3/17/2015
The chirping bird ensemble signaled the onset of spring. The day was warm and I was determined to reach a spot close to the Savannah airport. My mom was returning to California. The previous days had taught me to cover up while running. My body itched in several places from the various bites. I slipped on my usual long CEP compression socks but I ran with my cap, sunglasses, and a cloth wrapped around my face to avoid swallowing the insects. I felt like a comic book character but I wasn’t sure if the getup looked more like the hero or the villain.
Every step closer to Savannah brought about more St. Patrick’s Day advertisements. They reminded us that we didn’t have lodging in the city. Apparently Savannah has one of the biggest St. Paddy’s celebrations in the United States. Every hotel was booked solid. RV parks didn’t even have space in their spots without utilities.
On my third day running through Georgia bugs continued to bombard my field of vision. They were relentless. The tiny flying nuisances breached the miniscule gaps between my protective layers. But, I continued to plow through them like a juggernaut. I took down a dozen miles and hundreds of bugs by my first stop outside of the city. I had found Crystal and my mom parked at a gas station with a McDonalds. I knew it was time to take a break and post a few updates on the internet. My mom and I had wonderful soft serve vanilla ice creams while Crystal enjoyed an iced frappe.
An hour passed like minutes. It was my mom’s last night with us and, we didn’t have a place to stay. I continued on the asphalt. The bugs vanished on the second part of the day. I figured I was safe to relieve myself of the protective layers while running through the city. It allowed me to breath feely. Tiny droplets fell from my skin as I maneuvered through the variation of road and grass. My worn out shoes were thankful for patches of grass. I had recently started to recycle the discarded pairs to preserve my shoe rations.
We planned to take her to dinner for a final farewell celebration but of course we were not familiar with the area. We hadn’t had Asian food in a while so we took a shot at a place called Famous Asian. The menu had a selection of Chinese, Thai, and Japanese cuisine. The owners of the place were speaking in their native tongue and Crystal asked me, “What language are they speaking?” I told her they were speaking Mandarin Chinese. That helped her conclude she would order Chinese from the menu. I chose Thai and my mom chose avocado rolls. We all shared a bottle of hot sake with our meal.
After satisfying our hunger, we found a spot to park relatively close to the airport. We all hit the sack early to ensure my mom would make her flight the next day.
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