"I am a voice shouting in the wilderness, Clear the way for the LORD's coming!'"



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Sunday, October 17, 2010

Mariemont, OH to Aurora Indiana (pack a lunch! it's a long one people)

Ok so when we left the Mariemont Library we were feeling pretty hungry so we decided to try and find something to eat. We walked around a while and then finally asked someone where we could get some food and and she pointed toward the town square. After popping into a deli and glancing at the menu, we decided they did not have hiker friendly prices. So we went a couple more blocks to a pizzeria called "La Rosa's". They did not have a sitting area to eat in but the guy who worked there very graciously brought us a little plastic folding table and sat it in front of the bench we were sitting on. It was perfect! All it lacked was a candle and some roses! After we stuffed our faces with pizza, a hikers favorite, we walked down the path following the blue blazes. A few blocks later we looked up and saw a woman walking two boxers. She had a big smile on her face as did we because we love boxers. She immediately inquired to what we were doing? We told her we were walking across America and she asked for what purpose and I just showed her my Jesus necklace and she got really exited! She asked where we were gonna sleep and we told her we usually just find a church or something to camp behind. She told us about her church which was just a couple miles up the road and said they might have a Wednesday service we could go to. As she was trying to explain how to get there a jeep pulled over and the woman immediately started talking to the driver. It was her husband! She explained to him what we were doing and he said he knew someone at the church and he could just drive us over there if we wanted. So we agreed and hopped into his car. As we approached the church Jeff and I were just thinking, wow, that's a huge church!

~ Kristin
This church is just massive and very modern. When we walked in we were hoping that this mega church wasn't going to be one of those churches that is all about money. We have seen that so many times it has made us leery of them, but I felt convicted about judging this church by it's cover. We met with a man there who had been with the church since it's beginning. He was now getting around with a mobility chair and oxygen, but he had everyone in the office emailing around to try and find us a place to stay. What a nice man! He even gave us a tour of the church. It was very nice and very huge. While we were waiting to find out the results of the emails Jerry, the man who took us to the church, said we could at the very least camp in his side yard. He told us he lived right on route 50, and we would be hearing cars go by all night. He said that if we couldn't find anything better we would definitely have a safe place to sleep. Well the emails turned up no available places so Jerry told us that he was going to prayer group at his church back across town and that we could go and maybe someone would have a better option for us than he did. He had some running around to do so he dropped us off at his church early. We waited around there for a while sitting in their cemetery. I had a strong nature call and the church was locked so I left Kristin there to read her Bible and I walked a few blocks over to the convenience store. On the way back I noticed the ominous clouds looming overhead. About the time I noticed the clouds, Jerry calls. He said that his wife Suzzie called him and told him to come and pick us up so we wouldn't get wet. She told him to give us a tour of the area!!! What a great wife/mother thing to do!! Well we hopped back in the car with Jerry and took off down the road. We made it a few blocks down the road when Gil, the man from the mega church, called us. He said that he saw the lightning and he and his wife were going to put us up in the Mariemont Inn!!!!! ~Jeff When Jerry told us what Gil was offering I immediately said that would not be necessary, we could just camp in his yard. He said no, this is what Gil wants to do and it was already decided. I immediately felt that this was too generous of an offer, but we were in the hotel, checked in, and had a key in our hands before we could even say thank you! Gil came by to pay for the room, which Jerry split with him, and say hi but he did not stay long because he had to get home to his wife. Jerry said he would be back in an hour to take us to dinner. So we walked up to our room and opened the door and just stood there in shock at this generous gift! This room had a king size Temperpedic bed and a walk-in shower with multiple shower heads! So after standing in awe for a while and feeling undeserving of such an amazing gift we decided to put the shower to use. One of the walls was a fireplace with a wall painting. Jeff stood beside the painting and said, I think there is a TV behind the painting and then pushed a button on the side of the wall and the painting ascended to reveal a flat screen TV. Jeff and I thought, "uh okay, cool, I like the painting better!".

