The Great American Journey

GAP WALK JOURNALS - VI

Friday - August 15, 2008 Day 163 21.1 miles

Total Maine miles - 370.7 Walking Days - 79

Washington D.C. miles - 4.6 Cumulative miles 1376.1

What an awesome day. The sun shone all day, and I covered some good territory. I didn’t take a lot of pictures today, but the first one was kind of funny. As I walked along I looked down and saw a fried egg on the asphalt. Now you’ve all heard the saying “It’s so hot you could fry an egg on the sidewalk.” That was what I thought of when I saw it, but it definitely was not that hot. It was probably only about 68 at the time.

About two and a half miles after I started walking I turned off of Highway 35 and onto Killick Pond Rd. As I headed up this road I saw a big truck backing up. He probably had to back up for half a mile or so. It seems that another trucker had missed a turn and in an effort to correct his mistake he had turned too sharply into a driveway. He could not move forward or backward, and was stuck halfway across the road. There was room enough for cars to get by, but not another large truck.

I continued on from Killick Pond Rd. to Waterboro Rd., then Townhouse Rd., and Old Alfred Rd. We stopped to eat lunch at 2 pm, driving to Sullies Pub and Grill to eat. We had baked ravioli prepared differently than either of us had ever had them. They were delicious.

Back out to Highway 4 where we had turned from Old Alfred Rd. Traffic was getting pretty crazy now with the end of the work week, and many leaving home to enjoy a weekend of sun (hopefully the sun will continue to shine for them). Still I loved being able to wave to so many.

Afternoons are the best waving times usually, for a variety of reasons. People seem to be more relaxed, and really get into the waving and honking. Then there are those who obviously saw me earlier, and they sometimes go crazy with the waving and honking.

As I turned the corner onto 202 and 4A, some guys in a car waiting at the light said hello to me from their rolled down window. Then one of them showed me his cap, and told me it matched my outfit. His cap was red, white, and blue with USA written across the bill. Cool.

I continued on 202, also known as Sanford Rd. to Don’s Auto Sales where Norma was waiting for me.

We drove back to our hotel via tomorrow’s walk route to check it out and see just how much of Maine I have left - a mere 14.6 miles. If all goes well I’ll walk that tomorrow, then do a few more miles in New Hampshire.

We stopped at Applebee’s for some salad - ummmmm delicious. Then back to our room to get ready for bed and for the day tomorrow.