monday I walked from downtown St. Louis to the Katy Trail. It was 24 miles and most of it was in bad neighborhoods. The last 5 or 6 miles of the day were all on bike paths so it made it easier. My mom and sister and my 5 year old daughter came to pick me up and we went to a hotel in the burbs for a while.

We went shopping, I took domino to the vet, I went to the podiatrist, we went to the top of the Arch in St. Louis, and relaxed and had a good time with each other. Sorry for the breif summary but I don’t want to put my family time out there for everyone. It was amazing though. The walk is very consuming so it was nice to remember that other things still exist.

The vet that I took domino to was awesome. They didn’t charge me a thing. It was just a check up to make sure she was holding up and she also had an infection in her ear. Something very common for Domino. I got some medicine and some better cleaning solution than I’ve been using all for free. How amazing!

Also, I had some foot products sent to me. Noene insoles, featured on Shark Tank. Super thin pads that go under the insole to help disperse the impact evenly. I got some orthotics from Powerstep which held up great today on my 20+ mile day. The combo of the 2 should work great.

I also got some compression socks sent to me from CEP. Oh my goodness they are amazing! I’m wearing the recovery ones right now.

A TAM mom and her coworker came to visit me this week also. Two big fans of the walk and I was honored to meet them. They brought donations and gifts. More importantly, they made me feel very special. My family got to witness the kindness that I’m receiving first hand. My mom was so happy.

While we were all talking, the idea came up for me to make bracelets for people who support my walk. They will be coming soon. Be on the lookout for a post about that.

Now to today….

I woke up sad knowing that I had to say goodbye to my family but also excited to get back to the walk. I ate a big breakfast and packed up the car and we all drove to the place where they picked me up a few days before.

I unloaded everything and had to say goodbyes again. It was easier this time than it was the first time but it was still hard. I don’t talk about her much on my blog because I try to keep her out of all this, but leaving my daughter was the biggest sacrifice I had to make to do this walk. It kills me everyday.

I said bye and was standing on the trail as they pulled away. I stood there for a minute and fought back tears. I took a deep breathe and a step forward and was back to walk mode in an instant.

The Katy Trail is amazing! I saw a hiker sleeping on a bench with nothing but a backpack and a jug of water. I wanted to say hey but if I was sleeping on a bench I wouldn’t want anyone to bother me so I left him alone. I knew I was in the right place though.

The trail is more commonly used by cyclists and many passed by. I made signs to go on the sides of Lieutenant Dan (my stroller) so people were stopping and talking with me. It was a great way to get people talking about overdose and addiction. I was throwing stats out all day and telling people about the problem in our country. People were so nice. Everyone was easy to talk to.

I called Klondike Park to reserve a campsite. It’s a park along the trail and has a shower house and campsites available. They were full. Shit. She said they keep 4 sites vacant for people passing through on the trail but they are first come first serve and I couldn’t reserve one. I freaked out a little but then realized that I’d figure something out. I was hoping that one would be available but if not, I’m sure someone would let me crash at their campsite in exchange for a few stories. I decided not to worry about it but to pick up the pace just in case.

I saw a lot of wildlife on the trail today. Cool bugs, snails, little frogs, a big turtle, a little turtle, rabbits, a beaver, a peacock, some cool birds, and even a little snake. Mosquitoes came to the party too. Oh well..

I finally made it to the park after a very long day and the last hour or so in light rain. I walked to the section of campsites that I was told about and there was a few spots open!!! I grabbed a good one and it was still raining so I just sat there at the picnic table to rest my feet.

I had to walk some more to go to the kiosk to pay for the site and when I did I ran into some guys that had met Chris a couple of days ago. I got back to the site and set up the tent. A couple that was staying close by came over and saw my sign and we talked for a while about the walk and cause. They offered for me to put my food in their car because raccoons are an issue at this park. I was thankful because I didn’t feel like hanging my food bag in a tree. I was feeling lazy by this point. I still had to cook and do domino’s ear medicine.

Another guy came over and he asked about my walk. He is staying close by also and had some friends coming later and invited me to come hang out and have some drinks. He also gave me a very generous donation. He was from Georgia too. I told him I’d come by and I wanted to. I thought it’d be fun.

After I ate, I didn’t want to do anything but lay down. I put my food in my new friend’s car and went to my tent. I’ll hang out with the other guys tomorrow morning. I just couldn’t do it tonight. I’m beat.

Good day though. I’ll try not to get so backed up on my blogs. I’ll try to remember to start taking more pictures too!

Thanks for following along with me 🙂