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Rhode Island – Thursday, March 28

Last night I stayed in Connecticut, right near the border of Rhode Island because the donation I wanted to make today was in the border town of Westerly. There’s a food pantry there called the Jonnycake Center Emergency Food Pantry, and they offer several different types of programs and one of them is SPLASH – which stands for Summer Program to Alleviate Student Hunger. SPLASH provides food for students during the summer break and during holiday breaks, and spring break was right around the corner. So I shopped for things on the SPLASH wish list which included hot dogs, yogurt, juice boxes, mac and cheese, peanut butter crackers, cereal, and chicken soup. Then I drove over to the food pantry, and one of the volunteers helped me carry the bags in. The parking lot was pretty full because there’s also a thrift store in the building. I asked if there was a story behind the name Jonnycake Food Pantry, and the volunteer told me that in the olden days people would carry journeycakes (made of corn) in their pockets to have something to eat when they were hungry. Journeycakes evolved into jonnycakes, so that’s what the word means, and I’m guessing it’s a symbolic name for the food pantry to show that people can always come and get something to eat when they’re hungry. Then Tula and I set off for a 2 mile walk through town, and through a big park, which was designed as a “Victorian strolling park.” And we strolled through all the paths in the park! There were some sculptures there, and one of them was a large rabbit actually coming out of the foundation of a building.

From there I drove to the Ninigret National WIldlife Refuge and stopped and walked nearly 2 more miles there. Tula couldn’t walk with me there since it was a wildlife refuge. Mostly what I saw were a lot of trees that had their tops sheared off by the hurricane winds. Lots of trees had toppled over and although the trail had been cleared, it was evident there’d been a lot of damage – this NWR was right on the southern Rhode Island coast. More signs of Hurricane Sandy’s fury…

Then I crossed the big bridge onto Conanicut Island, which I had driven across on my first visit in Rhode Island, but I hadn’t been able to stop and see much of it. I first stopped at Fort Wetherill State Park and did just a little over a mile of walking and enjoyed the rocky coastal view from up on a cliff. Then I drove to Beavertail State Park for another mile and a half of walking. There is a working lighthouse at the tip of the island and the rotating beam is kind of mesmerizing. And as we walked along the rocky mouth of the Narragansett Bay I could also hear the clanging bell out on a buoy, and it sounded kind of forlorn. It was a gray day with threatening raindrops, but I found it beautiful – the solitude, the lighthouse beam and the clanging buoy. I imagine the lighthouse and buoy were reassuring sights and sounds to many a mariner. Jamestown is the only town on the island, and I finished my walking for the day in town. It was dinner time then, and I passed a little cafe that was advertising a special of crab cakes over mixed greens with a fruit salsa and a meal sounded good, so that’s what I went back to get and it was as tasty as it sounded. Then I drove across another bridge and stopped for the night in the outskirts of Newport where I’d stayed the last time.

New Jersey – Wednesday, March 27

I can’t believe this is my last day in New Jersey – these weeks are going so fast! I wanted to head out to another of the long, skinny barrier islands for a walk on yet another boardwalk. I think New Jersey must have more boardwalks than any other state! First I headed for Seaside Heights, and once I crossed onto the island, I discovered I had landed in the heart of Hurricane Sandy’s wrath. The destruction was hard to comprehend, and if things are still in such bad shape 5 months after it all happened, I simply can’t imagine what it looked like right afterward. There were lots of work crews out, but they still have a long job ahead of them. The town of Mantoloking seemed to be in the worst shape – there were houses tilting sideways; some had just collapsed; others had “NOT SAFE” spray painted across them; decks and balconies had fallen off the sides of houses; some roads were un-drivable due to sand and debris; trees had toppled over; there were piles and piles of sand where there shouldn’t be sand; and I even saw a refrigerator lying on its side with old gunk in it. It made me wonder, not for the first time, where all these people have gone to live.

