I forgot to mention a little bit about Brian and Amanda yesterday. Brian is a systems engineer and works on security systems that remotely control train brakes when signals are ignored (distracted driving, for example!). Amanda has just started working on a masters in special education. They also have two dogs, Rally and Hershey, shown here with Brian as he prepares a hearty breakfast:
Soon thereafter we used his GPS programmed to the exact coords of the pickup point. He dropped me off and I quickly donned warm garb as there had been a hard frost last night; it was COLD!
There were times today, such as right at the beginning of my walk, when I could see a LONG way ahead — this is over two miles:
Is this one business or two?
Mini sub-station, I guess:
Oh — let’s nip down this side road to see “Wizards of Clay” — sounds really interesting. It’s only 2+ hours away, after all!
I think I spent half my day in Bloomfield. East Bloomfield, Bloomfield, West Bloomfield. I wonder if the plantings around this giant snow plow are an indication of global warming:
Pretty setting:
Park in one of the Bloomfields:
The sky was virtually cloudless today and made for some beautiful interactions between trees and light:
Double take — cell tower growing out of water tower?
Time for a snack — honey crisp apple from Wegman’s:
This is Carol. She stopped to talk and ask me what I was doing. It’s such a pleasure when people do this (provided they are not aggressive!). We had a conversation about my trip and she very kindly offered me a granola bar (I had just stocked up at Wegman’s), help if I got in trouble, and even a lift for a few miles. I explained to her that I REALLY wanted to walk the whole thing.
Incidentally, someone asked me if the police had taken any interest in me so far. The answer is no. No interest in the slightest.
Stream of the day:
I was tempted, until I realized that it would be REALLY heavy to push to Toronto:
I saw lots of nicely kept farm properties with corn growing right up to the lawn:
Yet another lovely property:
This harvester was cutting the corn as I approached but stopped when I got there so I didn’t get a picture of it in action:
Interesting historical factoid:
Cattle on a hill:
I bet the grass around this pond is quite squishy:
Corn on a slight hill, so I can get a picture of it. Thank you, hill:
B? I have no idea:
I got choked up for while when I saw this:
A very similar memorial for Tom Samson, my son’s best friend, is in Toronto. Kasha, Tom’s widow, has walked the Santiago de Compostela, by the way.
I was tempted to end my day at this motel — it has phones!
Not too long after that motel I crossed the I-390, which figures in the route we usually use to drive to Toronto:
Where I DID spend the evening was with this wonderful couple, Don and Kathy, the uncle and aunt of a young man I know back in New Jersey. They have a beautiful home in the the countryside of the Livonia region. Don works from home for Avaya, and has been a volunteer fireman most of his life (JLB take note!)
They came and picked me up in Avon and gave me a little tour first to show me Conesus Lake (cone-EE-shus, I believe). It is the most western of the Finger Lakes. As usual, it’s hard to take a picture of a lake, but here are a couple looking east and west at the northern end:
We also took a quick trip over to see Hemlock Lake, the Finger Lake just to the east of Conesus. This one has no cottages on it and no boats — it is used as the water supply for Rochester, apparently.
Kathy prepared a sumptuous meal of pasta, venison, vegetables, salad, apple pie. Oh boy! They also invited over the pastor of their church and his wife, Chris and Brenda:
We had a terrific time around the table. Before I had quite finished my apple pie Don got a call from Howard Appel, a reporter for the local paper, the Livingston County News. Don had notified the paper earlier that I was walking through the county and they wanted to do a phone interview! Wow — I’m famous now! Anyway, it was good fun and Howard expressed a desire to do a similar, though shorter walk sometime soon. I invited him to contact me later to pick my brains.
What a super day — great weather, great progress, new friends, fabulous food, supreme hospitality. Towards the end of each walking day I’m feeling like I can’t keep on going with this crazy plan but always I’m raring to go by the next morning, especially after an evening like this one. I wonder if I will feel the same way on Thursday, when it is supposed to rain.
What a nice day! Glad to see the sun in your photos after the frost. It was similar here in Ottawa. Thankful for your generous hosts.
It was the calm before the storm, I guess. Rain in the forecast for Thursday, Friday and Saturday!
Oh, those farms are just lovely. You’re certainly going through some beautiful territory – at least what you’re sharing in photos! I think the Elephant “B” must be something political – a local Republican candidate? It is nearly election day.
And what a wonderful network of people you’re meeting!
Your mileage sure has been picking up. I think you’re really hitting your stride. That, and the call of the grandkids…
Julie G
These days of nearly 20 miles are tough — I feel pretty crippled by the end of them. What amazes me is that I seem always to be fully recovered the next morning. Rain may slow me down on Thursday.
Ah yes…the “bank of Lima.” Another potential entry for the book of unnecessary quotation marks. As for the Wizard of Clay, you’ll have to settle for their website! http://www.wizardofclay.com/
Beautiful pictures once again. Hemlock Lake looks particularly serene.