~Kristin

So after amazing showers and putting on clean clothes we went down stairs to meet up with Jerry, his wife Suzzie, and daughter Rebecca. They wanted to take us out to dinner and then Jerry was going to take us over to the prayer meeting. Dinner was great! They took us to a Cincinnati place called Skyline Chili. For those of you who don't know about skyline chili it consists of a layer of spaghetti, a layer of chili, a layer of beans and onions, and a mound of sharp cheddar cheese!! Delish! We were able to tell them our story over dinner and then we we went to prayer service. That was amazing! I can say that Mariemont Community Church has some great people there. We prayed for the next generation coming up and also for each other and loved ones. It's nice to see people still doing that! We really enjoyed the fellowship there and miss everyone there. So from prayer service Jerry took us back to the Mariemont Inn. We slept great on that Tempurpedic! When we woke up we went to breakfast with Suzzie and Rebecca at the Inn's restaurant. We learned that Gil also paid for our breakfast! God bless you Gil! So we had a wonderful breakfast with Suzzie and Rebecca and after a few minutes it felt as if we had known each other for years. I imagine that if we lived in the area we would be close friends! Of course I don't know if anyone in that family has ever met a stranger either! We parted ways out on the square in front of the Inn where we took pictures and exchanged information.
Jerry, Suzzie, Rebecca, and family - may God bless you and keep you, and make his face to shine upon you! May you pray without ceasing together as a family, and grow together in Christ. Thank you so much for everything.

~Jeff


So Jeff and I decided we were going to get an iPhone so we could update the blog more often. We checked out of the hotel and found out where the nearest ATT store was located and walked over that way, which was about 4 miles. We made it to the store and looked around at their merchandise for a while before a sales person was available. So...I have not talked about Jana yet so I am just gonna throw her in right here. When Jeff was little bitty toe-headed boy he had a babysitter named Jana, who moved to Cincinnati over fifteen years ago. When she moved there Jeff's mom drove up to Cincinnati with a daybed in her car to visit her. We had talked to her about a week before we got there and she said she would love to see us. So we called her once we were in Cinci and she said she could pick us up Thursday evening wherever we were. So we called her from the ATT store and she said she could come get us in an hour from then. So we did some business with the ATT people as we watched out the window for a silver Civic, that's what she said she would be driving. Just as we finished making our purchase for our new handy dandy phone we looked out the window and called Jana and she was sitting in her car right outside in the parking lot waving at us! We went outside, gave her hugs, and shoved our big packs in her trunk and drove off into the traffic of Cincinnati. As we pulled into Jana's driveway 2 of her 4 children were just getting off the bus, Julia her 11 year old and Ben her 8 year old. Jana's husband Tom was also waiting at the door. Their teenage boys were going to be home later. Tom went back to work and we got to know Jana and the kids while she made ice tea and coffee. When Tom and the teenage boys, Luke and Joseph, got home we all decided that Skyline Chili sounded good. Jana said we did not have to eat there since we already had it for dinner the previous day but we insisted because it was that good and how often were we going to be in Cincinnati! After we had our second helping of 5-way chili, ice-cream from Graeter's, was next on the list. Graeter's has been mentioned on the previous blog but we recently found out it's all natural and Oprah loves it so much she has it flown in!! Tom and Jana had all kinds of questions about our journey but we wanted to wait and tell them our testimony first because it answers a lot of them. However we were pretty tired and decided to postpone the long story for the next evening. Joe and Luke let us sleep in their beds even though we told them we were fine with our tent. However, Jana insisted we take the beds.

