Brett Bramble Walks

I didn’t sleep well at all. I was comfortable and really happy with how the tent was holding up but it was just one of those nights. I couldn’t sleep and neither could Domino. Maybe it was the noise of the cars passing by or maybe it was the rain. I had a head ache and contemplated just packing up at 2:30 AM and walking.

 

I knew that wouldn’t happen. I just had the thought. I finally went back to sleep and tossed and turned my way to sunrise. I heard a break in the rain and packed my stuff up and ate a granola bar. I only had about 9 miles to go today and I figured I’d just try and fly through it.

 

I had to put rain gear on myself, Domino, and Lt. Dan. We set out and I felt like I had a hang over. A terrible head ache. The rain was bothering me, every move Domino made was bothering me, cars were pissing me off…

OK breathe Brett. I took some breathes and collected myself. I gave Domino a pat and told her that today was going to be rough. Had no other choice but to just keep going so I did. Walked for about 2 hours straight in the rain and made it pretty far into my goal for the day. I saw a place to seek shelter from the rain for a second and chose to pull up under it so that I could put some calories in me and Domino as the granola bar was burned off long ago.

 

I got myself wet when I took my rain gear off. Stupid. Didn’t matter though. I was so close to this one sign that I was very excited to get to. I ate some beef jerky and gave Domino a few pieces also. We set back out and were both in worse shape for stopping. I needed those calories though.

 

So the American Discovery Trail is a route that I am using as a guide on my walk across America. I am not following it turn for turn but I will be on and off it for my entire trip. It has the option of taking a northern or a southern route. This sign marks the intersection of where you have to make the choice. Keep going straight to take the northern route, turn left to take the southern route. I’m a Georgia boy. I always choose southern…

 

I was so glad that I’d made it to that point as it is a big milestone for cross country hikers who use the America Discovery Trail. I was also very close to Indiana. I walked on and came to State Line Road. I had crossed into Indiana and immediately was faced with dismay as I knew this road was going to be bad to walk on. It had no shoulder and it was way busier than I thought that a “State Line Road” would be. Cars were flying on it. I had to bravely walk head on as there was a ditch and literally nowhere to go but the far side of the pavement. When people reach a certain speed in their cars, I think they forget how to slow down. They just whizzed right by me. Most of them splashing water from the road onto me and some people even honking at me. Not one person slowed down to wait for the opposite side traffic pass by and then get into the other lane to pass me. Fuck all of them. Seriously.

 

I get to a sign that says Indiana and I almost got killed to get to it. I take the stupid picture and get onto an ever busier street with no shoulder. I see a Sheriff car pass by and once he was out of sight I wished that I had flagged him down and asked for an escort to the road that I needed to get to that was about half a mile ahead so that I could get off of this busy highway. I chose to jog a little to lower my chances by decreasing the amount of time that I was on that road.

 

This was a 4 lane highway with NOWHERE to go except on the pavement. I literally had to jog in the center of the right lane so that people would take the hint to get over into their left lane to get around me. They didn’t like that. Again, fuck them. I finally get to my street and was safe from everyone who would rather put my life at risk than slow down for 5 seconds.

 

At this point, I was over it. My feet were soaked as was everything else. Domino was hating life too. We were only about a mile from a hotel though. I had arranged to stay here because of the rain. It is supposed to be worse tomorrow with stronger thunderstorms. Other hikers may call me a wimp but I think it’s just stupid to walk in that when it’s unnecessary. The rest of the week is supposed to be beautiful. I’ll make up the miles then.

 

I get to the hotel around noon and the hotel didn’t have any rooms ready until I told them about the walk. Amazing how that one room just magically appeared. I didn’t even care for cordial politeness. I just got my key and went to my room to take all of my wet clothes off and get myself together and get Domino dry. I dried her off, hung up all of our wet stuff, took a shower and then headed next door to a restaurant to grab a burger so that I could take some ibuprofen and a nap.

