I woke
up feeling well rested. There’s only 25 miles left to my destination, so if I
make decent time I should be able to arrive this evening. I take my time
boiling up some instant oatmeal and eating a few oranges for breakfast. Once
the tent is broken down and everything is stowed away I continue down the old
side walk. My route, 441, continues on as straight as an arrow as far as I can
see with no distinguishing features except the occasional false roadway that
leads to nowhere. By 3pm the chafing under my sweaty clothes is back and my
feet are sore. I’d like to take a break, but aside from flat ground there hasn’t
been a place to sit all day. When I come to another one of the false roadways,
I notice that the culvert beneath it creates a place to sit, so I slump down
for an overdue break. I eat two oranges, some trail mix, a few granola bars,
and a couple bread rolls. I enjoy sitting there for a few extra minutes, but
those miles won’t walk themselves.
When I
get up and turn around there’s a man stepping out of a pickup truck right
behind me! I didn’t hear him pull in so I don’t know if he just pulled in or
was waiting for me to finish eating. I call out as he walks up to me.
“Hello!”
“Hey, on
my way to work this morning I saw you camping by the side of the road and I just
wanted to stop and give you something and wish you a merry Christmas.” He hands
me a 20 dollar bill.
“Wow,
thank you! That’s very thoughtful!”
He tells
me about a group of friends he’s part of that was inspired by one of their
members who fell on hard times, so now they try to look for people to help out
and when he saw me walking he decided to stop and give me the gift. I tell him
about my journey and give him the card with my blog information. And after a
few minutes of walking he drives off and I continue on down the road. The hours
continue passing and I head through the city of Wellington This is an upscale
area and there are lots of high-end gated communities that look like they would
cost a fortune. I’m definitely looking for something on the simpler side of
life, so I keep walking.
Before
long I’m back out in the country again and it’s getting dark. I’m almost to the
campground, so I finally leave 441 where I’ve been walking for nearly 50 miles.
I turn onto a dirt road that runs parallel to a man-made irrigation canal. It’s
dark, but it seems like I’m in a farming area. By 9pm I’m within a few minutes
of the campground, but I expect the office will be closed at this hour, so I
decide start looking for a place to spend the night.
Eventually,
I notice a patch of mowed grass away from the road but tucked away where it doesn’t
look like I’d be camping on anyone’s front lawn. I’m starving so the first
thing is to get myself something to eat, but I’m looking forward to a good
night’s sleep too. Once the tent is set up I settle in to my sleeping bag for
the night. I’ll be arriving at the campground tomorrow morning. It’s more than
a campground, it’s more like a commune but with facilities like a rustic resort.
There are fees for tenting or RV sites and a day fee or membership to pay for
use of the facilities, but the first day is free, so that will give me a chance
to ask around about a job and enjoy the pool, hot-tub, and nature trails for a
day. I’m hoping they need a grounds or maintenance guy, but if they’re not,
maybe I can get a job at some of these farms in the area and still live on the
resort. When I first set out on the walkabout, I had a purpose to walk the east
coast of the western hemisphere, but now I’m just looking for a place to spend
some time until I figure out the next step of my life. That takes the romance
out of walking mile after mile. I just want to find someplace comfortable and
settle for a little while. Tomorrow I’ll find out if I can stay here or if I’ll
have to keep moving, but tonight is for sleep.
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