~ Kristin

The next morning we woke up and everyone had left for their respective jobs and schools. We found the coffee still hot and hung out in their living room watching the news and playing with our new phone. It's so hi-tec that it kinda scares us a little. Anyway, a few hours went by and Kristin gets a hankering for some Indian food. Well the minute she mentioned Indian food my mouth instantly started to water like Pavlov's Dog (to quote Jana) and I just had to have it too!! I think they put crack in the food over there or something. So we looked up some restaurants near by and called Jana to see if we could use their bikes to pedal across town to eat some Indian food. She said that would be fine but that they were locked up and the Key was on Tom's keys ring! So she called Tom and he said that he was getting ready to go on his lunch break and that he would come over and unlock the bikes for us. What a great guy!! Thanks Tom! So Tom made sure the bikes were in good working order and warned us about this big hill between us and the restaurant. Then he left for work. Well Kristin and I pointed our handle bars east and just followed our noses to India! As we rounded the curve our bikes began to pick up speed. We looked ahead and realized that we were looking out across all of eastern Cincinnati! It was a great vista. The only problem was that we were REALLY high above the city. As we were smoking the breaks on their bikes screaming down this road off the side of this "hill" at warp 5 I had a thought, "we're going to have come back up this monster after stuffing our faces with spicy Indian food!" There were no shoulders on either side of the road and tons of cars everywhere, but our taste buds were dragging us down that "hill." Fast forward 3.5 miles and we are chaining the bikes up to the pole out front of the restaurant. When we went in, the place was packed with people of every color and nationality! Kristin and I looked at each other and knew instantly that we were in the right place! It was some of the best Indian food we've had, except for Himalaya's back home of course, and we were so glad we rode over. Although the slow and grueling process of pushing our bikes back up that "hill" to Tom & Jana's was annoying, it was worth every bite. So we finally arrived back at the house and we were both in need of a nap from the food/workout coma setting in. Kristin zonked out on the bed and I on the couch. Before we knew it Jana and the kids were home and we were doing our best just to keep up with them! I think I blinked and stretched, and Jana was cleaning up from making a huge pot of chicken soup and something called Ooie Gooie Sticky Cake. Or something to that "flavor."

~Jeff

When I heard all the family home I got up from my nap and drug myself upstairs to see how everyone's day went. I can not imagine having 4 kids with all of them being in at least 2 extracurricular activities. I think I would need a personal assistant!! I have much respect for you Jana!! Soon after I got up the house began to fill up with the delicious smell of chicken noodle soup. Before we knew it dinner was done! It was delicious! We shared our testimony with them and talked about how God deals with everyone differently and how we are all at different steps in our walk of faith and then Julia and Ben brought out the Ooie Gooie cake and served us all. It was so good my mouth is watering just thinking of it!! The next day was Saturday and all the kids had some sort of recreational sport function to attend so we decided to get out of their hair and get back to our pilgrimage. It was such a pleasure meeting this family and we are so grateful to have been able to spend time with them. Jana and Luke dropped us off in Eden Park, where we began walking the trail again. As soon as we got out of the car, Jeff said he felt car-sick and he needed to sit down for a minute or he was gonna puke! When you don't get in a car very often and then you do once and a while and ride at high speeds down a highway, it can throw your equilibrium off a little. So I walked around looking a squirrels and things while Jeff regained his strength. While we were sitting on the side of this road a woman walked by with a miniature black poodle in a purple sweater and bows on it's ears. It was the cutest thing I had to go say hi!! Her owner approved but said our backpacks may scare her. She was okay when I walked up to her but as soon as she saw Jeff she started barking like she was ready to attack!! I can understand, he is starting to look a little bit like Sasquatch!!! If I was her I would have barked too!!!!! Well after that we decided to find the Cincinnati Art Museum, so we headed toward the general direction of it's location and asked someone to point us to its exact location. They pointed us towards this short cut that led up some really old stairs through the park. It was really neat! Hopefully we can post some pictures soon! We walked into the museum knowing they might not let us in with our huge backpacks but thankfully the guy at the front desk said we could leave them with him and he would watch them for us. Thanks museum entrance man!!! We wandered around the museum looking at sculptures, paintings from all over the world. They even had a temporary exhibit of wedding dresses from the 1800's to the 1960's. It was interesting what women would wear on their big day! You would just have to see it to know what I am talking about. While looking at the art I thought about how I used to enjoy things like that but now I feel that all that stuff is so meaningless. It is all going to pass away some day and it's just stuff that someone once owned and is now in a huge building for people to come and stare at. Oh well..... So we got our packs from the front desk and headed to down-town Cincinnati where we stopped to see some amazing views of the river and the skyline. We walked through the Bicentennial Park where there were sculptures of some Roman dude named Cincinnatus and a flying pig! Many people were out walking their dogs which made us miss Boomer and maybe a little homesick. We went under a bridge where someone had sat an upright piano painted all colorful with clouds and such. We both had a little moment of playing it and moved on toward the suspension bridge where we would cross over into Covington, Kentucky.