 

It worked. I feel much better now and I have officially caught up on my blog!!!! YAY! Off day tomorrow and I am going to meet up with an advocacy group here in Southern Indiana. I am looking forward to it!

Woke up and walked to CAT House. Center for Addiction Treatment. They are the oldest and biggest chemical addiction treatment facility in Cincinnati. They are trying to expand so that they can hold 1,000 more patients. They asked me to speak at a breakfast that they were having and I was honored to do so. The timing of it let me know that it was meant to happen.

 

I got there and ate a lot of carbs. I didn’t know anyone but I was still getting nervous about speaking. I always do. I listened to the list of people in attendance and got even more nervous. State Representatives were there, the Sheriff, judges, and many more impactful people in Cincinnati. I was so thankful that I was about to be able to share my sister’s story in front of them.

 

My turn came up and I walked up to the podium and was so nervous but I was prepared. I stumbled through the first part of my speech but started to get into a groove. I got to a point to where I got emotional as I began to speak from my heart. I wrapped up with a punchline and was met with a standing ovation. I felt happy and I was proud of myself. It was worth every step that it took to get to that podium.

 

When the event wrapped up, people came to me and snuck some donations my way and hand shakes of respect. The sheriff gave me a cool Hamilton County Sheriff lapel pin in the shape of their badge. I wanted to stay there forever but I got offered a ride back to my hotel and decided to take the opportunity. I couldn’t believe that had just happened.

 

I get back to the hotel and grab Domino and Lt. Dan and checked out. Back to the walk! I had to swing by FedEx to send that box out. After that, it was just walk as much as I wanted to. The weather was great and I wanted to make at least 18 miles. An easy feat at the rate that I had been going.

 

I chose to stick to the American Discovery Trail on the way out of Cincinnati. It was a longer and hillier route but offered some highlights that I didn’t want to skip out on. The first one being the small community called MainStrasse. A beautiful German village on the other side of the Ohio River from Cincinnati. From there I climbed a mountain to a park that had a stunning view of the city’s skyline. I wished I had some Skyline to eat while I looked at the skyline. It was beef jerky and trail mix instead. I thought to myself that if I ever wanted to become a millionaire that I could open a small Skyline chili stand at the top of that mountain. Who would ever want to become a millionaire though? Gross.

 

A man came up to check out our gear. He had walked the Appalachian Trail and we sat and swapped stories for a while as Domino ran around and bothered everyone else who was having a picnic up there. They all said they didn’t mind but I didn’t believe them. Domino was having fun though so I didn’t stop her.

 

I held on tight as we rolled downhill and out of the park. I took a long, lonesome road along the river until I got to Anderson’s Ferry. A private operation that people use all of the time to cross the river. I bet they’ve made enough money to have built 30 bridges but what good would that do for them right?…

 

I had fun though. I talked to the lady in her car next to me because it would’ve been awkward not to. I asked her about the roads ahead because I was unsure of which one to take. She helped me pick the right one. I walked on through small roads and cool houses along the river. I was approaching the town of Sayler Park. A woman was walking towards me and I thought she was just someone who was walking somewhere and I was getting ready to say my friendly hello as I do to most people that I pass by, but she stopped me and asked if I was Brett.

 

Why yes. That’s me. She had been following along on my journey and had close relations to people struggling with substance abuse. We talked and I posed for a picture and she warned me about the area that I was about to enter and said the drugs were bad there. I was very thankful that she had stopped because I was upset from dodging traffic a few minutes before she showed up.

 

As I went through town, I couldn’t see the obvious signs of a drug area. It was a nice town with beautiful homes. That’s the way it is working guys. These drugs are everywhere. I saw a used needle on the sidewalk and shook my head in sorrow. I went a little out of my way to go to a gas station that I had seen on my map. I desperately needed to charge my phone and I figured that I could do it there and then backtrack to get back to my route.

