We packed up everything from the awesome Boy Scout camp and got an early start in Boston. We were met by Angela, a woman who lives in the area. She was suited up and ready to walk with us all day in honor of her brother Jonathan. She brought us breakfast and snacks for the day. She wore her brother’s hat and I was so excited that she was with us.
We all walked through some cool neighborhoods. We saw a lot of community gardens and community art projects to help revitalize the area and help the under-privileged. We passed a really cool restaurant named Soleil. We met the owners and their daughter. They were so nice. They had seen us on the news and supported what we were walking for. The restaurant was named after their daughter. They gave us cold waters and coffee. We all took a photo and said our goodbyes.
A few blocks later we hit our 2,000 mile mark! A huge milestone in our trek. 2,000 freaking miles. A lot of them were very challenging. We felt proud and made sure to savor the moment.
After that, we were pretty much in downtown Boston. We went to the Tea Party thing, the aquarium, the harbor, all that. Just walked around sight-seeing.
During this, we met with Lindsay’s boyfriend who came to pick up her dog. Thina was having a very hard time with the heat wave. It was so sad to see her go but it was definitely the right decision. She was miserable. Thina is very capable of doing this walk but she wasn’t conditioned for the heat. We weren’t expecting these temperatures. Domino is hanging in there but we’ve been living outside for over 5 months so she is a little more conditioned. We hated to see her go. I know it had to be hard on Lindsay.
Right after this happened, a woman with 2 years in recovery came up to talk to us and shared her story of success and hope. It was beautiful as was she. The timing was great for a spirit boost.
We were walking through a little temporary vendor market when a man came up to me and gave me a huge hug. He thanked me for what I was doing. He had seen me on the news and said he hoped that he would see me walking through. I told him that Stick had been walking every step with me and he gave him a big hug too. His family walked over and all thanked us. The man had lost his sister-in-law and it devastated so many people as she was loved. It was a moment that left me crying as I was walking away.
I gathered myself back together and we entered the North End neighborhood. I had been to Boston before with a friend and we came here and found an awesome bakery with the most amazing canolis in the world. I was hoping that I could find it. The problem was that I had no clue what it was called or what street it was on. I was confident that if we got close that I could find it though. I have a good photographic memory and remembered what the area looked like. Sure enough, after a little bit of searching, we found it.
Everyone humored me and let me get my canoli. They all got one as well. Angela insisted on paying for them. This was the happiest moment of my life!
We headed to a nearby park and had the sweet snacks. I was very satisfied.
It was ridiculously hot outside now. We had to call it a day soon. We walked a couple of miles to Charlestown and then found a place to end the official walk. I took the subway back to our car and then drove back to pick up everyone else and our stuff.
Angela went back home. It was so nice of her to come with us. I really enjoyed getting to know her. She gave me a lot of great ideas for Freedom to Grow also. I am so excited about the future!
When I got back with the car, a woman was talking to Lindsay and Stick. She is a mother who lost her son. He passed away just a couple of months before Brittany did. We talked to her for a while. I found out that she started a GRASP group up here. I started one back home. It was great to meet another GRASP chapter leader. We talked about that some and how we wished there were more but also how we wished there wasn’t a need for any at all. GRASP stands for Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing. A free support group for people who have lost a loved one to a substance related death. To learn more or to see if there is a chapter in your area please go to grasphelp.org
We drove to a hotel that a friend back home got for us and we all settled in in our own ways. I jumped in the pool and then took a shower. Everyone did their own thing. Then we all went to dinner together at a nearby mall. We were trying to eat cheap but the mall wasn’t our best choice. Oh well. Ya can’t always get what you want. We ate what we could and headed back to plan out tomorrow and then get some rest.
Has anyone mentioned Recovery Boys on Netflix to you yet? I was thinking about Freedom to Grow through most of it