The ghost bike is poignant for me too. There is one on Vancouver Island commemorating my young great-nephew.
Well, from the website it certainly looks like it would be a fun place to visit — maybe someday when I have four wheels instead of three. Yes, Hemlock Lake was indeed beautiful. Lakes without cottages around them are especially pristine.
We’ve been to the Wizard of Clay, many years ago, and still have some pieces we bought there. They have some great pieces with leaf impressions baked into the clay. *almost* worth the detour.
Cool! That tiny sign was the only indication I saw for the place and yet the website seems to indicate that it is an extensive operation.
Sounds like a lovely day! The fall scenes you are sharing are just breathtaking. Have you calculated about how many more days you have? Maybe a week? You’re so close! You can do this!
I’m doing those calculations in my head all the time, Bethany — I wish I could stop myself! The simple answer is 160/15 = 11, roughly. It might be one or two days less than that if I keep my average above 15, but that’s pretty hard on me and doesn’t factor in bad weather. I’m really only two thirds finished.
Another bright and crisp day for walking. Amazing weather you have enjoyed, thus far. You’re up the ladder on that scale! The Hemlock Lake picture was wonderful, with the distant hills clearly visible.
Please go back to Day 20 and read my dear wife’s comments/post. I think you missed it given your response to it was actually to the prior comment.
I am making NOTL accommodations today.
Onwards to the site of the Battle of Queenston Heights were the valiant General Isaac Brock led his troops to victory and in doing so lost his life.
Later dude…
I think that was the comment I meant to make, Russ. I LOVED that video and nothing will daunt me now, after seeing my wee girlies, not even a day of pouring rain.
Allan,
Since looking at your photo of the cattle I cannot get the old Sunday school song out of my head:
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills,
The wealth in every mine;
He owns the rivers and the rocks and rills,
The sun and stars that shine.
Wonderful riches, more than tongue can tell –
He is my Father so they’re mine as well;
He owns the cattle on a thousand hills –
I know that He will care for me.
Psalm 50:10
“For every beast of the forest is mine,
and the cattle upon a thousand hills.”
So as I sing along in my head all day, please know we are thinking of you , and of course keeping you in prayer….Be safe.
G
Exactly!
As I’m sure you are aware, the clocks turn back this Sunday at 2AM ending DST. Do you plan on taking the extra hour sleep or do you need to stay on “solar” time in order to use a much daylight as possible?
I think I will get up in the middle of the night and do an extra hour of walking.
Still following you daily. It’s hard to imagine the many hours spent alone punctuated by occasional dinners and breakfasts with people you’ve just met. Sounds like you are enjoying the people and I’m happy for that. The LANL Stats lunch crowd perused your blog one day on our big screen. People were drawn into your adventure. Fun. Linda just read me this verse and it reminded me of your adventure and your life: “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
It is great fun, though some of it is slogging, like the last third of each day. Give my regards to your LANL colleagues, please! Thanks for that verse — I have thought of it too. Indicidentally, just before that Paul says “forgetting what lies behind”, not “subracting what’s left behind”. We (Matthew and I) had been subracting the cumulative total each day from the initial estimate for the whole walk (430) to get the miles remaining, and that had been accumulating error because of baccktracking and changing the google maps route from time to time. So now we are “forgetting” and not “subtracting” — the miles left is what google maps says at the end of the day.
Allan, Your daily updates have given me a wanderlust all my own :-), though having ridden my bicycle from Utica along that same route 20 to Buffalo, I will say that a cyclists pace is just perfect for those long, flat stretches of road.
I am curious about your choice of urban stroller versus a back pack. I don’t think I would have thought of that, though I can see the advantage of not having a sweaty back in this weather, and of course less weight on your feet, etc.
How have you found that experience? I’ve considered using a trailer for my bike on long distance trips as opposed to using a back pack, and though our preferred modes of transportation are a bit different, there are some parallels.
Pushing a cart works really well. The three long-distance walkers I reference in the Motivation link on my home page all used them and they have gone MUCH longer distances than me. Only works for road travel, of course. I find pushing the cart works really well. There are only two frustrating things so far. One is that I have had a number of flats; I just fixed my fourth and it doesn’t seem to be holding air so I will have to redo it. The other is that if there is even a slight crown on the road then steering the cart gets quite tiresome as the hours go by. Some sections of 5&20 have been a dream while others, like today, have been more difficult.
Allan,
Thanks for the virtual introduction to Uncle Don!
I am quite confused by the spherical shape of the bank vault in Lima. That appears to be almost the pessimal shape for a vault — it is even easier to roll away from its home than even a cylindrical vault. A cubical vault seems pretty close to optimal: one has to raise the center of gravity for each movement. Is a regular tetrahedron in fact optimal? There is probably a fine paper somewhere in there for you to write about the geometry of encouraging and discouraging bank heists.