 

I see the gas station and there were a group of guys there that were super shady. I didn’t want to deal with that so I kept going and figured I’d U-turn somewhere else and try to avoid them with or without a dead cell phone. I moved on a little farther and needed to look at my map. As I was doing so, I started to hear the loud rap music getting closer. One guy had a small boom box playing music and he thought that he was being the “hype man” for whoever was rapping as he was getting closer.

 

There were 3 of them. 2 white kids and a black guy. The ringleader was in his early 20s and on a bicycle that I assumed was stolen. He had already lost more than half of his teeth. There was a younger skinnier white kid wearing a white tank top and gym shorts and a hat cocked to the side. He was covered from the neck down in homemade (prison) tattoos. The black guy was the one holding the radio. He actually looked like a decent guy that was just hanging around the wrong crowd.

 

They come up and they are definitely interested in what I have. I tell them that I am walking across America and they thought it was cool. The ringleader was leaning in close taking inventory of my gear. I made sure that he saw my knife and my can of bear mace that I could grab quickly. He saw it. He also saw the sheriff pin that I had gotten earlier that morning. I saw the wheels slowly spinning inside his head and I noticed when he realized that he wasn’t going to mess with me any further. The young one with tattoos actually helped me out a lot as he told me that I could keep going straight and it would take me where I wanted to go.

 

I was thinking that it could’ve been a trap but figured he wasn’t that advanced yet so I rolled the dice and sped up so that I didn’t have to walk alongside them any further. Once I had created far enough distance to breathe again, I realized that Domino had not been in her usual character of jumping all over people in hopes of getting some loving. I wondered if she was ready to pounce on these guys as I was if they chose to make a move. I know that she must’ve had a bad feeling about them also.

 

I walked on through the lovely community of Sayler Park. I saw a McDonalds. Boom. Charged my phone and grabbed dinner. I sat there for a long time and realized that I’d hit my 18 mile goal already. I chose to walk on until I found my first opportunity of a place to set up my tent. I found a spot literally across the street from a police station but out of site. I should have probably just gone into the police station and asking them if they knew of a place where I could set up my tent legally. But I didn’t. Whatever. This place would do…

I was excited about my new tent. It was 10 times as nice as my old one. It was 10 times more expensive also. I put it together and checked the weather one more time before putting my phone in airplane mode for the night. I originally thought that the rain was supposed to hold off but it looked like it was going to hit me a little that night and in the morning. I am glad I checked because I was going to sleep without my rain-fly on. I put the rain-fly up over my tent and wrapped Lt. Dan in a tarp. I laid in my new home and read a book on my kindle with the backlight on as low as it would go so as to not glow and blow my cover of sleeping 100 feet away from a police station. I read as much as I could until I fell asleep.

Slept in and after taking Domino out, I figured I’d do some sight-seeing. I went to Skyline for breakfast and waited at the door for about 5 minutes for them to open. The Skyline was looking right out at the Cincinnati Reds stadium. I really was hoping to see a game there while I was in town but the team was out of town. I pulled out my phone and looked it up and saw that I could do a stadium tour. They had a spot for me on their next one. I finished up my 5-way and headed on over.

 

Baseball heaven! Baseball’s oldest team. They had a bobblehead display at their hall-of-fame museum that I got to check out while I waited for the tour to start. I am a big collector of sports memorabilia and a livid baseball fan. This was right where I wanted to be. The tour began and it was just one couple and me. It felt like a fancy private tour. We got to go into the press box and down on the field and into the dugout. I still wish I could’ve watched a game with a hot dog while keeping score but this was a good compromise.

 

After the tour, I walked across the street to the Underground Railroad Museum. I was really excited about this. In Atlanta, we have a lot of history with slavery and civil-rights activists. I know a lot about it as I go to our museums all of the time. It was neat to see it from the perspective of a northern state to where eluding slaves would go in hopes of freedom. A great museum with emotional displays. Definitely worth going to if you’re ever in Cincy.

