7/6/2015
The holidays provided a brief breather for my feet. Before we returned to the road, Crystal and I spent the morning talking to some members of an organization that wanted to help Papa Didos raise funds. Cheryl had come up with many ideas and was determined to help us reach our goals. It was a good to be reminded of our monetary needs. A major focus for stage three was to build funds. We stood very far away from the goal we had set.
After the discussion, Crystal and I had to drive back to where we had left off. I began running from a little flower shop at Streetsboro, Ohio. With two days of rest on my legs I was able to run strong. The roads that led to Akron had plenty of side trails and a couple of turns. I was pretty excited to run to Akron. It was the location where I came into being. Even though I didn’t have many memories of the place, it felt special to return. The path took me straight to my friend Leon’s doorstep.
I met Leon two hundred and ninety-nine days ago on the pier of Santa Monica. It was like destiny that he offered to snap a picture of me, Crystal, and my mom. Almost one year later I ran up to his doorstep to be a guest at his home. Goodyear Heights was an area that had been completely owned by the Goodyear tire company. The homes had been provided by the company for its employees. My birthplace was once the location, where most of the world’s tires had been produced.
We went to Chipotle for dinner. The manager Ian was enthused to help push us along our journey. He made sure I was given all the nutrients I would need for the next day’s run. The place turned into a party when Leon ran into some old friends. We ended up talking until closing time. Afterwards, Leon took us around Akron. The local university had great facilities. Akron didn’t feel like an industrial town to me. My eyes looked everywhere. I even visited the hospital where I was born. 
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