GAP Daily Journal - August 22, 2008
Aug 22nd, 2008 by Lyn Hanush
GAP WALK JOURNALS - VI
Friday - August 22, 2008 Day 170 21.9 miles
Total Massachusetts miles - 47.7 Walking Days - 84
Washington D.C. miles - 4.6 Cumulative miles 1482.4
It was a long day, but good. We went to Friendly’s for our
breakfast where Alex, true to his word, bought it for us. Thanks,
Alex. Getting there was a bit of a hassle because of a new detour
set up this morning when we came to Holliston. This one took
us way out of our way, and as often happens they take you to a
certain point, then say end of detour without taking us back
where we needed to be. While it wasn’t too hard to figure out
what to do, it would have been helpful to have a little more
direction.
After breakfast we headed on for our start point without further
difficulty. As I started walking I was feeling a little tired - this is
not unusual for me as I start out. Once I’m walking I begin to
feel better, and my strength kicks in. It was a beautiful day.
I walked past the stables we’ve been driving by each day. The
horses were grazing, except for one that a gal was washing
down. They looked so pretty in the pasture.
A lot of my route today had no shoulders to walk on. However
signs were posted along the route for cars, pedestrians, and
cyclists to share the road. This was good, and indeed all three
were sharing the road today. I saw several cyclists, and a few
runners and walkers besides myself. That was great. My only
discomfort was in seeing the poison ivy all along the way.
I walked through Concord, MA; Sudbury, MA; and
Framingham, MA - all rich in history. I took a lot of pictures of
beautiful old buildings, and signs that told of the history of the
area. It was awesome to walk through these incredible places,
some of them dating back to the early 1600’s. Norma was
enjoying seeing these things from the car as well.
When I walked through Sudbury I was pleasantly surprised with
a wonderful walking path the whole way. It did switch from one
side to the other at times, but always with a well-marked
crosswalk, and the drivers here know to stop for pedestrians in
these crosswalks. Other places later on had good sidewalks as
well.
At one place on the path I stopped suddenly because a snake
was stretched out across the way. He seemed to be a little
perturbed that I was there, and hissed at me as he curled up. I
passed by quickly, then went back to get a picture. After I took it
he hissed one more time, and I left.
For lunch we went to a Chinese restaurant. Our meal was big, so
we each took half home to have for dinner. I walked one more
segment after lunch, an ended in Ashland, MA on Pond Street at
the Market Basket Plaza.
We’re only nine miles from Milford, MA where we are based
this week, so tomorrow we should get through it, and maybe
into Rhode Island. I had originally thought we would be walking
through Rhode Island tomorrow, but we had to add some
mileage with the detours, and somehow it just didn’t happen. Oh
well - Monday.
I spent a lot of time praying for the people in this area so rich in
history. I hope people here appreciate what they have, and I
hope they understand the true history of our nation.
Well that’s it for today.