 

I got back to the hotel and had a couple of packages waiting for me from a friend back home and also from my mom because I had a few things sent to her house that I needed. I went through my new goodies and organized everything into LT Dan. I had some things to send back home so I packed that into one of the boxes that I had just opened.

 

I was scheduled to speak at a breakfast for a treatment center in Cincinnati in the morning. More on that in tomorrow’s blog post. I wrote my speech and rehearsed a few times before bed. Tonight was the last night I’d be spending in the city. I wanted to stay longer but there was a marathon that weekend and all of the hotel rates were sky high because of the demand. I needed to keep going anyways…

After resting all day yesterday, I went out for a massage in the morning. It was taken care of from a beautiful trail angel and friend who has helped me so much along the way. It was a GREAT massage. I really needed it and she was able to give me some good advice for my feet. I got a ride back to the hotel and picked up Domino and we went for a short (2 mile) walk to the dog groomers. She needed to be pampered too.

Now we were all clean and refreshed. I rented a bicycle on the way back and put Domino in the front basket. It was adorable. We cruised the city and took in some scenery. Even got to cross a big bridge. Tons of fun. I dropped Domino back off and went back out for Skyline chili. A Cincinnati delicacy. Spaghetti topped with chili and cheese. I ordered a large 5-way and devoured it. They could tell I was an out-of-towner when I walked in because I didn’t have the skyline lingo down. I told them about my walk and they got a kick out of it. They took a picture of me in front of the Skyline sign.

 

After I ate, I went back and still had a lot of time left in the day. I Ubered up to an REI store because I needed to return the stupid sleeping pad that kept losing air that I had been dealing with since I started. They accepted it back and gave me full store credit. I also swapped out the shoes that I had because these had been rubbing me the wrong way. They were saying that some other people who use that type of shoe had complained about recent purchases of it as well. I shopped around and found the shoes that I liked and decided to upgrade my tent with the rest of the money I had from the exchange.

 

I felt like a new man that night. Massage, clean dog, Skyline in my belly, new shoes and a new tent. What a great day!

I went to Wal-greens because it was the nearest store and bought snacks for me and Domino. I laid in bed all day eating snacks and watching TV. The only thing I got up for was to take Domino out a couple of times.

 

It was great.

First of all, I am so sorry that it took so long to post this. I have no excuse. I was just lazy. Here is what happened on the 25 mile day going into Cincinnati 🙂

 

The weather was perfect and I was ready to make it to Cincy at all costs. My feet were in desperate need of a break and so was the rest of me. Domino needed one too. We walked for a while early in the morning with no problems. The first 8 miles are usually pretty easy every day. I ended up on a small road that was connecting me from one good road to the other.

Sometimes you just have to take a short section of walking on a dangerous road in order to get to a better road. Most drivers were being good and slowing down and moving over for me. There are always a few A-holes though who think that I have just ruined their lives by putting myself in their way to where they have to slightly move their foot over and press down on the brake and then move their foot back onto the gas pedal after they pass. I guess that is too hard for some people. My bad…

After one guy that was just a total jerk almost ran me off the road I was boiling. I have very good anger management and it came into practice here. I needed to sit down and breathe a little to chill out. A break was in store anyways. I chug some water and give Domino her food and water and we sat next to an old cable box or something on the side of the small street. I looked over and realized I was across the street from a daycare and some of the teachers were out there looking at me.

 

I was thinking that I was about to be hassled because I did kind of look like I don’t need to be there and I realize that they have to protect the kids and with all the weirdos out there in the world that they are probably on high-alert. A pretty lady that worked there came down and shouted from across the street, “do you want some water?”

 

So much for me being right about anything, ever. I was relieved and I did ask her if she could fill my water bottle up. She took it and went in to fill it up. When she came back, she brought sandwiches and snacks for me and Domino too. I told what I was doing and thanked her for her kindness. Domino highly appreciated the string cheese!!

