The Great American Journey

GAP WALK JOURNALS - V

Sunday - July 20,  2008  Day 137   0.5 miles

Total Maine miles - 0.5  Walking Days - 64

Washington D.C. miles - 4.6   Cumulative miles 1003.9

This morning we all got to sleep in a little bit, but not a lot. We
had breakfast in our room, then got ready for church. Russ and
Connee had picked a church for us when they were out
yesterday, so we knew where we were headed. It was the
Christian Life Fellowship Church here in Madawaska. The sign
told us it started at 10:30, but in fact it had been changed to
10:45, so we were a little early. That was fine. A few people
talked with us before the service started.

When the service began we were introduced, and I was asked to
come up front and share a bit about the journey. That was good
to be able to give a bit of an explanation of what we are doing.

They had a baby dedication, and the whole service was pretty
much based around that. The great-grandfather of the baby gave
the message. He and his wife are retired missionaries in Pakistan
and other Asian countries.

After the service we all went downstairs for a spaghetti lunch. It
was a good chance to visit, and take pictures, and get to know
these wonderful people.  One little girl named Chyanne gave me
a small rock. Another little girl, Morgan, played the bongos in
the church service. Morgan was very young, but seemed to be a
natural at the bongos.

Then there was Deven who is a budding photographer. He did a
great job of photographing the baby dedication. I got pictures of
all the people who came downstairs for lunch, and got them to
give their names into the camera. What a delightful bunch of
people. Pastor Price and his wife live in nearby Frenchville, ME.
Some of the congregation are from across the border in New
Brunswick, Canada.

When we left the church we drove to the motel to change, then
went to the Four Corners Park. This is one of the places where
the motorcyclists ride to the four corners of the USA. The other
three are Blaine, WA; San Ysidro, CA; and Key West, FL. We
spent quite a bit of time here. As I looked at the stone under the
Four Corners Sculpture, I saw names of some of the Knights
International Firefighters who had traveled to the Four Corners.
There at the bottom was Clayton Thomas of Indiana. I was so
surprised. This is the same Clayton that we met in Blaine, WA
as he was beginning his ride to the Four Corners. I was really
moved to see his name there. I took a picture with my phone and
sent it to Joni’s email.

When we left there we went to the border crossing to get a jump
start on our walk through Maine. We stopped at the guardhouse
to check in, then the three of us walked to the middle of the
bridge where the border between Canada and the USA is
marked. We took pictures, then Connee and I began walking
back across the bridge into Madawaska as Russ took pictures of
us. We walked only as far as Main Street. This was only half a
mile, but it got the picture taking at the border out of the way on
a lighter traffic day, and tomorrow we’ll just start walking our
first 20 miles in Maine. It was an exciting start to this part of our
journey.

Back at our room I got to work on the bookkeeping. I finally got
caught up with most of it. I have one portion left that will
involve some backtracking through journal entries, but it
shouldn’t take too long. That will be next week.

We had a popcorn dinner, and watched some TV before
bedtime.