Sunday, May 11, 2008

Day 101

Last night the guys ate at a restaurant called The Lighthouse. As they were leaving, they ran into a family who was entering for dinner. The family asked what they were doing once they saw the baby joggers. They got into a conversation with Sandra and Bopper James about the journey, and a few minutes later the guys got a nice donation from the James family. This conversation also caught the attention of Daisy and Mary, the owners of The Lighthouse. They asked the guys where they were staying for the night, and they replied telling the owners they planned on camping out in the park down the street. The owners offered up a house that they were fixing up in town, and the guys quickly accepted. They got to the house, that had been closed up for a week or so, and began to set up and relax. The house was really stuffy - in the 80s or 90s temperature wise from being all closed up. They opened up the windows and took some cold showers, then got comfy. The house cooled off, and the guys got to sleep.

At about 5:00 this morning, the guys were up and packing for the day. They had decided to get up early and avoid the heat. They were on the road by 5:30 am, and moving on the road. Andy said that he was not feeling well this morning, probably because of the heat. It was warm at 5:30, and it was HOT by 9:30. They ran on the same road the whole day, with 20-21 miles of it coming in a straightaway - no turns or weaves at all. It was nice travel because it was all downhill. They began the day at about 2,100 feet, and finished at about 1,800 feet. Andy said that there were mountains on both sides of the road in the distance the entire day. He thought it was such a neat thing for one road to just split the gigantic mountains on either side of them. They got one flat, in the same tire as the previous day. This slowed them down a bunch, but they still made decent time arriving in Wenden at around 11 am.

When they got into town, they began to look for a place to rest and eat. They found that all the cafes and restaurants were closed. Luckily, they found one at the very edge of town that was open, and decided to get something to eat. Andy again was not feeling well due to the heat, and said he drank so much water and juice at lunch, but was unable to finish his cheesesteak. Matt and Ken both dominated a bacon cheeseburger, and then continued on to finish Andy's leftovers. After they ate, the crew decided to move on and tackle 5 more miles of tomorrow's travel. Salome was only 5 miles away, and the guys wanted to decrease the long 35 mile day ahead of them.

When they arrived in Salome, the first building they saw was a motel. They went in to see how much it was, but decided it was best to get the room no matter what. They had spent most of the previous night in the heat, and the long day in the heat as well. Andy said it was definitely the best option to get out of the heat and have a nice place to rest and rehydrate. The afternoon began with Andy and Matt doing their laundry in the sink, and hanging it out to dry outside on a makeshift laundry line of bungee cords. Ken took a 2 hour nap while this all took place. Matt and Andy dozed off as well while watching the Laker game. After the naps, the team walked about a half mile to a gas station/grocery store to get dinner. Ken got 5 hot pockets, Matt got a Hungry Man Roast Beef and Hungry Man Turkey Dinner, and Andy got a frozen chicken dinner to round it out. Ken also got two huge bags of cereal, which he claimed would be only one by the next morning. Andy was also eating cereal out of a 99 cent mug he had bought at the store. Ken went to ask the front desk if there was a bowl he could use for cereal, and came back with an enormous one that will hold more than half the bag! The guys planned on getting to bed early to rest up, and so they can be on the road by 5 am tomorrow. They plan to be up early the rest of the trip in order to avoid the heat.

Happy Mother's Day!

- Rick

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