Time to start tightening these up a bit. If I don't start dropping some details and adding some more mileage, these posts will never make it to Boston.
Quick recap.
We're now up to a little after noon on day 2. We've already walked over 22 miles for the day. 95 degree heat.
We'd gone a long way since our start this morning, and were already six miles beyond our planned stop for the day so this would be a good place to stop, right? Wrong.
The NH border was only six miles ahead and what's 28 miles in one day between friends? 56,000 steps is what it is.
So, we pressed on. NH or bust
Nice stretch of road - all along Route 1.
We looked surprisingly fresh.
Tom's selfie stick in action.
How about this one of Tom and Handsome Joe?
Fast forward about two and a half hours, like I said, all along Route 1, through the outlets in Kittery, a break or two for water, (seems like there was a decent hill after the rotary in Kittery - this would be a preview of what we would encounter over the next two days), and "suddenly" the bridge over the Piscataqua River is in our sights. For those of you not from Maine or New Hampshire, this is the border between the two states. This one was a moral victory for us.
There was a bit of celebrating when we crossed the border. We were now just a few miles from our day three goal of Hampton. After two days of walking we were almost a full day ahead of schedule.
Done walking for the day. Time to transition to our home for the next two nights.
Pile into John's truck, in the new approved configuration - Pete up front, and drive a scant few miles to Tidewater Campgrounds in Hampton NH.
Home sweet home....
This was Tom's camper. Among the many things Tom contributed to the walk, this might have been the biggest. Tom drove this down prior to the walk (per my poor suggestion of "just take route 1 - it's a straight shot" - not taking into account this was the weekend before the Fourth of July - meaning the route I pre-drove in April now took about two hours longer to drive in July), got it set up in a sweet spot, and had it waiting for us at the end of day two (it is still day two, isn't it?). He even charmed the owner into giving him a spot for the week for the price of two nights (which is all we'd be staying there).
Quick synopsis of of first afternoon/evening at Tidewater.
- Did a once over of the camper, unpacked, put things in place, etc.
- We each took some personal time
- Link, Tom, and Denise all immediately showered and triaged (once again, separately)
- Pete and Joe took a dip in the Saltwater pool...in the clothes we had been wearing for the day
- After we were all showered, called in an order at Sal's pizza at Hampton Beach
- Guy at Sal's gave us a price break because they were "just too expensive" ..or something like that. Can't say for sure....
- DEVOURED those pizzas, Funny, early into the meal we were commenting on things like, "They'll be plenty of leftovers for breakfast tomorrow", "I love pizza for breakfast", and other things that were no longer relevant 45 minutes later.
- John quickly became intimate with the 4 MPH speed limit drilled into him by the keeper of the gate
- Had a nice campfire with great stories to tell, both of the day's walk and of the last 45-50 years that we have known each other. Once again, the best part of the day.
- Probably (definitely) a few beers later we landed on the sleeping arrangements for the next two nights
- Denise in one of the "rooms" (apologies, not being a camper myself, I have no idea what those wings on both ends of the camper are called).
- Tom on the other end
- Pete in one that popped out open off the kitchen area
- Joe on a couch /bench
- Link on a mattress on top of what becomes a table when it isn't time to sleep
- No complaints from anyone (especially Pete, Tom, and Denise)
- John, the smart one, at a hotel about five miles down the road
- In bed , maybe by 10:00? Getting an early start worked so well for us this day that we planned for AOP at 6:00AM the next day.
- Despite the blisters - we're feeling super good about the distance we had covered. Through two full days of walking, we had already accrued one day "in the bank". This would come in very handy in a few days,
- Best night of sleep since the night before the night before we left (remember, none of us slept well the night before the start).
- The next morning Denise swore she heard bears outside her bunk. We looked for tracks but found none. It wasn't until the next day that we all realized what she heard was the grunting and snorting of four tired walking bear brothers that were asleep in the trailer with her. Maybe not bringing our sleep apnea machines wasn't the best idea after all. Ain't getting old the best ?
- Next up -
Day three - The hills are alive with the sound of wheezing.
