Day 142 – 20 miles – 1,825 total

Today was awesome.

We went to park our car at the Westport train station where we ended our walk last. Our plan is to leave the car here and walk a few days up and then take the train back to get the car. We loaded up our carts with all of our gear and set off.

We walked through Westport and Fairfield. Both beautiful towns with amazing homes and views of the Long Island Sound. People were incredible too. People were pulling over and getting out to talk to us. Some people were out jogging or cycling and would stop to say hello and encourage us.

One woman, Terilyn, took a picture of us and posted it on Facebook asking if anyone could help us with places to stay and she also did a fundraiser on Facebook for Freedom to Grow, our nonprofit. She raised over $600 in a matter of a few hours. Absolutely amazing. She invited to have lunch and swim at her house which of course we wanted to do but we had a long day ahead of us and a schedule to keep. We are on a mission and we have to stay disciplined. Every step matters.

Terilyn’s friends that saw her post came out looking for us and a few of them stopped to say hey and offer a helping hand. The town of Fairfield and the people in it left a lasting impression on both of us. Many of the women had stories of how their family was impacted by addiction. It still blows my mind sometimes when we are in such an affluent area and hear that there is such a strong presence of the opioid crisis.

We entered the city of Bridgeport. We got pulled over by two plain clothes detectives. We didn’t really get pulled over that was just a poor attempt at sarcasm. Anyway, they pulled over to see what we were up to. They loved it and offered to buy us lunch. Come to find out it was the Captain and Lieutenant of the Police Department. They called an officer to escort us through town and also called the local news to get a story for us.

We all had lunch together and answered all of their questions. They were great. We then hustled over to the rendezvous point for meeting with the reporter and our police escort.

We did the interview on the corner of a busy intersection with onlookers and people honking and yelling stuff out of their cars. It was obnoxious but cool at the same time. We knocked our the interview and then walked onward. The police officer stayed close beside us in his cruiser as we walked to the end of town. Just an absolutely amazing moment. He was very supportive of our efforts and it is a very proud moment for two guys who may or may not have been in a lot of trouble in the past. Knowing that you’ve turned things around and are serving a purpose that means a lot to other people really feels great.

We were stopped to take a break and a guy’s car died at the intersection next to us. He was trying to push his car backwards up a hill so he could roll down and start it by popping the clutch. Stick and I ran over and helped out with the pushing. He got it started on the first try. He said thanks and kept driving. Smart move.

It was supposedly going to be a very hot day today. The high was 90. Pfft. That’s April weather in Georgia. That’s nothing. Schools closed early because of it. I was cracking up. They all make fun of us when it snows down south but I didn’t know that they freak out when it gets a little warm. So funny. We were relieved because if this is as hot as it is going to get we are going to be just fine. We were definitely sweating but we’ve been through worse and stayed hydrated.

We made it to the ending point of the day. A hotel where some friends, Elaine and John, wanted to book a room for us. We met them there and they checked us in. We set our stuff in the room and I set domino up comfortably then they took us out to dinner.

It was a very nice place and had amazing food. We got so full. The conversation was great too. It was so nice to meet them.

It was such a good day. Kindness and community is where it’s at!