When I got to Seaside Heights, I wasn’t surprised to see the boardwalk missing. Work crews were out installing another one, and there were police cars at nearly every block warning people not to go out on the sand due to sinkholes. Some of the shops that had been on the boardwalk were trying to run their business from tents alongside the makeshift pedestrian walkway. There was a surprising number of people out and about, but it is spring break season, and they’re trying to make the best of it. It was a lot to take in.

From there I headed north to Long Branch, and that’s where Tula and I finished our New Jersey walking. The hurricane damage was not as bad farther north. They had a short boardwalk, and a long promenade with an adjoining bike path, which was where Tula and I had to walk since dogs were not allowed on the boardwalk or the promenade. So we finished up our miles, then headed to the town of Red Bank for my final New Jersey donation. Red Bank is the place where Jon Bon Jovi has opened his version of a soup kitchen, and it was recommended to me by Pat, a horse trainer friend who grew up in the area. The Soul Kitchen is open to anyone who needs a meal, on a first-come first-serve basis, and a chef comes in 4 days a week to prepare a 3 course dinner out of seasonal food. There are no prices on the menu – you pay what you think the meal is worth. And if you can’t pay, that’s okay too – you can make arrangements to do volunteer work in exchange for a meal. And if you can donate a little extra, that helps the place keep going too. It’s not a big place and the website says there’s frequently a line of people waiting for a meal. I had hoped to enjoy a meal there, but they are only open Thursday-Sunday, so I just mailed in a donation check.

New Jersey – State #26 – is now complete with all walking done, and all 7 donations made – the New Jersey Veteran’s Memorial Home, the Community Closet Food Bank, a blood donation to the Red Cross, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK), Fisherman’s Mark food pantry and the Soul Kitchen.

And then I was ready to sit in the car for a few hours as I headed back to Rhode Island – the state I left 5 months ago the day before Hurricane Sandy hit.

New Jersey – Tuesday, March 26

The messy weather was gone, and today I was off to make a donation to a food pantry in Lambertville – a town on the west side of New Jersey that sits along the Delaware River and the D&R Canal. The food pantry is called Fisherman’s Mark, and I liked the name – as the website says, that name has meaning: “from Saint Andrew, a FISHERMAN who brought people to a safe haven, and the belief of the founding board that each person leaves a MARK where they live, play and work. At Fisherman’s Mark, we have dedicated ourselves to helping others make their mark the best it can be.” Their website had a wish list of needed food, and I stopped and shopped at the Stop and Shop along the way – I ended up getting soup, spaghetti sauce, tuna, canned chicken, cereal, oatmeal, ketchup, mustard, and mayo – condiments were on the list! I found the food pantry building with no problem, and they helped me carry the bags in. One of the volunteers was so happy to get some more food that she took me over to show me the empty cereal shelf in their cupboards. This food pantry is open 5 days a week, and like most places I’ve visited, they have seen the need for assistance increase. In addition to non-perishable food, they also pass out fresh produce, and they had a nice selection of that available for the people who were coming in. The volunteer was very interested in my journey, and we talked about that for a little while. Then they were busy helping people choose out some food, and I took a couple photos and left.

I found a place to leave the van, and Tula and I got out for a long walk. We went all through town and it was a wonderful one to wander through – lots of old buildings, and antique shops and unique things to see. There were even several flag collection boxes – not quite sure what those are for. Once again it strikes me that I’m seeing so much more by finding good places to walk instead of just driving through. Since I’m not much of a shopper, it doesn’t bother me at all not to be able to pop in and out of stores (if there was something I was really interested in seeing, I could always go back once I put Tula in the car.) I simply enjoy walking past and seeing such a huge variety of things. I headed down by the river and figured I would find the canal nearby, and indeed I did. So we walked a few more miles on the towpath, and this time it wasn’t muddy. This was part of the same canal system that I was on yesterday – the canal cuts across a good chunk of the state. The miles and miles of canals in this area were all hand-dug – mostly by Irish immigrants. They’re about 8 feet deep and seem to vary a little in width, and some of the locks and lock houses are still around. It was such a labor intensive task, but before the trains came, they really were a time saver in shipping goods back and forth. Tula had a bit of a challenge in the first part of the canal walk – there were so many ducks and geese that she had a little trouble restraining herself, and once pulled the leash right out of my hand. She made a number of “false charges” at them – she pretty much knows exactly how much leash length she has! Another time she just looked longingly at the ducks in the canal, like she wanted to join them, and I began to wonder if she was going to try to get in the water, but she just watched them from the towpath. I only walked a little over 5 miles today – with the extra miles I’d walked earlier in New Jersey, I was ahead of the game, and I wanted to save the rest of my miles for tomorrow.