Perplexedly yours, Jon
Nice geometry problem. Intuitively, the tetrahedron must be optimal with respect to that property, given that you are using a regular polyhedron. If you allow more general shapes then I suppose you could weld together two 100-foot square plates with a small separation to allow for bills or bullion to be inserted between the plates. That would be pretty hard to move (and to put in a building, of course!). A little spherical vault does indeed seem like a bad idea.
I believe that under one interpretation, your construction is isomorphic to the cube: it is a 100-foot edge length square extended a minimal amount. Just get it up on its edge, and you are “rolling” a square again. I’m sure that your Personal Geometry Brigade will get us the correct solution soon. In the meantime, if you notice any more (full!) spherical vaults in the area, please let us know. It might be time for a withdrawal soon.
Yours in (mathematical) larceny, Jon
Yes, but for a given mass of metal, it seems that a big square is harder to flip than a cube made of that mass, yes?
Greetings Allan,
Maybe Doug Turnbull restores firearms.
Putting a cell tower on a water makes sense, they don’t have to build their own tower. I wonder if the surface of the water tower would act as a reflector and give the cell signal a little extra range?
Of course, if you look closely at the picture, the cell tower is beside the water tower. I think it would be pretty hard to engineer an attachment on the top.
Allan:
Like many of your followers, I’ve enjoyed having your daily posts to look forward to. I have two questions: one is seasonal and the other about sounds. I did a quick overview of the comments via the keyword search on your main page so I apologize in advance if you’ve already answered the following questions. First, when you planned your walk, was completing it in Autumn
a deliberate choice say over late Spring, early Summer? Second, in a world where we are often take for granted the layers of noise in our daily life, has the need to keep your ears open to have a safe walk made you aware of sounds you took for granted before?
I chose autumn because summer is too hot, winter is too cold and spring is too wet. I left probably a week later than I should have. I chose the Scotch Plains to Toronto direction rather than the other way, expecting to do most of my walking in the morning, in which case the sun would be mostly behind me. As to sounds, I wouldn’t say there are sounds I took for granted before but I have enjoyed very much hearing things that I normally don’t when in a car, like the rustling of dry corn in a breeze or unusual bird noises. Several times I have thought of trying to record some of them.
Keep on keeping on, Allan!
Many thanks for sharing the scenaries & adventures!
I am keeping on Wen-Ling. Thanks for the encouragement.
Alan, I was so glad you were able to spend a night with Brian and Mandi
I’ve been tracking your trip since Camp Iroquoina
Keep on trucking.
We had a great time, Jay. It was fun to reconnect. He’s a fine lad, Jay.
the blessings were truly ours as we became part of the journey. So excited to read where God will lead you throughout the next 11 days! ps….the apple pie was in a wizard of clay dish! 🙂
No kidding! I wish I had noticed. The Ark Black apple today was quite tasty — thanks again!
Allan,
You mentioned that you are “only” two thirds done. I think that is absolutely remarkable and I hope you will take a moment to stop and give yourself a pat on the back and a little encouragement. You have embarked on one of your dreams and have developed a whole team that is cheering you on both on the Internet and in person. Lets change up the thought to I only have “a third of the trip left” and what am I going to do in a few days when I complete the adventure and my team wants to hear more from me?
You are a very great communicator and have a wonderful way of listening and actually “hearing” what people are saying when they speak to you. While you may feel a bit lonely on the trek remember there are lots of folks who get through their day and really look forward to a progress report. That was my case today after 285 miles round trip to CMML and spending a day in the office I was truly looking forward to hearing about your day. Phil sent us your regards at lunch and the office team is always talking about you and praying for your health and safety. Sounds like we have to start praying about those tires that keep going flat too. Who knows, by the time you get back you will have thought of a design for a new stroller just perfect for this sort of thing and you will create a new business for yourself. The company name might be “Allan’s Awesome Adventures”!
That’s it for tonight my good friend. Be Encouraged!
Hope tomorrow you have a Great Day…In Him!
Tom
Thanks very much for the encouragement, Tom. I really look forward to seeing all you guys when I get back. Less than 1/3 left now!
Looks like you had a great day. Hope tomorrow isn’t too rainy.. God Bless..
One report said only 1/4 inch accumulation. If that’s true, I can surely battle it out! I’m going for another 17+ day if I can.
Doc,
I am headed off to bed.. As you know we will be doing our usual prayer and then breakfast… I will check back here in the morning right before i leave.. If there is any specific request, just say the word…
Praying for you either way.. Hard to believe that its conceivable that the next time we meet for prayer you could be with us again… Press on my friend…
JIM
Well, that’s a little optimistic, Jim. It will be at least 10 days until I get to Toronto and I’ll probably stay there for at least a few days before coming home. Looking forward to meeting with you guys when I get back.
Hi Allan,
So enjoying your adventure and I find it so encouraging to meet the people who are caring for you along the way…God’s people are everywhere.
Surprise party for Fiona’s birthday was great, thanks to Di for organizing it. We do have a wonderful little community going on here!!
Laura
It was a surprise to me too — Di didn’t tell me. It looked great when you let me in briefly via video chat — wish I had been there.