~Kristin


We walked across the old suspension bridge that was closed to automobiles so it could be a nice new coat of blue paint. We watched a few barges go down the Ohio and took some pictures of the Bengal's Stadium. When we reached land on the other side we were in Kentucky. We looked on our new sci-fi phone and found a few places to get something to eat, but none of them had hiker-friendly prices so we found a skyline chili a few blocks away and headed for it. When we reached the skyline, it was closed! It was the weekend and we were downtown, so I can't blame them for being closed I guess. Anyway, just a few doors down was a nice Chinese place so we stopped in there. It was pretty good, and the prices were just right! So we ate lunch and headed off to find the trail. The trail took us through Covington on 6th street. We passed a place where they had a wine tasting going on that spanned 3 city blocks! We would have liked to stop and try some but we weren't quite dressed for the occasion. We met a guy carrying a big pack going the opposite direction and stopped to talk to him, but it was kinda hard to decipher where he was headed because he was obviously stoned out of his gourd! Poor fella. So we made it to the base of the "hill" where Devou Park was and met a couple working in their yard. They were nice enough to give us some water and tell us that there were some old steps back in the woods that would take us up to the top of the park where the lookout was and we could bypass the dangerous curvy road. We talked to them for a bit and then took off to find these stairs from the 1930's. Well at the hairpin curve in the road we walked back into the woods and found the steps. They were old and crumbling, and had a vibe about them that would come straight out of an Indiana Jones movie. Think Ancient Aztec City undiscovered by modern man and you got the picture. A bazzillion steps later we reached the top! Here we are, out of breath, sweating, and making all kinds of noise with our hiking poles on the stairs, and when we crested the top there are a whole bunch of people standing like 40 yards away looking right at us! Turns out we walked right up into the lookout where there were like 4 separate weddings going on!! It was hilarious! I was so proud about making it up those steps that when all those people were staring at us I just threw my arms up in the air and said, "YES! MADE IT!" A bunch of people just laughed and went back to looking out over the city. And what a view it was! Just beautiful. You could see all of Cincinnati, Covington, Norfolk, and some other City I forgot. Plus the Great Ohio river was smack dab in the middle of the picture! We stood there for a while talking to people and taking in the vista before heading down the road to find a place to camp. We walked to the other end of the parking lot and decided to sit down at the park where a ton of kids were playing on the jungle gym and people were having a cookout and playing corn hole. We sat there and tried to get caught up on the blog and filled up on our water. After about an hour we decided it was time to go because there weren't any places to camp around there and we had several more miles to get back into Ohio. We were walking down this nice asphalt trail meandering across the top of the ridge lined with mansions and a golf course when we heard, "There aren't any mountains around here! What are you doing?" We looked up and saw an older couple pushing a baby stroller.

~Jeff

The couple was playing frisbee with a golden retriever when we saw them. The woman looked like she probably lived in this upscale neighborhood and when we told her what we were doing she said, "No your not!" and we said, "yes, we are" and she said, "your kidding!" So I told her she was right we just walk around places with hiking poles wearing big backpacks telling people we are walking across America. Right about then a man came with his dog which he was walking on a leash. By the way there was a sign posted that said you must have your dog on a leash. The golden retriever was not however on a leash and it ran up to this poor man's little dog and started attacking it. The woman who was talking to us just started saying no to her dog while her husband ran up to try to pry the dog's teeth from the other dog's throat. I said, "sir is your dog ok?!!" The woman said, "oh she was just barking!" Jeff and both just looked at each other and said, "well, have a good one, bye!" As we walked through the rest of Devou Park and down a road by a golf course we came out to a little township called Ludlow where there were three guys geocaching. They said they had been at it since early in the morning and they had already found about 15. We talked to them for a minute and left them to find their treasure. We walked a few more miles into a town called Bromley. We came upon a Baptist church that had a pretty big yard and walked back to see if it would be a good place to camp. I saw some woods and headed down into them where there was a little spot canopied with trees right beside the Ohio River. It looked like a spot homeless people may camp but it did not have any traces of recent activity by anyone so we decided to call it home for the night! When we sat down I looked around and saw a big sink hole looking thing at least 10 feet wide and I went to look in it to see what made it but could not really tell. Then I turned around and saw a sign posted on the tree that said something about a warning for Sewer overflow! EWWWWW!!! Oh well, it did not look like any rain was in the forecast so we decided it would be safe for the night. When we woke up the next morning we packed up, hoping this little township might have place we could get some eggs and coffee, but after searching a couple blocks we decided to get out our handy dandy sci-fi phone out and see where google map suggested. The only things we saw were all across the river so we decided to walk towards Anderson Ferry, where we would take the ferry back across to Ohio in West Cincinnati.

