Today started a little early for Andy, as he and Elyse had to bring Kaitlyn to the airport so she could return to Albany. Check out the news link from Denton, as Kaitlyn made a cameo appearance in there as well! Andy and Kaitlyn said their goodbyes, and went their separate ways. She made it safely back around 3:00 New York time. As for Andy, he returned to the house at about 5:30 Texas time to get an extra hour of sleep before the team would wake up for the day's travel.
When they awoke, it was 6:30 and the guys began to pack the joggers. This was quite a task today, as the team spent the past 4 days with Kaitlyn's cousins. Andy said they had stuff everywhere, and it was like an early Easter egg hunt to find everything. Once the joggers were packed, the guys jumped in the car for the hour ride to where they had left off the day before. They were going to be starting about 12 miles outside of Decatur. This hour ride was used for some sleep, but it was a restless ride. Andy said he was physically exhausted today, and mentally he just wasn't in it. It was a hard day to get moving. The trio began moving around 9 am, and walked for a little while. They made about 3 stops in the first 40 minutes to correct one of the joggers front wheels. Like I said, it was just a tough day to get any momentum flowing.
Today was a big day in some other ways. First, the guys found a total of 12 license plates on the road today. They kept 8, one being from Minnesota! The team kept moving, and arrived in Decatur for lunch. Andy said the courthouse was huge in this small town. They headed to the Courthouse Cafe for lunch. After about an hour of eating and recovering, they began the 19 miles to Runaway Bay. Right after leaving Decatur, the road became a much larger highway. There was a lane in the middle that no cars could travel in, maybe intended for maintenance. However, it was empty, and the team took advantage. The ran for about 10 miles on this lane, with traffic on either side. Andy said that today was easily the hottest day of the trip so far, with temperatures in the low 80s. Despite the temperature, the crew kept moving toward the day's final destination.
Just before arriving in Runaway Bay, the guys caught a glimpse of their first plateau. They could see the walls of the plateau in the distance, and Andy said it was neat to see because he has never experienced one. Just after that, the road split around a huge lake. Runaway Bay was located right on the lake, and the guys became excited as they drew closer. Andy said that after miles and miles of farmland and empty space, it was cool to see this huge lake appear and the road split around it. As they rolled into town, they stopped at a gas station. The trio was told there was not much in Runaway Bay, so they wanted to get some water, Gatorade, and food incase this was their only opportunity. Right next to the gas station was a public beach, and Ken was really looking to spend the night there. Right as they were going to head to the beach, they came across some police officers and asked if it would be alright to put up their tent. The officers said no, and gave no indication that they would help the team. The guys decided they would rely once again on the kindness of strangers and head down the road to see if someone would let them pitch the tent in their yard.
About 3-4 houses in, the guys were ready to give up. No one had been answering their doors, and they were almost decided on just finding a safe clearing to put up the tent. Ken saw one last chance - a "triangle house." This house had a roof that went all the way to the ground, forming a triangle. Luckily, the gentleman and his wife were outside, and Andy asked if it would be alright for them to set up shop. The man quickly obliged, and the guys were excited. The gentleman began talking to the guys more and more, and he was all about their quest. He really thought it was awesome that they were traveling the nation for such a noble cause. The guys were about to shower in the lake, when the gentleman generously offered up his house for showers. After showers, he offered to order them a pizza. The guys were pumped. They thanked him and agreed. A few minutes later, he asked if they would rather go to a bar and get some food an drinks. Ken was PUMPED and immediately wanted to go. A little while later, the gentleman, his wife, and the team headed to Red's Sports Bar and Grill.
When they arrived, they had to become members of the bar. The gentleman tried to reason with the owners of the bar, because the guys would only be there one night. However, they would not budge. This gentleman picked up the tab for the three $10 memberships, and they entered the bar. As they entered, they received membership cards, which were identical to the Thumbs Up Productions business card that Ken and Ryan Pennell had created just a couple years earlier! When I finished up my conversation with Andy, he was headed back inside to get some food and drinks, which the gentleman has also graciously offered to pay for.
One more thing before I close up this blog for the night. Durkin told me that this gentleman, in their talks about the journey, told them an interesting fact about the road they had been running on for the past few days. Discovery Channel named that road the most dangerous road in America! With this new information, the guys will be paying much more attention to traffic, and continue to dominate the most dangerous road known to man.
Thanks for all your continuous support, and KEEP MOVIN'!
- Rick
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