Hunger Walk – Freestore Foodbank

Ohio – Tuesday, May 21

I entered Ohio by way of Cincinnati, and although I’ve driven through Cincinnati numerous times on I-75, I’ve never stopped there before. I had read that there were a couple nice riverfront parks with walking trails, so I decided to check it out. And when I did some preliminary donation research, the first thing I noticed was the upcoming Hunger Walk in Cincinnati, scheduled for next Monday which would be Memorial Day. All the money raised would go toward the Freestore Food Bank, and even though I didn’t plan to be in that part of Ohio on Memorial Day, I wanted to support their 10th annual Hunger Walk. So I mailed in a donation.

I didn’t have any trouble finding a place to park by the water, and Tula and I got out to explore the riverfront parks. But one of them was really crowded with kids. It was apparently Kids Fest Day, sponsored by the local fire department, and dozens of groups of young students were there to look at all the police cars, fire engines, rescue vehicles, boats, red cross information, and even a tugboat spraying water like a fire engine. Many of the kids wanted to pet Tula, and it became a little much, so we hastily walked through that area, and stayed on the regular sidewalk when we returned. The other park (the two parks are side-by-side) was wonderful – a long walking path which also included a geologic timeline built into the concrete, gardens, flowers and the pretty river. And there were tugbots pushing barges up and down the river. There were lots of cottonwood trees on the river banks (I’m assuming that’s what they were) shedding their cottony fluff – it had built up around some of the plants like snow, and was floating all around in the air.

Tula had had enough walking by then – I’m still noticing a lack of energy in her, and I had decided when I get to Tara’s house, I’m going to take her in to their vet for a full blood workup. I’m a bit concerned about Lyme disease. I left her in the air-conditioned van and walked across the Purple People Bridge – a pedestrian-only bridge that crosses the Ohio River into Kentucky. I enjoyed my time in the parks, and altogether I walked over 4 1/2 miles there.

Then I headed east for a while, and stopped in Hillsboro to walk another 2 1/2 miles. From there I drove up Chillicothe and the Hopewell Culture National Historic Park, which consists of very old mounds of earth which had been used as burial chambers by the Hopewell Indians. I got in another mile of walking around all the mounds.

It was such a beautiful evening out. When I was driving away from the Hopewell place, I noticed the beginning of a rail trail nearby, and even though it was 7:00 and I’d already walked 8 miles, I headed out for another 3 miles of walking on the rail trail. I’m loving the later daylight hours! I passed several ball fields full of teams playing softball – it really makes it seem like summer – such a timeless sport! At the end of my walk, I noticed part of a rainbow in the clouds even though it hadn’t been raining. There was still enough daylight to enjoy another 40 miles of driving through the rolling Ohio farmland as the sun set. I walked 11 miles today and I think I’m happy to be back in the midwest!