I drove by the Washington Crossing State Park, and had hoped to spend a little time there, but they were closed by 4:30, so I was out of luck. And it took me a while to get back to the motel anyway, with detours and rush hour – Ive seen a lot of construction zones! I noticed there was an oil-change place near the motel, and I was able to get an appointment for first thing in the morning. Gotta keep that van running well!

New Jersey – Monday, March 25

It was indeed a mess outside, with a very wet snow falling. The snow was sticking on the grass, but not on the pavement since the temps were just above freezing. I decided I would just stay put for the morning and take care of some of the little things that have been piling up. I had had the foresight to book my room in another centrally located spot near Trenton for a couple nights so I was in no hurry to get out. I enjoyed a rare quiet morning.

But I was ready to head out a little after noon, even if I wouldn’t get all my walking done. Today’s donation was going to go to TASK – Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, which was only about 15 minutes away. They’re more than a soup kitchen though. They have a couple satellite locations, and in addition to providing a lunch and dinner every day, they also pack brown bag meals to send out, provide hygiene products, school supplies in the fall, and tutoring services. Because it was a messy day for grocery shopping, and I wasn’t near any stores, I opted to just give them a financial donation which they could put toward anything they were in need of. The website had really good directions, and I found them as the lunch hour was winding down. I went to the back doors as instructed, and they let me in to wait while finding the director. It’s a big building with lots of shelving space, and I could see and hear volunteers working in what appeared to be a big, industrial sized kitchen – it smelled like they’d had a good lunch! When I met the director, she told me that with lunch and dinner and their satellite programs, they feed about 1000 people a day. Multiply that by a year, and that’s an impressive number of meals to prepare!

Then I was ready to get Tula out for a walk despite the rain/snow/slush. I was going to head to Princeton, which was just a straight shot up the road, and along the way I crossed the D & R Canal (Delaware and Raritan Canal) and its tow path, which I knew was around somewhere. So I pulled off into the small parking lot, and set out for a walk. It was kind of a muddy mess though with all the precipitation, and we only did about 3 miles. Tula was a mess – she doesn’t go around puddles; she trots right through them! It was a good thing I had towels back in the van, so I did the best I could, but we were both kind of sloppy. I drove into the town of Princeton and found a place to park, and that was one of those wonderful places to set out for a long walk – with its fun downtown area, and great neighborhoods, (one looked like an old English neighborhood with half-timber homes), and of course the college campus, there was lots to see and enjoy. We walked for a couple hours in a misty sort of snow and covered 5 miles all over the place. Sometimes when I’m walking on college campuses, people sort of focus on Tula with a wistful expression, and I imagine they’re missing their dogs back home, and then I sometimes overhear them starting to talk about the dogs in their family. So despite the weather, I did all my walking, and headed back to the motel in the heavy rush hour traffic, which took a while. Once there, it felt good to get dry and heat up some soup in the microwave! My camera’s been giving me problems for the last week or so – I’m pretty sure there’s some grains of sand that are affecting the zoom lens, and now it’s totally stuck. I messed around with that for quite a while then I dug out my nice underwater camera that my mom gave me years ago, and got that all ready to go – it takes really nice pictures on land too, so I have a back-up plan while I figure out what to do with the other one. I don’t think Tula budged for the rest of the evening, and Dancing with the Stars was on (yes, I’m a fan!), so it was a cozy way to end a chilly wet day! Tomorrow’s forecast is warmer with some sun.