~Kristin

We walked down a nice two lane road that bordered the river for a few miles with vivid fall trees all around and the occasional sunday driver passing by. When we reached the Historic Anderson Ferry we waited for the cars to unload and load before walking on. We were greeted by Capt. Shawn who was playing deck hand that day. He was instantly friendly and very curious to know where we were headed and what we were doing. We talked to him, and a guy in his car on the ferry, for the duration of the ride and before we went back ashore, Capt. Shawn gave us his card. He said that he owned a marina about a mile and a half down the road and if we needed a safe place to stay that he would be happy to let us stay there! We were very appreciative and gave him our card that my sister had made up for us! So when we got off the ferry we headed for the United Dairy Farmers. (That is a chain of nicer convenience stores around here) We ate some super nutritious donuts, coffee, and microwave food, and got the maps out to see where the trail went. We hung out at the store for a while (they had an ice-cream shop inside with tables and chairs) and then decided to get on down the road. We had also been looking for a place to print off the map for several days now with no luck. We had only enough map to get us to the Ohio/Indiana border, and we were a day's walk from there. We made it a few miles down the road when one of us said, "Wouldn't it be awesome if we just got a canoe and took it down the Ohio to the Mississippi River in Missouri?" Well we talked about this for a few minutes then decided to sit down and talk seriously about it! We've walked over 900 miles at this point and our bodies are taking a beating!! This sounded like a great way to get another 700 miles across the country and it wouldn't be walking. It was such an alluring idea that we decided to pursue it seriously. We turned around and headed back for Cincinnati! If we were going to find a canoe, we were going to have better chances of finding one back there. So we walked back to Anderson Ferry and to the Bar-n-Grill across the street. We went in and called the Captain. We told him our idea and he said that he would call around to see if he could find us a canoe! Well after an hour or so he called back with no luck on finding us a canoe. He did however offer us his Marina again as a home base of operations while we were looking for one. He said to go to the address on the card he gave us and walk down to the marina. We thought that sounded like a terrific idea! By this time it is late afternoon and Kristin and I are hungry again. We ordered some food and huddled around the Iphone to look for canoes on craigslist. We were looking for one that was dirt cheap or free so obviously we didn't find one. We spent several hours at the bar-n-grill and then decided to walk back to the marina. We found it and as soon as we came down the walkway Capt. Shawn was there to greet us. He lives on the first boat there! He showed us the head boat where we could stay. It was basically a floating house next to a 110' luxury yacht! It was so cool to stay there on the river in a floating house at the marina! One of our most memorable overnights for sure. We talked with Shawn for a while as the sun was setting over the last bend in the river with the most beautiful colors. All with boats, and barges, and birds, and other river dwellers living out their daily lives seemingly taking it all for granted. Except for Capt. Shawn, he had that certain glint in his eyes as he was talking about river life watching the sun set. You could just see that he knew days like this were special, and that he was living every minute with the utmost reverence for the river way of life. What a site indeed! We even got to do our laundry which made it even better! We told Shawn that we would know by the next day if we were really going to be getting a canoe or not, and we would not be abusing his offer to use the head boat. We fell asleep to the gentle rocking of the river serenading us to off to dream land! When we woke up we packed up our things and said farewell to Capt. Shawn. During the night Kristin and I talked about the canoe thing and realized that it would be AWESOME to do, but not really cost friendly. If the Lord really wanted us to canoe down the Ohio river He would provide a boat for us. We were just trying too hard to make it a reality. So we left the marina with hopes that a canoe would fall from the sky and land in front of us with two oars and life vests on board! So since that didn't happen immediately, we re-focused our energy on something more attainable. BREAKFAST! We hailed a cab and told her to take us downtown to the best greasy spoon restaurant she knew of! She got a smile on her face and laid the hammer down, and I swear that cab grew wings and a jet engine!! She flew us to the middle of downtown Cincinnati to a little hole in the wall place called the sports page. She said that they serve breakfast all day and that the Goetta was especially good there! We said "PERFECT!"