I got back on the road and shortly made it to the larger road with a sidewalk and was relieved. It crossed my mind and I had to check… yep, I left my good cell phone charger back at the hotel. F@#*! I made a note to stop into an AT&T store and buy another one. I was entering the suburbs of Cincinnati at this point and was confident that I’d pass one.

I did. I walked in and asked if I could by the charger that they make for my phone. I have back up chargers that work but the one that came with my phone works amazingly fast. It was worth it to buy a new one as I often have to charge up quickly. They didn’t sell them 🙁

He was saying that it was something that Samsung probably sells but AT&T doesn’t sell them. It made sense and I felt silly for thinking that they would. I told him about the walk because my cart and Domino were sitting right outside and he looked like he wanted to ask but was trying to be polite. That happens often. He knew people who had overdosed too. We talked about that for a while. It’s so bad how many people this is affecting. The type of phone charger that I needed may or may not have gone missing from the back room. I wouldn’t know 😉

Kept walking and made into a beautiful town named Anderson. The houses were stunning as was the landscape. Quite hilly but worth the views. I felt like I was in a modern-day Pleasantville. A young man pulls over and asks if I needed a ride. I did because my feet felt like some huge mustached man was slamming a sledge hammer on them every time I took a step. I declined though and told him what I was doing and thanked him for stopping. A kid on his way home from high school asking a total stranger if he needed help. I was impressed. Way to go kid. Keep it up!

 

I FINALLY made it to the Ohio River Trail trailhead. I had been looking forward to it because it is a paved trail that takes me right into Cincinnati and NO CAR TRAFFIC!!! Me and Domino laid in the grass on the side of the trail and watched airplanes take off from a small airport nearby as I dozed off for a nap. I propped my feet up onto Lt. Dan and let the swelling go down a little. People that passed by tried to avoid looking as they probably thought that I was a bum or a drunk or something that they didn’t want to get involved with. I don’t blame them. We were looking rough. Didn’t care. I had a great nap.

 

I was struggling a lot at this point as I had already reached 20 miles and still had 5 to go. I trudged along taking frequent breaks and taking in the scenery. I rounded a corner and saw the Cincinnati skyline in the distance! I sat on a bench and elevated my feet and took another quick nap while reflecting on walking all the way to Cincinnati. Even though I wasn’t technically there yet, I knew I would make it.

 

I slowly slugged along and was so thrilled to be taking in familiar elements of the city life-style. I live in the city of Atlanta and I love being a city boy. I had missed it. America is full of a bunch of “the middle of nowhere” to a city dweller. There were many people out running, walking, cycling, etc. I finally made it to downtown and walked through all of the people and shops so that I could get to the hotel.

 

I finally made it and we looked crazy when I rolled up to the front desk. Luckily, the girl working was cute and nice and interested in the walk. I considered flirting with her but didn’t have the energy. I just got my room key and settled in to the room and that was that.

I love waking up with the sun in a place where no one can see me. I was able to take my time packing up and getting ready. I started off in a great mood and no care as to where the day took me.

I walked toward Mount Orab. A small town in Ohio. I grabbed some breakfast at a gas station and planned out my route for the rest of the day. I had to get off of the main highway yesterday so I had to figure out smaller roads to get me to Cincinnati.

The only other option was a road that was really busy today with church traffic. I walked on it as long as I could. I was dodging traffic all day and had a few close calls. At this point I was cursing at the State Trooper who told me to take this road. I finally got to the point of getting back on the highway and risking getting a ticket. My safety is more important. And where I was at at the time, the highway was the safest option. I didn’t have to go long on it. Maybe 5 miles until there was another town with restaurants that I planned on grabbing lunch at and figuring out the route from there.

I approached the town and I had gone about 17 miles already. I saw a Big Boy restaurant. I’ve never eaten at one. I only know about it from the Austin Powers movie. I put domino outside in the shade with food and water out like I always do and went in to eat.