New Jersey – Sunday, March 24

Ocean City was going to be my first coastal stop for the day, but I ended up staying nearly all day! It was a wonderful town with a friendly, family atmosphere and a great boardwalk, and fun town and neighborhoods to walk through. It’s not all that far from Atlantic City, but the difference in atmosphere is astonishing. I’m sure most of the difference is the lack of casinos, but I’ll take Ocean City over Atlantic City any day! I had a quick brunch at a cafe that had just opened for the season, and since dogs weren’t allowed on the boardwalk at any time, we set off for a 2 1/2 mile walk through the part of town with the historic neighborhoods, and the downtown area. Even though it was a Sunday, shops were open and there were lots of people out shopping and walking, and enjoying a sunny, although cool day. They’ve got the prettiest painted crosswalks I’ve seen yet! Then I put Tula in the car and walked the 2 1/2 mile boardwalk from end to end, getting in another 5 miles. Not all of the shops were open along the boardwalk, but enough of them were to make it interesting. And it smelled good – all the fudge and candy and popcorn and taffy shops were doing a brisk business and handing out free samples. I succumbed to the warm caramel corn after my 5 miles and bought some saltwater taffy to send to the kids for Easter – it’s such a classic Atlantic Boardwalk treat! They’ve been making it there since 1898. The boardwalk went past a long stretch of pretty oceanfront homes too, and lots of people were walking, jogging and riding bikes. There’s also places to rent surreys, but I didn’t see any of those out yet. Altogether I got 8.8 miles of walking done in Ocean City.

I didn’t make a donation today since I had done 2 of them yesterday.

New Jersey has quite a string of outer barrier islands with little towns along them, and I figured I had enough daylight to head over to one of them. So I drove a little north of Atlantic City and first we stopped at a park in Manahawkin to get in some walking (after all, Tula was napping while I was getting my 5 miles in on the boardwalk!) and then I took the causeway over to one of the long, skinny barrier islands. The towns seemed to be mostly vacation homes – block after block after block of homes and sand, with a few surf shops and restaurants thrown in. There didn’t seem to be very many people around. I drove through the northernmost town and stopped at Bamegat Lighthouse State Park – Tula and I were able to get out for a couple more miles of walking as the sun went down. And I had a total of nearly 11 miles for the day – I was happy with the extra miles I’ve walked so far in New Jersey because there’s a very sloppy, snowy forecast for the morning.

New Jersey – Saturday, March 23

Today I was planning to head over to Atlantic City to walk on the 6 mile boardwalk. I had called an information hotline to make sure it was still there after Hurricane Sandy, and the lady told me it was open. But first I had a couple stops to make, and it turned into a 2 donation day.

My first donation today went to the Red Cross – in blood! I donated a pint of blood today, which I’ve done many times in the past. I think I’ve donated 14-15 pints of blood. Somebody from the Red Cross literally calls me every 56 days (and that’s a coincidence!) to schedule another appointment, but last spring I had been in a part of Mexico that had a malaria risk, so I was ineligible to donate blood for a year. When the year was up, to the day, the Red Cross called to see if they could schedule an appointment for me to donate blood again. And that was last week sometime. I explained I was on the road, and would have to find a donor center that was open when I was passing through, so I didn’t schedule anything right then. Yesterday in Cape May I passed a high school that had a sign out front about a blood drive, and since I was nearly done with my walking, I stopped by. But it turned out the blood drive had been yesterday and they forgot to take the sign down. But it inspired me to call the Red Cross, and they figured out that there was a Red Cross donor site in Pleasantville, New Jersey that was open on Saturdays and I had to drive right through Pleasantville on my way to Atlantic City, so I scheduled an appointment. And all went well, as usual. Knock on wood, I have never had any side effects or dizziness after donating blood, and I find it an easy thing to do, and I have good veins for it. As long as I get 2 cans of OJ and some cookies afterward, I’m good to go!

