a day of ups and downs

I left Auburn, MA this morning and the sun was shining and it was warm. Near 50 I think. It was a great way to start the day. auburn was a nice town and there were lots of people jogging and such. I didn't really stop and check anything out, I knew I had a long way to go and it was supposed to start raining about 2pm.

After a while I hit more stretches of roadway s with almost no shoulders or sidewalks. I was walking along praying to God and doubting (yes once again) that this is what I should be doing. Telling Him that He really needed to give me a sign because this just wasn't fun. Right after that a car stopped up the road to see if I was OK. We moved over to a side street where we could talk safely, they donated some money to my walk and gave me a bible.(how's that for a sign?)

I went on walking farther and the road did not get any safer. I had made it about 3/4 of the way when an officer stopped me and gave me a ride and I did have to agree that it wasn't safe where I was walking. While he drove me he was very discouraging and once again I was ready to go home.

I got here in Sturbridge and I fell in love with the town. It is what I was hoping to see while walking. Its full of beautiful old houses, antique shops and boutiques and history. I reserved my room for an extra day and I am going to explore the town tomorrow! After I checked in today, I went to this BBQ place I passed on the way to the hotel. They had amazing food! It was 3pm and the place was packed! I ended up sharing a table with three other people because it was so packed. I had a great time. I walked back to my hotel singing praises to God the whole way! It was what I needed.

So I will rest my mind and body in this quant town for now and go on from here. What this has been showing me is how much I need someone to drive with me. Please keep this in prayer for me.

its the hardest thing I have ever done

This is by far the most difficult thing physically I have ever done. I am questioning the sanity of an overweight 51 year old taking this on, but here I am trying to do this. Lol Some advice for anyone wanting to try this... mall walking is NOT good prep for this. I just went through Shrewsburg And though I love the people I met there, it is not s good place to be walking.

As for the people. I went to DeeDees diner in the Sears Edgemere plaza. The food was great and the people were wonderful.

As for walking, there were many places where there was no shoulder or sidewalks and they all seemed to be at the worst places like blind curves and big hills.

I am going for 17 miles tomorrow. Gonna try to get to Sturbridge.its supposed to rain tomorrow. Its not supposed to start till after 2pm. I hope they are right, and that the terrane will start to level off so I can move faster.I'll make sure my rain poncho is within easy reach.

day two of walking

Today was a much better day. The sun was out and it was in the 30s. It was still a lot of uphill, but I went through some adorable New England towns. I met a truck stop Chaplin named Earl. (No it wasn't Billy all my cm friends) He was very sweet and encouraging. I know God is going to put all kinds of people in my path and he is one of many. I am staying at a friends sons house. It is really nice.I am feeling right at home.Tomorrow will be an easy day. I could either get a hotel 6-8 miles away or more than 25 miles away. I chose the 6-8 miles. I will be able to stop and check things out a long the way and not feel like I have to rush.

first day of walking

Yesterday was my first day of walking and it was horrible. I walked up hill 90% of the time and the wind was in my face making it even harder. They use sand on the roads so the wind was whipping up the sand and it was hitting me in the face. I got about 10 miles in, but they were hard miles. Here is hoping that today is better. The weather is supposed to be better, that is a big plus.

yesterday was kind of a fail.

First off for everyone who is hearing about the weather on the cape and worrying. There is no snow where I am and light winds. Its a little colder than I would like, but not dangerous.

Yesterday I refined my cart. It was just too heavy to pull and too short yo push. I was really doubting how I was going to do my walk. I bought a stroller frame, removed the bag from the cart frame and put it on the stroller. Soooo much easier.

I didn't walk at all. We took time adjusting the cart and drove to the coast and got totally lost in the city of Boston. By the time we found route 20 it was 3:00 and we were in Sudbury. Paul and noelle drove me to a motel here and I will be starting my walk from here this morning. Noelle and Paul made it home fine. I was worried. They had a long drive and we were all worn out from driving in circles all day. Oh well gotta go now so I can start my walk!

I'm in Boston

We got into Boston last night (actually Framingham). I am getting ready to start out today. They were supposed to have a snow storm today. So far I haven't seen any snow here. We went to dolphin seafood last night and had a real good seafood dinner. I will update more as I start my walk. Right now I am using my phone to update. Still need to get a tablet. That will make updating much easier.

It is almost here! and Sponsorship info

It is almost time to walk! I am planning to leave for Boston in 12 days, on March 19th. It's hard to believe that time has gone by so fast. Everytime I have been unsure if I am really supposed to be doing this, God confirms it, whether it be a donation from someone totally unexpected or a great sponsor. The Good Feet store has donated some amazing arch supports and sneakers to me. My feet feel so wonderful in these, that maybe I'll walk 30 miles a day! I'm only half serious there. I will start out slow and careful. I don't want my walk to end before it starts. Please see my "sponsorship" tab for a link to The Good Feet store and stop in and see them. I was at the store on 1625 Walden Ave in Cheektowaga. It's right near Galaria Mall, easy to find. Justin was so very helpful! It was a really great experience.

I am now working on getting some of the larger chain restaurants to donate gift cards. I have asked a few and will continue to ask more.

I met with Maura from Olmsted Center for Sight and she just had so much helpful information for me. It was a really productive meeting. I have a meeting scheduled with LouAnne and Colleen from Northtown Pregnancy center Thursday. I am really looking forward to seeing them again.

I have another way to donate if you would like. I have set up a sight on Crowdrise.com. Just search for "Our footsteps count". There are three different fundraisers there. One for each of the charities and one for my expenses.

I have a few prayer requests please:

Sponsorship, please let there be favorable decisions for the requests I have sent out for sponsorship and let their yes's actually be yes. I have had a few who said they would sponsor me and then when it came down to it backed out. I just wish they would have said no from the beginning instead of me thinking things were in order and then having to try all over again.

My health - my surgery went really well and I am recovering really well. Now with the new arch supports and sneakers hopefully foot pain/body aches will not be a problem, so just please pray for continued good health. Also Noelle had her yearly MRI and the tumor they saw last year is actually shrinking!!!!

That I stay humble and always realize that I cannot do any of this without God's hand being in it.

Thank you all for all of your prayers, encouragement and support. It has meant everything to me!!