Day 111

Triple snake eyes baby! With 5 days left in our journey and our crew growing daily this may in fact be my last blog of this trip. I hope you have all enjoyed reading all of our updates because we have all had a good time writing them for you. At times there are days that we are tired or running short on time to bring you the very best of what our day was like, but I know once this trip comes to a sudden finish in less than 116 hours we will miss sitting down to the computer and reliving some of the best times of our lives. Many people have already expressed to us how great our run has been and how much it has personally inspired them. They have told me it is going to be sad waking up and not being able to check the computer to read what sort of adventures the three of us have gotten ourselves into on that particular day. I find it hard to believe that following our dream and doing something as simple as running, something we all truly love to do in life, could affect so many different peoples lives all across the country. I can't even count the number of life long friendships we have made in such a short amount of time or the number of "adapted parents" we now have rooting for us and praying we make it safely across this great country in one piece, just like they would with their own children. Only five days remain and as much as I am excited to finally accomplish my dream and see all my friends and family waiting for me on the beach I will be sad to say goodbye to the road and everything she has provided us with. Life long memories with two of my best friends. The jokes we have told, the sights we have seen, the laughter, the pain, the struggles, the overwhelming generosity of complete strangers, the wind (my gosh the wind), the ups and downs and the thousands of hamburgers we have consumed in a little less than four months can and never will be relived again. This is a once in a life time experience that I feel grateful and blessed to be able to live out. A lot of people have dreams of their own but they are to afraid or to "busy" to actually do something about them. I know this has been our theme since day one but we once again urge and encourage everyone to get out there and do what makes them happy. Life is short and it should be lived to it's fullest. Do what makes you happy and do it with the people you care about.

I wanted to finish out the blog with that paragraph but as I was typing I was on a roll and just kept it going. If you finish reading the blog and want a stronger finish than what I come up with I suggest rereading the first paragraph a second time. It could be a good beginning and end. Some might call it a delicious sandwich. Do what you wish with it but personally that's what I would do.

Now on to today...

We all woke up just after 4am as my alarm repeatedly rang. I felt bad because I was sleeping with my headphones on, something I rarely do, but with the fear of the fire alarm waking me up in the middle of the night again I felt I had to have something to drown out the potential noise. Ken had to come over from the next bunk and turn it off for me. He woke everyone else up and we headed downstairs to the living room/kitchen to pack up the joggers and eat breakfast. Although it was early everyone had a bit of energy in them and I could tell we were all excited to get out on the road with Rick. I know I was personally excited. We ate muffins, coffee cake and Ken killed two bowls of cereal that we have been pushing around in the joggers for over a week. I was glad to see him finally eat it not only to free up some more room in the jogger but because I assumed it was stale already.

We were able to fit everything in the joggers with no problem because Rick packed extremely light. He didn't even bring a razor and we all joked that after only 6 days of not shaving he will have passed Durkin with a thicker, more rugged looking mustache. One of the joggers has a slow leak in one of the back wheels and Rick made sure to start pulling his weight immediately and inflated it for us as we watched a variety of TV shows before taking off.

Speaking of Rick. When he woke up this morning he told Durkin and I that he slept completed emerged in his 20 degree sleeping bag, waking up in a pool of sweat. He didn't know that you can't sleep all the way in the bag but instead have to unzip it and use it more like a blanket than a sleeping bag if you are sleeping in 70 degree weather. The two of us laughed at him and called him a "rook" (rookie). This name stuck immediately and we called him Rook for the rest of the day. Any time he did something that we know shouldn't be done or asked a question about things we laughed and called him rook. But don't worry Rick. You will only have to endure this name for two more days when the changing of the guard takes place. For the final three days our friend Dan will be taking on that role.

We got on the road around 5 and once again it was still dark. We made our way out of town joking around and telling stories to our friend. It was great having someone else out there with us. I felt like all morning we were just catching him up with our journey even though he was the person we talked to the most while on the road. It just isn't the same on the phone. I am glad he decided to come out and experience what we have been doing for the past four months. These six days on the road he is getting a mini-nation experience of his own. I know he will take out of it just as much as we have and there is no one else I would have like to share this experience with.

The road we were taking out of town was under construction for about a mile and we ran behind a concrete barrier that separated us from two lanes of traffic. However, before long our small patch of pavement ran out and we were forced to pass the joggers over the barrier and onto the road. Luckily, there was hardly any traffic at this time of the day and we made it passed the construction with little problem. Rick was excited because he wanted to climb a fence before our trip was over. This was no fence but it was close enough.

There was a huge silo on the side of the road and about halfway up the words "Sea Level" with a line were painted on the outside of it. This was a cool thing to see since we were currently 113 feet below sea level at this point, the lowest we would get the entire trip. We have climbed close to 8,000 feet and have sunk as low as 100 feet making it to each of these landmarks with our own two feet-five miles an hour.