Once I was done with that, I called in to the radio station where they were doing the “Celebrating our Veterans” show and talked with Derick from the veteran’s home. He was happy I called in, and asked me to explain my journey and he had some questions. I think it was all on the radio, but to me, it just seemed like I was having a phone conversation. He asked if I could call back every now and then to keep them updated on where I am on my journey.

And then I had to get going to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine before they closed. Brigantine is north of Atlantic City on an island, and I had to drive through the city to get to the bridge. I found Atlantic City to be crowded, gaudy and seedy – maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for dealing with crowded streets and traffic lights that weren’t in synch at all, and streets blocked by police, and I got a little turned around getting to the bridge, and I was happy to get over to the island! I hadn’t made an animal-related donation for a while, and when I read about the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, I thought that would be a fun place to visit, and they were only open for visitors on Saturdays til 2. I almost didn’t get there in time with all the traffic and blocked off streets in Atlantic City. But they were still happy to tell me about the center and they let me watch their video while they were closing up. The Marine Mammal Stranding Center is the only one of its kind in New Jersey, and they can accommodate quite a few injured and malnourished critters. They deal with a lot of seals, and some dolphins, and have even taken in a couple small whales in the past. And in August they often get sea turtles in, even though turtles don’t make their nests on the Jersey coast. There are literally hundreds of volunteers to help the 7-8 people on staff, and they take in animals from other states when necessary. There’s ICU tanks in a pole barn, and because they had animals in there, we couldn’t couldn’t go in to look around. They also have an overflow tent with more tanks for when they get full. As I was making my donation, another baby seal was brought in. The center has a couple red trucks that sort of look like a big ambulance to go out on the rescue runs. Once the animals have recovered from whatever is ailing them, they are released back into the ocean. They suffered hurricane damage – the museum was secure (there are fiberglass models of all the sea life in the waters around New Jersey), but the overflow tent had to be replaced and some of their equipment had major damage from all the salt spray. But with the help of their volunteers they got things cleaned up quickly. I’m glad I was able to get there, and they were happy to be included in my journey. So that was donation #2 for the day.

From there Tula and I went to the end of the island where there was a big beach and a short concrete promenade, and we got a mile and a half of walking in. Then I was ready to brave the traffic and head back into Atlantic City so I could walk on the boardwalk. I puzzled over where to park for a while – I didn’t want to walk through town and I didn’t really want to park on the street – I was just feeling some bad vibes. So I drove around a bit, and found a small guarded parking lot right by the boardwalk, and was happy to pay the $5 fee to park safely for a few hours. And then Tula and I set off. Atlantic City has a 6 mile boardwalk, which would be 12 miles if I walked the whole way down and back. But I didn’t do that – I was mindful of having donated blood and even though I felt fine, I made myself sit down to rest every couple of miles, and I had a bunch of water. Dogs aren’t allowed on the boardwalk during the busy summer months so I was glad to be there when I was. We walked 7 miles altogether, and it was pretty crowded in the casino area since it was a Saturday. For people who wanted to get from one casino to another without walking, there were a bunch of “rolling chairs” available for hire, and then someone would push it as far as they wanted to go – kind of like adult-sized strollers that can hold 2 people! And there were lots of people enjoying the service! I guess if I was wearing heels (ha!) I wouldn’t want to walk on a boardwalk either! Even if I had all day, I wouldn’t have walked the whole boardwalk. What surprised me was how quickly the surroundings changed from the glitz and commotion of the whole casino/hotel part of the boardwalk to an area that seemed a little run down. Once I had walked past the last hotel on the gambling strip, the whole character of the boardwalk changed – hardly anyone was around, some buildings appeared abandoned, and it didn’t seem like a great area, so I turned around. Luckily the casino/hotel area took up a long stretch of the boardwalk so I could walk as many miles as I did. By this time it was beginning to get dark and I had walked 8 1/2 miles, so it was time to head back to the motel. I had actually kept a centrally located motel for several nights since it was one of the very few reasonably priced pet-friendly motels in the whole area. None of the motels in and near Atlantic City allow pets – and although I had called several of them just outside of town, I was happy I didn’t end up staying there once I saw them.

