Pymatuning

I stayed at Tara and Josh’s house til nearly 1:00 for a little more grandma time, then left at precisely 12:56 – I had left my home in Michigan at 12:56 3 days earlier, so figured that was a good time to leave Ohio to head to the beginning of my journey. I knew right where I wanted to cross into Pennsylvania, and there was no direct route, so I didn’t actually cross the state line til 6:12pm. I crossed into Pennsylvania on a long bridge over the Pymatuning Reservoir. Five miles into the state, I came to the Spillway for the reservoir, and Tula (the dog) and I walked our first 2 miles along an abandoned railroad bed by the spillway so that there was water on both sides – a beautiful beginning. We walked by the Pymatuning Wildlife Education Center, and although it was not open at the moment, I decided I would like to make my first $56 donation to them, since that’s where I began my adventure, and my walking, and I support wildlife education. From there I drove on to Meadville through the rain, which let up long enough for us to take a 1.7 mile walk through town – we started on S. Main St (I want to walk on lots of Main Streets!) walking by lots of old houses that I think college kids rent (Allegheny College is nearby) and then on to the historic district and a huge town square with a statue, fountain, bandshell, and a large boulder commemorating Revolutionary War colonel who’d been “burned at the stake by Delaware Indians” – yow! I was happy to get 3. 7 miles of walking done today considering the very late start – the other 4.3 miles will be made up next Monday before crossing into State #2 – nice to have a little flexibility on the days I leave one state for another. Tomorrow will be the first full day of the adventure and 8 miles a day from here on in!