It wasn’t amazing. It did the trick though. I was in there for about 30 minutes. I come out and a guy is checking out domino and is on the phone and I can tell he’s trying to be a hero. I walk out and ask what the problem is and he said that a woman called animal control on domino.

I was like whatever. I didn’t even care. I know that Domino is not mistreated and I can show that easily. Some people just piss me off. The guy was understanding and I told him what we were doing and he said that he saw no signs of neglect in domino. Duh. I went on about my business but he told me to watch out for the crazy lady.

After that I was just done for the day. I was stressed out to the max with traffic, breaking the law, and neglecting my dog. There was a cheap hotel next door and I decided to just stop here and chill out.

There were some people outside and they all wanted to play with Domino. No problem. She loves that! As I was talking to them and Domino was getting loved on, I noticed a lady staring at me in a minivan across the parking lot. Great….

I shouted, “are you the lady that’s freaking out about my dog?” She started yelling and blah blah blah. I just walked away into the lobby to check in. Totally ignoring anything she had to offer. You can’t talk sense to a fool.

I check in and go back out to let Domino use the bathroom before going up to the room. The lady was gone and the people that were hanging out outside the hotel told me they went over and cussed her out for me. Haha. I thanked them and talked breifly but wanted to get back into the room. They were wasted from drinking beer all day and I had no time for all that. Nice people and everything but I just don’t want to hear about the dog lady drama for the rest of the night.

Hoping that tomorrow will go a little better. I still don’t really have a plan on getting into Cincinnati but I’ll figure that out before I leave tomorrow. There has to be a way. I’ll find it! I have some major thunderstorms heading my way in a couple of days so I’m kind of racing mother nature. Looks like I’ll probably get rained on pretty hard one day but I should be ok because I’ll be coming into the city. I don’t think I’ll have to worry about that tomorrow though. One day at a time…

I felt great today. I had a late start but that was ok because I didn’t want to go overboard today. I wanted to go about 18 miles and no more. I had plenty of time to do that.

I got a new cart and I named it Lieutenant Dan. Today was the first day that I got to use it. It took a little getting used to but it’s way better in most situations. Domino likes it way better. She has a lot more room to sit in it and ride. I still need to put new side panels on it so that I can have the overdose statistics on one side and a map explaining my walk on the other.

The first half of the day was pretty boring. Not much was happening. I am going through a transition from Appalachia to the Midwest so it’s basically just Midwest with hills. A lot of farms and that’s about it. Beautiful and colorful scenery but terrible smells.

We sat to take a break on the side of the road. There was nowhere good to stop so I just put a blanket on the grass next to the highway and had a little picnic with Domino. I found a couple of ticks on her so I picked them off. They were dead so it’s good to know that her tick medicine is working. They are everywhere now. Just one of those things I’ll have to keep an eye out for…

I kept being passed by news trucks and helicopters. The mass shooting that took place a couple of nights ago was drawing attention from all over. From what I understand, they still haven’t found out who the shooter was. I was scared that the police were going to stop me and accuse me haha. They never did. Most of the time, when I see an officer I’ll wave and he’ll wave back as he passes.

Later this afternoon, after we’d walked at least 15 miles, we get pulled over by a state trooper who looked like he was 6 days on the job. He wasn’t being mean or disrespectful which was nice, but he was telling me that it was illegal for me to be walking on the road that I was on. The one that I’d been on for over 100 miles. The one that I’ve been on and talked to state troopers and sheriffs and no one said anything. The road that is the safest way to get to Cincinnati on foot.

I explained all of these things to him and he was actually very understanding. But he had rookie written all over him so he was scared to give me the go ahead. I asked him if I could stay on the road. He said, “all I can say is that it’s illegal to be on this road.” And he left. I think he was trying to say that it was fine but I didn’t want to risk him coming back and screwing with me so I got off the road and went to a smaller road that runs parallel.