Overall, so far, I think I’m surprised I haven’t seen more hurricane damage along the coast. Other than part of the boardwalk in Ocean City Maryland being replaced, and the occasional sight of a boarded up window here, or a pile of debris there, things don’t seem too bad considering how big the hurricane was, and how much damage it caused. I know people have been working hard to get things back in shape for the relatively short tourist season, and I probably haven’t been to the hardest-hit places.

New Jersey – Friday, March 22

I decided to head down to Cape May on the very southern tip of New Jersey’s shore line. Cape May claims to be America’s oldest seashore resort, and in the late 1800s it rivaled Newport, Rhode Island as a destination for the wealthy and famous. It looked like a great town to walk around in. But first I wanted to take care of my donation, and today that went to the Community Food Closet in Cape May. This food pantry is open every other Friday in the morning, and I had called yesterday and spoke to someone at the church to make sure they would be open today. Normally they would have been, but their schedule changed slightly because of Easter, so they weren’t open after all, but Liz, the food pantry director, was there anyway to help a few families who had thought the food pantry was open. I watched as she helped the families – she was very generous with the food she passed out. The food pantry had received a big shipment of frozen chicken, so that was good for everyone! I had arrived a little later than I intended, and didn’t have time to shop on my way down, but Liz told me a financial donation would be most helpful anyway, because they’ll be shopping for Easter hams to hand out next week to all the families who need food assistance. So I was glad I hadn’t shopped – I like the idea of helping with Easter hams! Last year this food pantry helped 1162 families, and because they get several days worth of food when they come, that worked out to 250,912 meals that they provided. Wow!

Then Tula and I set out for a walk on the promenade by the ocean. It was chilly out, and very windy, but I layered up and got out the gloves, and we set off to walk the promenade from end to end and covered nearly 4 miles. We also walked through some of the town and admired the big Victorian homes along the waterfront. A couple places were still boarded up from the hurricane. There were a few candy shops open and they were passing out fudge samples, and I tasted them, but didn’t think it was as good as Mackinac Fudge! It looked kind of funny to see the fudge people outside in down jackets and scarves! After that long walk in the cold, I warmed up with some hot chocolate in a coffee shop. Then I drove out to the Cape May Point State Park and did a little more walking. There were a couple nature trails,and dogs weren’t allowed, so Tula had to stay behind. I walked another 2.5 miles on a combination of boardwalks, sandy trails, little wooden walkways etc – it was a really pretty walk.

And then I stopped in Wildwood, just a little north of Cape May. There was a boardwalk in this town, so Tula and I got another 4 miles of walking in, giving me a total of 11 for the day. This boardwalk had an amusement park pier, and I still think it’s a little creepy to see all the rides silent and still, and all the shops closed up – it makes the place look so abandoned. I sort of feel like I shouldn’t even be walking there, but there were other people out and about. Soon enough the place will be packed, and I’m happy to be there when it’s not crowded!

Then I called it a day and headed back to the motel. I stopped at Denny’s for a quick dinner and ordered off the senior menu(!) and then got an extra 20% off for showing my AARP card – that helps the budget!