~Jeff (still shaky from the cab ride)

After a great breakfast and some caffeine we decided to go to the library to type some on the blog. We walked into the lobby of this ginormous place and Jeff decided he better stay outside and wait for me. I asked where the computers were and they pointed to the second floor. I got on the elevator and rode up to a room filled with computers and people. Now these were not just your average kind of people! There were yellow haired ones, blue haired ones, spiky haired ones, and ones that looked like they belonged to the band "Gwar"!!!! If you do not have a mental image yet, you can look them up on the internet. I had to wait a good 20 minutes before a computer was available. So I sat at a table with my backpack just watching all these people, who appeared to have no where to go, watch movies on the internet. Then an older man came and sat at the table with a leather book holder. I thought it looked like a bible but I was not sure until he unzipped it and pulled it out. I said, "I like your book!" He looked at me and said, "thanks, it's a pretty good one!" Then I said, "like the best one ever written!!" He smiled and said his name was Ed. He shared his daily devotional with me and I told him that my husband and I were walking across America for Christ and then he had to go. He shook my hand and said, "Kristin I will pray for you and your husband if you will pray for me", and then he was gone. I thought, "what a nice thing for God to do." He had a bible carrying old man come and sit by me at this crazy library in downtown Cincinnati. It is little things like that that really make me appreciate our pilgrimage! When I looked over at the computer I had been assigned to, it was free so I went over to get started on this blog, which is probably the longest one ever!!!!!!!!! Jeff texted me and said the bus that would take us back to West Cincinnati was leaving soon so I had to rap up my library session so we could hop on the bus. We got to the bus stop with some time to spare so we sat on the bench and I sang songs about the Most High while waiting, hoping they might touch someone! At the end of our bus ride a man who got on when we did came and sat by us and started talking to us. I think he asked where we were headed. We told him what we were doing and why and he immediately started talking about the bible and Jesus. We continued talking about the things of God and he told us a little bit of his testimony and we told him some of ours and then we all got off on the last stop of the bus route. The driver said that was as far west as she could take us. We thanked her and got off the bus in front of Shamrock bar and grill. I was very thankful because I was about to pee my pants! I used the facilities and asked where our next directions were and we headed west! The story of our lives!!! We walked a couple miles into Cleeves and ate at a local restaurant named after it's owner, Nick. We had a great home cooked meal and when we were checking out we were telling the waitress and a man, who appeared to be a chef or something, about our journey. We were asking if they knew of a church or a park we could possibly camp in and they said there really was not a place in the area. The man said he would not camp anywhere in that neighborhood. So we said, "I am sure we will find a place." Before we left, as I was heading to the powder room, the man said, "don't go anywhere!" I told him we were not leaving yet, that I was just using the bathroom. On the way back he said I have a friend who lives just down the way who will let you camp on his property. We said, "wow, really!!? Thank you so much!" He took off his apron and pulled his truck around and we hopped in! He said he was the owner of the restaurant, his name was Nick. He drove us just a couple miles down the road to some land that had a giant pavillion and a 20ft high swing set. It was perfect!!! We had heard there was rain in the forecast so we were very grateful to have a place which we could keep our tent dry. He said the owner of the property, Rusty, would probably be down to visit us in a few minutes. We thanked him once again and he headed back to the restaurant as we sat on the giant swing set watching the sun set.