It’s not safe at all because there is no shoulder but there was very little traffic. So I got lucky. I actually liked this road better. I got to go through small towns and see houses. It was way better scenery than from the big highway. I walked through a great small town and saw people out enjoying their Saturday evening.

Shortly after, I was met up by one of the mothers from the TAM group and her husband. They brought a home cooked meal! Meatloaf and corn and mashed potatoes and fruit!! I wanted to eat it all but I ate until I was about to burst and had to tap out. Domino had no problem finishing her serving.

We talked and I got a good break in. It’s so nice to meet kind people on this quest. It really helps my mood and being in a good mood helps everything. We got some good pictures and then said goodbye and I was back on the road.

I wanted to walk a little farther and then I was going to start looking for a place to set up my tent. I should’ve let dinner settle before walking. I had to take care of that dilemma and then got back on the road. At that point it was starting to get close to sunset and I was beginning to get just a little nervous thinking that I may have to ask someone for permission to camp in their yard. I’m going to have to do that at some point in this trip but I’m scared to haha.

I kept going and going and, just like I always do, I found the perfect spot. I’m tucked away and way out of sight. I’m under some railroad tracks but I haven’t seen a train yet and I’ve been here for over 2 hours. I got to enjoy the sunset and did some stretching while I watched the colors changing.

I have a full belly and I’m comfortably tucked away in a little piece of America that I’d never have seen if it wasn’t for today’s circumstances working exactly as they did. Unreal. I love everything about this trip! I wish I didn’t have to do it in my sister’s honor but I am very thankful to be doing it. I wish she could be here to see what I’m seeing. It’s time now for me to put my phone off so that I can see the stars and get some rest for another wonderful day.

Good night!

 

I didn’t sleep well at all in the nasty hotel room in Piketon, Ohio. I had drank 2 Monster energy drinks the day before to help with my walk but the caffeine stayed in my system too long. I never drank caffeine in my pre-walk life so it affects me pretty intensely. I laid there as long as I could but I just wanted to get up and get out of there. This was supposed to be an off day for me but I was restless and wanted to keep moving. A friend of mine was on his way to come pick me up so I knew that I wouldn’t be walking all day.

 

I got about 5 miles into my walk and a Sherriff car pulls over to check up on me. He got out and said that people were calling in saying that I was walking with a baby on the side of the highway haha. I wasn’t really in my full hiker gear. I looked like a dad and the stroller was zipped closed. I definitely see why people thought that as they passed by. The sheriff was kind and wasn’t harassing me. We talked and I told him what I was up to and that was that. Before I started, I knew that I would have to deal with law enforcement from time to time, so I was prepared and I always make sure that I never am carrying anything illegal. I am surprised that it took this long for me to get my first call actually.

 

Anyways, my friend came to meet me shortly after. He picked me up and we went to a cool place from airbnb.com to spend the night and put together my new cart. I don’t have a picture yet but I am excited to have this new cart. I am going to wait until tomorrow to post the new name and a photo. My friend helped me get this cart by calling the company and seeing if they were interested in sending one to me for a promotional charity. They didn’t send it for free but they gave a great deal. My friend covered the rest of the cost and delivered it to me. We got to put it together and try it out. Domino loves it. So do I! I can’t wait to show you all.

 

This morning I decided to take the day off completely as my feet were killing me. I found a cheap hotel in a nearby town. I had to skip about 20 miles to make it work but it is ok. I will definitely make up the extra miles in Cincinnati. It worked out to be really good to skip that 20 miles because when I got to my room and turned the TV on, the news was covering a story about a mass shooting where 8 people died and it happened right on the road that I would have had to walk right by. The killer is still currently on the loose and that would’ve been extrememly dangerous for me to be out there. A risk that even I wouldn’t want to take. The hotel I am in right now is sold out with journalists that are covering the event. Tragic. I also learned that Prince died. Just an awful day in the news world.