New Jersey – Thursday, March 21

Today is the beginning of New Jersey – State #26. I had stayed at an inexpensive place on the east side of Maryland because it looked like pet friendly motels might be a little more challenging in NJ – and I woke up to a light snow! It wasn’t too long a drive to New Jersey – I did a couple quick errands, then finished the Maryland miles, then drove about 12 miles in Delaware, then over the Delaware River into New Jersey. There’s a lot of turnpikes in New Jersey and I want to avoid most of them, so I took the first exit immediately after crossing the bridge, and found myself in Pennsville. After a quick bite to eat, Tula and I started our NJ walking on a path in a park by the Delaware River. There was a monument along the river saying the Delaware River was the colonial highway for Swedes and Finns. It was chilly out, and there was a brisk breeze, so we just did a quick mile and a half. Then I moved on to a town called Salem, and got out for another couple of miles. According to a sign, Salem means “peace” and the town was given that name by the first Quaker colony in 1675. There’s an old log cabin standing in town, but I’m not sure if it’s been standing since then, but it sort of looks like it! There was also a house in Salem, owned by 2 sisters who were part of the Underground Railroad – if only the walls could talk.

I had looked into donation possibilities in both of those towns, but didn’t see anything that grabbed my attention, but there was a big New Jersey Veteran’s Home in Vineland that is the oldest one in the state. Concern and care for New Jersey veterans began after the Civil War with the opening of the New Jersey Soldier’s Home in 1866. Since then, New Jersey has been providing care for their veterans, and the Veteran’s Memorial Home in Vineland has been in operation since 1899 and the website says they have provided care to New Jersey veterans of every war and armed conflict since the War of 1812. The place was re-built in 2005. I called the activities office about making a donation, but no one answered so I just left a message. I drove over there and it’s a very big, nice facility. Someone took me to the recreation office, and I met Derick, and by then they had heard my message, and were pleased to get a donation. Derick was very interested in my journey, and we talked for quite a while. He told me a bit about the recreation/activities programs (they even have a 4-lane bowling alley)and my donation will go toward one of the activity programs. Derick hosts a radio show called “Celebrating our Veterans” on Saturday mornings, and he wanted to tell the listeners about my journey since I make a military-related donation in every state, and wondered if I could call into the show from wherever I am on Saturday. So he gave me the phone number for that.

By then the afternoon was beginning to slip away, and I needed to get some more walking in, so after I left the Veteran’s Home, I walked a little over a mile in the park across the street, and then I drove a short ways and found Parvin State Park where Tula and I were able to get 2 3/4 miles in before dark. That left me about 8/10s short for the day, but I can make that up!

Maryland – Wednesday, March 20

I had done some reading, and found out that the Washington County Library in Hagerstown, Maryland was home of the oldest bookmobile in the country. At the turn of the last century, reading was still considered a luxury by many people. But in 1905 in Hagerstown, the librarian came up with the concept of a horse-drawn book wagon and loaded it up with a couple hundred books and sent the library janitor out to the rural farm areas. It was a big hit! And the library’s bookmobile has been in service ever since except for a short time during one of the wars. So I thought a donation to the oldest bookmobile in the country, so they can get some more books, would be a fun idea. And this donation is in honor of my mom, who always has books close at hand – and she’s also enjoyed the services of a bookmobile. So I drove to the library in Hagerstown, hoping I’d be able to see a picture of the original book wagon. And I talked with Michelle at the library, and she was happy to help me with my quest to find a picture of it. I learned more about the bookmobile and library, and she found some good pictures. Then she offered to call the place where the current bookmobile is (their library is undergoing renovations which will be complete soon, so the library has things in 2 different locations), and the lady there said she’d be happy to show me the warehouse that more of library books and current bookmobile are in. So I drove over there and met Marilyn and we talked for quite a while. Their current bookmobile is like a huge RV, and the side of it is painted with a little history of the bookmobile, with pictures of all the different modes of transportation they’ve used in the past 100 years. The bookmobile visits about 80 different places every month, and they no doubt make a lot of people very happy! It was a fun donation.