~Kristin

We had our tent set up under the pavilion and our beds made before the sun set. It wasn't long before Rusty came down for a visit. He opened the door to the storage room where there were bottles of water and pop in the fridge, with stacks of lawn furniture calling my name! He told us we could help ourselves to anything in the fridge and to make our selves at home! Then he went over and unlocked the bathrooms for us! All without even really knowing who we were!! I guess Nick and Rusty must be pretty good friends. Rusty was very nice and stayed for a few minutes and chatted with us about our trip and his horseback riding trips. He had a few things to do and told us that he might be back down a little later. So we pulled out a few lawn chairs and popped open a Coke as we relaxed the night away! Pretty soon the wind picked up and nudged us into our tent to crawl into our warm sleeping bags. We were just lying in there talking about the last few days when we heard a car and an ATV pull up. It was Rusty, his wife Pattie, and their friend Ken! They all came down to talk with the crazy hikers. Well we all sat around in lawn chairs and talked for a few hours. They were all so nice and Ken had some funny stories to tell about he and Rusty. Apparently a few that Pattie didn't know about too! It was great because we don't usually get too many "house guests." So after a great night of conversation we all decided it was time to turn in and we all took pictures and left for our respective beds. We sure didn't have to walk far! Ha! So after a GREAT nights sleep, (I think that was the first night I slept all the way through the night) we were greeted by a voice in the morning saying, "Anybody awake in there?!?!" I stepped out of the tent and saw Rusty on his monster golf cart with his two black lab buddies! They were Moon Dog and Winnie. Rusty said, "sorry it's early but do you guys want to come up for breakfast and a shower?" We said "Of Course!" So Kristin and I piled on the cart with Rusty. Winnie and Moon Dog rode in my lap the whole way back to the house! How great it was to wake up and hug on a big lab while riding on a monster golf cart up a gorgeous driveway in the "hills." So when we pulled up to the house Rusty told us it was his mother's house. When we walked in his mother was there to greet us and asked if we drank coffee. This day is just getting better! We got to eat eggs and bear claws with OJ and coffee with Rusty and his mom. It was great! Pattie even came over for a bit. Kristin and I both got to take showers and Rusty even got his mother to sew up the huge rip in the seat of my pants!! It was starting to get a bit drafty down there! So we made some new friends and I got my britches stitched up and they sent us on our way with full stomachs and even more full hearts! We packed up our tent and tidied up the pavilion and set off for Indiana!! We walked a few miles and soon came to Elizabethtown, Ohio. This is where the American Discovery Trial splits into a southern route and a northern route. We flagged down a park ranger and sweet talked him into taking some pictures for us to capture this monumental occasion. He was delighted to do so! He told us a little about where we were headed and wished us a safe journey. So we walked on down the road until we reached State Line Road. It was neat walking down this road because for a mile or so Ohio was on the right side of the road and Indiana was on the left. We finally came to a T in the road where State Line intersects US 50, and we saw a state boundary marker. We were officially in INDIANA!!! It seems crazy to think that we have walked across Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, and now OHIO! We ate some lunch at a little diner there at the state line and skipped on down the road deeper into Indiana. For some reason we had a little extra bounce in our step that afternoon! :)

