We started early because the weather was forecasting some serious storms and we had a long way before we would get to any shelter. Tornados and hail appeared to be a possible threat. We started off quickly.
The heat from the humidity was relentless. 7 am and we were sweating already. Ugh. We thought Maine would be cool in August. Usually it is the perfect time to be here. All of the locals say that this is the worst summer they’ve ever had. Figures. Story of my walks across America. Everywhere we go, people say the same thing.
Stick went ahead of us today. With the threat of the weather, he wanted to make sure he got somewhere safe and he was going to find somewhere good for all of us to hang out and camp for the night. So it was just me and Jessie.
We stopped at the 5 mile mark and then again at the 10 mile mark for short breaks. We ran out of water and were tired of feeding on snacks for multiple days. Being so close to a town, we pushed ourselves harder than we should have. Sweat and fatigue were having both of us feel a little lightheaded. We finally made it to town just in time.
We stumbled into a Chinese restaurant. It felt like a scene from a western where the traveler comes into town and throws himself into the horse water bucket to cool off. We would’ve done that if one was available.
The lunch saved our lives and then we continued to the other side of town to meet with Stick. He was at a truckstop that had everything. Shower, laundry, and a restaurant. Boom. I went and asked if we could camp out. The store manager was a little skeptical at first but when she saw what it was about she was so moved that she bought us dinner.
A lot of the staff was affected by our cause. One woman told us about her brother who passed away from an overdose. I hate that she knows that pain. So sad.
We had a reporter from channel 8 news in the northern Maine area come interview us. It was a rocky interview as there was rain, loud noise from trucks, and a guy who was in early stages of dementia talking to us and wouldn’t stop. But we got it done and got our point across. Awareness was the goal and it should help get the word out.
After that, we took showers, charged our devices, and ate food. Then we went outside to go set up camp and we saw another traveler hanging out trying to catch a ride from one of the trucks.
Daniel was a true drifter. Working here and there just to get somewhere else. He had a guitar and a backpack and we asked if we wanted to camp with us. We hung out for a couple of hours while the sun set and passed the guitar around and told stories of travels. Great guy and a fun experience to spend time with him.
More miles to catch tomorrow though so into my tent I went… good night
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