We planned on sleeping in today but I woke up at 6:45 anyways. I was glad that I did because the sunrise was incredible. I took advantage of the rare luxury of a leisurely morning. We packed up without feeling rushed and went to a local breakfast joint on the island. It was so much better than the usual clif bar or McDonald’s.
We then headed to our starting location and was met by a wonderful woman named Margo. She lost her precious daughter and was raising her grandson. It meant a lot to me that she came to see us. Through all the pain we shared words of hope. We talked about signs from our loved ones.
I talked about how I see Brittany in things and even people from time to time. We talked about the Amazon boxes as signs of Melanie, our teammate who passed away prior tp the walk. Margo talked about Pontiac Vibes being a sign from her daughter. There was a story behind it and it made total sense to me.
She left us with hugs and a cash donation and a gas card. Then I received a text that on her way home a Pontiac Vibe was right in front of her. I was in tears when I saw it. I’m fighting them back now as I write this actually. Happy tears. Knowing how special that moment was for her.
We went into the business where we were leaving our car to ask if it was ok and they said it was no problem. A place called Eastern Outfitters. I bought a little tripod stool that I’ve been wanting to get ever since I broke my other one back in the Georgetown area.
We finally got started but still had a casual strut. We were on the busy Hwy 17 but there was a good shoulder for us. The cars were being good about giving us plenty of space too.
I received a phone call and had to pull off the road because it meant a lot to me. I have to keep the details out as far as names and stuff go but a young man that I met and helped me on my last walk had fallen into using drugs. His parents gave me a call to see if I could help. I was crushed. This kid is awesome and I related to him a lot.
I wanted to say just send him out with me but I know that it would be too much of a risk being that it’s a constant high stress situation. I gave the best advice that I could give but I felt like it wasn’t good enough. I plan to follow up and keep trying but I was really down about not having a good answer for them. I was really sad. Freedom to Grow would be perfect for him but it’s not ready. It definitely fueled my desire to keep going.
It also made me sick to my stomach to think that there are so many people out there who are taking advantage of families in this situation by sending them to crooked treatment centers just to get a paycheck and have them use their insurance up for all it’s worth and then kick them to the curb. I was disgusted. I went live on facebook and let out some of my feelings there. I felt a little better afterwards.
We came upon the town of Holly Ridge and stopped at a Dunkin Donuts for a healthy lunch. While waiting in line, the woman ahead of us turned around and said that she wanted to buy our donuts for us. She had seen us earlier and she used to work in overdose prevention. She had caught back up with us to show support. It meant so much to me and Stick. I found out later that she went on our website and donated too. It’s hard to even process how amazing this was.
We got back to steppin and we had to walk in the center turn lane for a while until the road opened back up to having the shoulder available. Shortly after that we saw a gravel road off to the side.
It was a part of Camp Lejuene Marine Base. We got on it as it was our safest option and had it for the rest of the day. We had good conversation with each other and were enjoying the walk at this point.
We made it to a good location and waited for Vanessa, who is with Sneads Ferry H.O.P.E., to come pick us up. Her and her husband drove me back to get our car and then I followed them back to get Stick and our carts as he waited there with them. We loaded up and then headed to Vanessa’s house.
They had a barbeque going for us. At least 15 people maybe 20. It was incredible. We got steak and they burgers and hot dogs too. We ate as much as our stomachs could take and then they loaded us up with snacks to take to go. They also had gifts and donations for us. Sneads Ferry H.O.P.E. was put together by parents who lost a child and are now doing amazing things. Mainly helping by getting people into treatment in the area. We plan on seeing them again in the future.
We then headed over to a sober living home and met some awesome guys who are working on themselves and are currently in a good place. They were awesome and one of the guys shared his story with us. Ending the day with a great story of recovery from an awesome guy was a true gift. I am so thankful for everyone who was placed on my path today. You don’t even know.
Good night!
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