~Jeff

We did not skip too far actually. We just went across the street to State Line Restaurant and got some grub! We have been eating at restaurants a lot in the past week because there is not really anywhere in the city we can just build a fire. Well technically I guess we could but it is probably illegal! So we had chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes and corn and a roll! It was belly fillin' good!! We wiped the gravy from the corner of our lips and saddled back up and headed to Lawrenceburg Indiana where we would get on a bike trail that followed the Ohio river called the Dearborn Trail. It was about 4 miles from the restaurant. By the time we got there I was so tired and my feet were ready to call it quits for the day. We walked through town to the CVS and I knew we were about out of wet wipes and I would be very upset if we got out of town and did not have a way to bathe!! So we stocked up on a travel pack of Wet Ones! When we left the CVS we looked across the street and saw a DUNKIN DONUTS!! We both looked at each other and said let's go get some donuts!! You might be thinking it seems like all we do is walk and eat, and you are right! We wake up, walk till we are hungry, eat, walk again, eat, and then walk to find a place to camp and sometimes eat again and then go to sleep! The next day we do it all over again!! Sounds like fun doesn't it?!! So after eating at Dunkin Donuts twice we walked to the Dearborn Trail as the sun was setting. We were hoping we would find some woods to camp in before it got to dark. After walking about a mile and a half I saw a path way that cut in behind some trees and just walked in like I knew where I was going. It just so happened to be an open field that had weeds short enough to put up a tent. So we thanked the Lord and put up our tent, typed a bit more on this crazy long blog and got a phone call from Jim Shaner, the prayer walker who came to see us on the C &O canal and at Dolly Sods. He just so happened to be prayer walking in Indiana and he was calling to see if we wanted to go with him to the Creation Museum. We thought that sounded like a lovely idea and so we now have plans for Thursday to go to the Creation Museum with our pal Jim Shaner!! After we got off the phone I slid down a little farther into my sleeping bag, cinched it up, and passed out until 11:3o when a train went by. The camp sight was about 30 feet from the train tracks. When we woke up in the morning it was soooooo cold and I realized my down sleeping bag was not doing a very good job so it probably needs to be washed. Jeff said about 8 trains went by last night but all I heard were 2. I must have been out of it! We finally mustered up enough energy to get out of our sleeping bags and packed up and headed toward Aurora on the Dearborn Trail. When we got to Aurora we asked if there was a diner near by and a nice lady who was pumping her gas said she would just take us to it because it was easier than explaining how to get there. On the way there we told her what we were doing and she thought that it was great. She then gave me a a plastic green frog she pulled out of her pocket. She said, "do you know what it is?" I said, "a frog?" She said it stands for "Fully Rely On God!" She said I could have it. What a sweet lady! She showed us where the library was and dropped us off at the diner so we could get a hot meal! We had our usual, eggs, hashbrowns, toast and coffee! After breakfast we walked just across the street to the library where we are now and are now finished typing this blog! Yeah!!!!!! I hope it did not wear you out reading it. We will try to update more often now that we are caught up. I hope you enjoyed our journey through the big city. It was very interesting to say the least! It felt like Sodom and Gomorrah at times, but hey it is a big city! What else can you expect!?

Blessings and Shalom,

~Kristin

3 comments:

  1. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I just read the part about you guys biking to get indian food! So hilarious, good thing I wasn't there right guys? HAH! God only knows the fit I would have thrown, hehehe just kidding. (Heh) Okay, I'm gunna go back up to read the rest!

    ...............

    Oh man! Kristin! As an artist reading about how you think art is "meaningless" really gets me going...not only is art (the right kind) a beautiful message sometimes, it is a God given talent! It does not just sit in a building for nothing. Many people get to enjoy it for many generations and also interpret the meaning in their own mind. Hmmm...kind of sad you said that! Esp because it's my passion...

    ..................

    When you explained to me about the people at the library over the phone I was a little bit confused; but reading it and really getting a mental image makes it all combine. That is amazing when something like that happens, it is truly God speaking to you. It's one of those moments that you really feel the silence of God come alive.
    ..................
    "they all came down to talk to the crazy hikers" hahahahhahaha!!!

    So I just finished reading the lonnnng blog!! And I must say! It makes me happy in my heart to have a way to hear you guys and everything you are doing for God. I really do miss you two more than I could have even imagined. I truly love what God's people are doing and every day is more and more close to the meaning of your adventure. I look forward to reading more of the blog! It makes me feel like I'm about to go over to your old house and walk in and laugh and enjoy some eggs and turkey bacon with you!!! And I have a confession...... I think about BOOMER so much!!!! Maybe more than I should...hhehehe I love him!!!!! I SAID IT!! I LOVE HIM!!!


    After reading this, I'm just plan hungry. God bless! ~Nicole Racolta~

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  2. Hey Kristen and Jeff,

    This is Mike from AT&T. I am just checking on you guys to make sure that you are ok and to tell you that I haven't forgotten about you. My phone has been out of commission over the past week and I just got your message tonight. I hope that you got your data plan changed and that the Iphone is working well for you. If you need any help, you can definitely contact me and we also have customer care that is open to midnight. My prayers are definitely with you on your long journey!

    Be Safe,

    Mike Brown

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