Saturday, August 17, 2013

The week

After cooking my brain last Sunday walking in extreme humidity and sun for fifteen miles into Versailles i awoke still having chills from the heat. Monday we walked to the Versailles State park. We went a scenic route thru town. It was only a mile to the entrance parking lot. The staff there gave me a campground spot. The campground was two miles up a steep road. I had not climbed such an incline in a very long time. The next morning, Tuesday we walked out of the park to the highway. The way was hard, overgrown, steep with ditches and some guardrailed sections. The way became easier and then opened to four lanes highway with a pull off lane. For the first time since this walk became I was able to roll unhindered by traffic. I walked briskly and the wind helped to get us the eleven miles to the Dillsboro EMS station. There I showered and washed clothes. Wednesday morning I left early, stopping at the local neighborhood diner for coffee and breakfast before getting back to the open highway and walking lane. The morning was filled with roadside visitors. I was called by two "country" radio stations and later met a Cincinnati television news crew. They interviewed and followed for awhile. About that time the steep climbs from the previous days caught up with the muscles in my right leg and buttocks with a sharp stinging ache in the hip joint. My sciatic nerve injury has atrophied the muscles and they have been slowly building strength. After the interview I sat for awhile to let the pain subside but when I resumed walking the pain intensified. I slowed to a very slow pace but dared not stop again. After three miles the pain subsided. I then came to the top of a long downhill grade into Aurora. The wind was blowing up the hill, I had to push hard to get the world to the bottom. Somehow I "powered" through the last few miles and made it to the EMS station in Aurora. The person who helped with the ride from the campground to Dillsboro (an EMT) also worked at Aurora and gave us the lift to the van when we arrived there. Unbeknownst to me, the Station Captain arranged for a room at the Holiday Inn a few miles further in Greendale so we deflated the world and stuffed it in the van to transport it to the hotel. The only road there had a long and narrow bridge which I would not have been able to safely cross. I would have had to get a ride over that obstacle anyway. After the first peaceful nights sleep I had had in quit awhile I decided to take full advantage of the opportunity and slept late until time to checkout. I then inflated the world and rolled it about three hundred feet to the vacant church parking lot next door where I let Nice (the dog) rest all day while I patched and painted a few areas of the canvas ball which needed attention. From the time I was filling the ball with air until darkness fell I was approached by people who had seen us earlier on the road, heard of us on the radio or television, were searching for us, or had seen us for the first time and were curious. Diabetics and family members whose loved ones were diabetics. Older couples with diabetes, families who were all diabetics, people who had been able to work hard to reverse type two diabetes, Viet Nam veterans who became diabetic after exposure to "agent orange", women who had gestational diabetes and more. Almost every example of the ailment was represented during the day as I maintained the world and remained stationary in the vacant parking lot. I had little time to myself throughout the day but had many conversations that more than made up for the rough road out of Indiana up for it. Friday, today my muscles felt better. The last few miles of Indiana had tall grass on the sides so the way was slow. Once we passed into Ohio the way became easier and eventually opened to a pull off lane. At the end of the day we stopped in Whitewater Township. We are now in the Kroger parking lot. I am tired and am off to dreamland.

3 comments:

Jim/George said...

It was our pleasure to have met you yesterday in Addyston and helping you and Nice with some down time. Our conversations gave us insight into your life and reason for your walk. We will continue to follow your travels on your blog. It makes for interesting reading and keeps us in touch. Keep on going and be safe. Jim/George from Main St.

Jim/George said...

We were pleased to meet and talk with you on Main St. in Addyston yesterday. In our conversations we learned much about your dog "Nice" and your travels. It was our pleasure to provide a resting place for you and Nice during the heat of the afternoon for a couple of hours. Read your blog later that day and found it to be very interesting. Keep on moving and be safe. Look for to reading your updates to see where you are. Jim/George.

Anonymous said...

Hello, Worldguy! We saw you twice in one day along US 50 near Cleves and in the Kroger parking lot. We were driving back from OH to Aurora, IN. It was exciting to see the world going down US 50. Best of luck with your endeavor! My mother is working for Parkinson's awareness.