The GPS had us leaving the main road and running on a number of back roads for most of the day. We ran on dirt roads, through farms and fields, and a few unnamed roads which are always fun. I personally love running on these roads because you don't have to worry about traffic as much and you can enjoy running and the sights that much more. At one point we ran between an irrigation canal and a huge wheat/hay field. Ken decided to prance his way through the field which looked amazing as the hay came all the way up to his hip. He simply disappeared in this sea of yellow. It was funny to watch him and we all laughed at the small he has inside.

These hay fields were obviously being cut and stocked because towards the end of the day we ran passed the largest stock pile of hay I have ever seen in my life. Thousands of bails stacked for maybe 1/2 mile down the road. It was very impressive to say the least.

With four miles left in the day we were running on a dirt road through a couple of fields. Suddenly we ran into a barb wire fence. Directly in front of us stood a Naval Base. Once again we were faced with the challenge of getting around or going through (which is what the GPS had us doing) a restricted area. Being disappointed that we were so close to finishing and having to go all the way around we quickly brainstormed but decided it would be best to go the extra few miles around the perimeter of the base. After a few extra miles we finally made it to town just in time. I say just in time because although it was only 9:30 in the morning the wind was starting to pick up with a fierce kick to it. Not only was it directly in our face for most of the day (except when we were running around the base - I made the joke that we had to be running in the wrong direction because the wind was at our back) but it was stirring up sand and dirt everywhere. It was pelting us everywhere on our body and giving us problems seeing. We were all relieved when we entered town and were able to get inside.

We stopped at the only restaurant in town, The Taco Shop and had a great early lunch. Cheeseburgers all around and milk shakes for Ken and I. Later that night when we returned for dinner Rick and Durkin made sure to purchase their own. Everyone was feeling good to be done with our day and fed before 11 and we made our way over to the fire department only two blocks away. The guys over at the Brawley fire department contacted the Seeley station and got us hooked up for the night. The guys were really cool and interested in our run, often times telling us how crazy we were but that they thought it was amazing that we ran all the way from Georgia. We were able to shower, do laundry and relax in their TV room for the rest of the day. Not much got accomplished but we were all okay with that. We did however see a special episode of My super sweet 16. It featured Diddy's step son and was out of this world. That kid is what we like to call "spoiled". Bad boys for life.

For dinner we headed back to the Taco Shop and across the street to the market to pick up supplies for tomorrow. Breakfast and of course Gatorade was on the menu. As we returned to the station the chief finally arrived and we got to talk to him about our adventure. He too was very excited about our trip and we studied maps for a good hour trying to figure out a quicker way to San Diego from here. He called a number of police and the department of transportation trying to find out if we can run on I-8, which would cut out 30-35 miles that we have left. We are still waiting back on that but I think we are going to stick to our plan. After all it has got us this far. Everyone at the station had to leave for about an hour and because Rick has CPR training they left him in charge. They told us if anyone comes to "take care of it" and of course call 9-1-1. Rick was very excited to be the stand-in-chief even for an hour. He tried to boss me around but I wasn't taking any of his orders. Silly Rick.

I am really happy that today was Rick's first day on the road with us and with everything he got to experience. The hard wind, getting somewhat lost, running on back roads and through fields, fooling around on the road, and getting such generosity at the fire house. In a way he just ran what we have been doing for the last 4 months in one day. He got a crash course NationRun in 24 hours. I wish everyone could experience a day with us. However, for those of you that can not I am thankful we have such great friends to help us keep our website up-to-date. Our friends are great.

We just got back from our first ride in a fire truck. Five of us piled into the back of the truck while the captain rode shot gun. It was a little tight but worth every minute of it. The captain told us a little about the history of the area and drove us on the road we will be running for the next few days. We saw everything and nothing that we will be seeing over the next 30 miles. The desert stands only a few more miles between us and the beautiful Pacific Ocean. We stopped at a sign that read "This is the desert. There's nothing out here. Nothing". It was a neat sign but at the same time a little depressing. As we drove back to the station a huge dust storm came out of no where. The entire road turned into night within seconds. It was pretty cool to see and reminded me of a heavy fog storm back in New York. We are currently back at the station preparing for tomorrows run. It is only about 19 miles and we will be staying with the Ocotillo Fire Department, another station within the Imperial County. I know we are all excited for the next few days that we have left on the road.

Thanks once again for everything. I can say those words over and over but I don't know if I can ever truly repay everyone who has helped us along the way.

I know I will try and for now that is all I can do. We love you all and will see you on MONDAY! I know the nation will come to an end in five days for me but it will live on forever as long as I continue to live my life the way I have the last 111 days.

-Andy