Making Friends and Interesting Places

I’m posting this a day late because of limited connectivity last night.  All events occurred on 13 May 2019 - N2N-TCP Day 43.

I can’t really begin to describe how well today went.  We started off for a short hike from Angola to our planned overnight spot in a yurt at Evangola State Park.  Somehow, I got turned around and managed to make a five mile saunter into an eight mile hike.

In spite of getting turned around, the Universe seems to know just what we need.  What started as a navigation error ended up being a grand time to meet new friends and interesting people and the
Grandview Bay Golf Course, The Lucy Goose Bar and Grill, and the Lakeside Market.  In the evening I visited the magical shores of Lake Erie, a place where the curtain between the physical and spiritual worlds thin and real magic happens.  Today that magic was wielded by the fantastic people we met along the way. Thank you Rick, Tracy, Lucy, Shirley, Cayleen, and Sue for making the day one to remember fondly.

We even finally ended up at Evangola State Park for a night in the yurt.  Words can’t convey how the warmth and encouragement we received bolstered our resolve and fortified our ongoing faith in humanity.  I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Shirley, Past President of the Monday Women’s Golf League at Grandview Bay Golf Course Welcomes Dad to opening day at the course.

Rick, owner of Grandview Bay Golf Course welcomes us like old friends.

The Lucy Goose at Grandview Bay Golf Course on Opening Day!

Tracy and Lucy, the inventors and chefs behind the “Cross Country” breakfast sandwich and two happy customers

Dad and Cayleen, angel of the Lakeside Market

Sue...Keeper of Yurts

The mystical shores of Lake Erie

Finally, our Yurt and home for the evening

Western NY hospitality

[This is posted about 36 hours late: we were in a "connectivity hole) at the state park when I generated it; and after 22 miles yesterday my "tuckered" was pretty expose and I procrastinated. ]           We've reached the northeast corner of Lake Erie and are overnighting in NY's Evangola  State Park, in a yurt.  Coming from the town of Angola, we walked in a rain again,  and experienced a cold west wind coming off the lake.  Spring just isn't getting to western NY.   The locals are really tired of it.  This has been a good day, despite the rain, wind, and cold -- we've met and engaged with several really delightful people.  Google Maps is really good, but occasionally not quite accurate.  We experienced an occasion of that today.  A diner/grill they identified turned out to be a (the?) local  golf course/club eating place (at the head of the course), open for lunch and dinner.  We arrived about 9:15, just as a ladies golf club group meeting (first of the year) was completing.  Despite their initial surprise at these two rather unusual men showing up with their backpacks, they responded openly and warmly to us with great cordiality and interest in us and our adventure.  We experienced similar response at the local market/grocery shortly later just down the street.   There's much more to both these stories, too much to recite here.  There'll have to be more of it in our Facebook and Instagram accounts.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother’s Day!  First a big shout out to my Mom who was there at the beginning and has followed my antics with a watchful, and sometimes skeptical eye for the last forty some odd years.

I would not be the person I am today without your loving and guiding influence.  Heck, I probably wouldn’t have even survived some of the previous messes that I’ve landed myself in.  All mistakes are solely my responsibility, and if I’d followed your advice and insights more often things probably would have progressed a bit more smoothly.

Thank you for all that you’ve done for me over the years, and thank you for all you’re doing right now to make the Newport to Newport Transcontinental Pilgrimage a reality.

I love you!