7/3/2015
There were very few houses around the church where we parked. The town didn’t even have a chain store. The silence of the night extended into the day. When my legs began to do their thing, I passed large farms where the grinding sound of lawn mowers and heavy machinery made it to my ears. On this day my legs were feeling a bit worn out. I knew the culprit was my footwear. The best I could do under the circumstances was to rotate different shoes which I had previously discarded. I kept a constant pace and blocked out the discomfort. It wouldn’t be long before the warm bright rays of summer were obscured by dark, fast moving clouds. The rain cooled my heated skin for a little while but became irritating when my shoes sloshed.
When I reached Crystal, I found out our next destination was the Heritage Hills RV park. The rain had decided to take a break right after I finished running. The air tasted like cool mist. When we pulled the beast into the campground we were greeted by a large brown dog. She was older and very friendly. She asked Crystal and me for affection and we gladly stroked her mane. The décor of the front office was western frontier and very kid friendly. A fountain sprayed streams of water into the air in the middle of their beautiful pond. The grounds had ample space and the facilities provided me with plenty of hot water.
Despite propping up my legs, I needed something to recharge by batteries. I needed some kind of jolt. I began my day with an easy six miles and met up with Crystal. For some reason we were both kind of cranky. We ended up at a stalemate for some time on the side of a country road. We vented our frustrations and then consumed our food. I felt as if I had just discarded a backpack full of lead. The discussion had left us drained so we took a nap right there. We slept until a lawn mower on steroids shook us out of bed. The loud machine sounded like an iron monster. It was time for me to complete the day. Many hills and turns awaited me. I was lucky there was little traffic. We reached the town of Chardon with plenty of light left in the day. We figured we would rest in the parking lot of a big retailer since we were headed for a stretch with tiny populations.
I learned a great deal about the kindness of strangers on this trip. While I was in the enormous retail store I met a lady that had spotted Crystal and me a little while earlier. Her name was Chris and she just struck up a conversation with me. I told her about our mission and we chatted for a brief moment. We parted ways since we both needed to finish gathering our supplies. Crystal and I headed back to the trailer to prepare our dinner and unwind. As we relaxed, a car pulled up next to us. Crystal looked at me and asked if it was a security guard. We thought that maybe we were being kicked out. That wasn’t the case. Chris came to the trailer with her daughter to give us a little gift bag. She said it was something she always wanted to do. Her actions made me grin.
I ran past more farmland the following day. I passed a patch of land where hundreds of frogs hung out. They would hop into the water just as I passed them. It continued for some time. I was reminded of my past experience running through Ohio. It was just me, the road, and quiet surroundings.
Leave a reply