At that point, I was going to head to the Antietam National Battleground to do some walking and then I was going to head for the town of Frederick for my second donation. But knowing that the donations can sometimes take longer than I expect, I decided to head to Frederick first. This donation was also a fun one that I read about. There’s a “Souper Sunday” fundraiser coming up for the Frederick Rescue Mission’s Hunger Relief Program, and I wanted to support that. To do so, I went to a pottery shop in Frederick, where volunteers had made dozens of beautiful soup bowls to give away. By choosing a bowl, supporters were agreeing to pay $25 for a ticket to the fundraiser, where local chefs will be preparing lots of different kinds of soup to fill up the bowls. I won’t be in Maryland when the fundraiser is held, but I bought 2 tickets anyway – and gave them a little extra so it was $56 – and they let me choose 2 bowls. That took a while because there were lots of shapes, designs and colors! The event is very well attended, and last year they raised about $10,000. It would have been fun to be in town to sample a lot of good soup! Both Timber, the young lady running the shop, and another lady who was choosing out a bowl, were very supportive of my journey, and Timber even wrote a nice note and put it in my bag which I found later.

And Frederick turned out to be such an old, interesting, big historic town that the short walk I was going to take turned into 5 miles – there was something fun to see around every corner! I loved the colonial feel of the town and the buildings that have seen generations of living. There was also a canal walk through the middle of town, and I always like those. There was a plaque at one end of the canal that explained how the town was full of canneries, tanneries and mills as early as the 1700s, and the racket, stench and smoke was quite something back in the day. It’s all cleaned up now, and many of the buildings have other purposes. And a firetruck went through town – one of the really long ones that needs a second driver in a cab in the back to steer the rear wheels – I’ve only seen a few of those trucks.

Even though the day was wearing on, I still wanted to head to Antietam for a little while at least. And I stopped in Boonsboro on the way – another old town that was settled by Daniel Boone’s cousins. Then I made it to Antietam and drove and walked around some of the battlefields – a bloody battle it was. There were statues and memorials here and there, and descriptive plaques – all the hills made good cover for both sides. When the sun went down I had to call it a day, and I headed east toward State #26.

I loved Maryland – again, I’ve learned so much, and there seems to be some of everything here. I finished all 56 miles of walking, and made all 7 donations – the Helping Hands food pantry at Making a Difference Together, Assateague Island Alliance, the Mission of Mercy dental program, the Wayfarer House, the USO at Fort Meade, Washington County Library’s Bookmobile, and the Frederick Rescue Mission’s Souper Sunday Fundraiser. And I was able to enjoy some family time in between it all too 🙂

Maryland – Tuesday, March 19

I enjoyed a little more grandma time this morning, then hit the road through eastern Ohio, the mountains of West Virginia and back into Maryland. It was about a 7 hour drive, and I’m glad I had walked some extra miles earlier in the Maryland week! I only needed to walk 3 1/2 miles today and I had just about enough daylight to get that finished. I was in the panhandle area of Maryland and stopped in Cumberland, in the mountains. This was near the eastern continental divide. Cumberland was at one end of another canal system, and also was the start of the National Road – the first “interstate” road. It existed before Highway 12, which I thought was one of the oldest highways. The National Road was started in 1811 with Thomas Jefferson taking a risk to provide federal funds – a 600+ mile super road made of stone and dirt, and traveled by covered wagons and stagecoaches – it opened the way through the eastern mountains from Maryland into the great Ohio Valley land, and provided an easier passage for countless people who used to have to rely on waterways. Today the National Historic Road travels through original towns and villages, passing by old inns, tollhouses, taverns, diners and motels. I’m so glad I learned about this before visiting Ohio and Illinois! Anyway, I was going to do my walking in one of the historic neighborhoods, but I couldn’t find it, so I drove through the downtown area and came upon part of a canal walk, and a bike trail that was next to some train tracks. So I did my 3 1/2 miles of walking. I’m so glad it’s staying light a little later every day!

Since it was too late to make a donation today, I have 2 lined up for tomorrow. After Tula and I did our walking, we drove a little bit farther to the outskirts of Hagerstown for the night.