4/29/2015
It through struggle that progress is made. It is discovery and learning from mistakes that the soul is fortified. On the cold mornings the struggle has been to leave the sanctuary of warm covers. When I woke in a cold parking lot in Mt. Airy, my body was pulled from hibernation by a repetitive stream of coaxing. My gruff voice did its best to communicate with my sluggish body. It wasn’t a convincing argument but it did prevent rebellion.
When I stepped out of the trailer, I inhaled a breath of clean air. The cold burned the hair in my nostrils. It was springtime and life was supposed to be blossoming. The hillsides provided plenty of evidence for springtime. It was only the temperature that wasn’t in sync. My road curved often and the inclines grew steeper with each step northward. Every time I passed farmland the acrid scent of manure would invade my olfactory senses. The roads were narrow but the running was safe as traffic was nearly non-existent.
I connected with the wild while running through the country. I ran alongside badgers, sheep, cows, horses, and ducks. Some of the sheep possessed long coats which were an item to be envied. A soaked shirt clung to my skin beneath my running jacket. The moment I unzipped the jacket to let my skin breathe, a sharp chill bit through my flesh into my bones. It was a great motivator, if I didn’t keep moving I would have frozen like a snowman.
The entire time I spent running I felt as if the elements had a strange sense of humor. Any time I stepped into the trailer for a break the sun peaked out from behind the clouds. Every time I stepped back out the sun would again hide. The moment I arrived in Taneytown and ducked into the trailer rain started falling like a huge tap in the sky had just been turned on. After five minutes the water stopped.
Crystal had no desire to cook so we looked for a restaurant in Taneytown. We discovered Tony’s Café and Pizza. We didn’t expect such a warm welcome. They made us a pizza that was very cheesy. The taste of the pineapples and jalapenos was a blend of sweet and spicy that tickled my tongue. We made friends with several locals while we were in the establishment. Every few moments Crystal was running back to the trailer to round up more stickers and books. One couple, Susan Reilly Johnson and her husband Marty bought a stack of books and even offered to let us plug into the outlet at their house. Tony brought a few loaves of freshly made bread to take to the trailer. They looked fantastic. You could trust the food because he had the east coast Italian accent when he spoke. The food had to have been good for the place to stay in business for a quarter of a century. It didn’t just stay in business, it also expanded.
The next morning was a quick journey. After devouring a breakfast made on Tony’s bread, we hit the road. Harney Rd. took us right to the Maryland/Pennsylvania border. The six mile run to the border was once again hilly but very pleasant. We had our customary photo session at the state line then rushed off. We wanted to take in the battlefields of Gettysburg. Six more miles after the state line we reached Artillery Ridge. It was a short length with a lot of history. Signs hung everywhere and monuments had been erected that indicated old civil war hospitals, battles that had been fought, and battalions that had fought in those battles. You could practically feel the ghosts in the air.
We dropped our trailer on the spacious grounds and set out to explore. There was a lot to learn about the battle that ended our nations darkest time period. The sun was kind and allowed us to tour the battlefields and the town. I had missed this part of the country on my first run. Now I was able to reconnect with the Lincoln Hwy and see a piece of history.
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