 

I am currently in the town of Seaman and I’ve been making immature jokes about it all day. I am about 5 days from Cincinnati where I am going to take a full week off to rest, play, do publicity work and raise awareness. I am very much looking forward to it. It looks like I will be camping for the next few nights as I get closer and closer to Cincy. I am excited to put this new stroller to use and get settled into it. I really hope they catch the shooter tonight. It is so sad what happened. I can’t believe that I was so close to it. Scary!

I was on the road at 10 am. About 2 hours later than I wanted to be. I had a hard time getting going this morning after a 24 mile day yesterday. I was hoping to go 25 miles today so I wanted to get an early start.

Soon after starting, I saw a gas station with a subway and figured I’d pick up a sub sandwich and some energy drinks for the long day ahead. A state trooper was gasing up as I approached the station and he had that curious look to him. I knew I needed to take initiative to let him know that I wasn’t a threat to anyone. As I passed by we talked and I let him know that I’d be on hwy 32 traveling west all day and I told him why. He said I was crazy but wished me well. He definitely liked the cause that I am walking for.

I get my goodies and get on the road. I wanted to get as far as I could before the sun was way up and too hot but I was already too late. It was a hot one today with no clouds. The scenery was better than yesterday though. There were a lot of farms. I think I saw every shade of green that there is today.

I had to keep dodging horse poop on the side of the road and I wondered why there was so much. I figured it was from manure trucks driving crazy or something. Well, I was wrong. In the horizon I saw what looked like a horse and carriage approaching. I grabbed my  cell phone and turned the video on. As it passed by, I realized that the riders were Amish. That explained the horse poop. It also explained all of the pretty farms. I guess I was in Amish country.

A little while later, I notice a state trooper pull someone over on my side of the road. I knew I’d pass by so I was hoping it was the nice one from earlier so that I didn’t come as a surprise as I passed by him writing a ticket. I had to get into the lanes of oncoming traffic to get around the car. As I got close enough, the trooper helped me by making sure traffic wasn’t coming before letting me go around. It was a different trooper but I’m pretty sure he heard about me because he was friendly and seemed to not have been surprised at all to see a man pushing a dog in a baby stroller down the side of a busy highway.

The next few hours were rough. It was hot and my feet were in the most pain that they’ve been in yet. I knew I shouldn’t be pushing myself like this but I had it set in my mind to make my target destination. So I kept going and breaking when I couldn’t take the impact of another step. At one point, I laid my sleeping pad down and lifted my feet into the air to get the swelling down a little.

I started to get close enough to know that I was definitely going to make it to the hotel that I had in mind. I’d looked up on the website that they are pet friendly and it is right off of the highway. I struggle on and push through the pain knowing that I’d be there soon.

I get there and it is a shit dump. Whatever. I didn’t care. I walk in and on the bulletproof glass window is a piece of paper taped up that reads “NO PETS ALLOWED”. Great. Time to turn my charm on….

It worked. She let me and Domino stay. I assured her that she wouldn’t pee on the bed like the last dog that she let stay there. She threw me in a smoking room though. I walked in and if I hadn’t had walked 25 miles to get there i would’ve turned around and got my money back. But it was paradise in this case.

I made a quick sweep to see if there were any large animals or dead bodies that may harm Domino and once it was all clear I went a few blocks down to the taco bell I spotted earlier. I bought dinner and a bag of ice from the gas station on the way back. No way was I going to try to get ice from the hotel…

I get back and lay down with the ice and my dinner. I was hoping that I would be able to get a baseball game on TV and after searching I found a good one. Ahhhhhh…

I covered a lot of ground these last few days. The grief of my sister has been heavy on my heart. The walk is starting to wear on me a little. I’m loving it and will definitely keep going but I am very much looking forward to taking a few days off in Cincinnati. I want to push hard and get there soon to justify taking some time to enjoy myself and do normal non-walking-on-the-side-of-the-road stuff.