Date: 2012-07-05
From: Hamburg

To: trees mile 1221.8
Miles today: 9.8

I'm excited to get across the highway and over to Cabela's this morning. It looks like it's right there, but looks can be deceiving. I had to cross several big parking lots and car dealerships to get to the light where I could cross. Then I traversed some more vast expanses of concrete before I arrived. This whole area has been cleared of trees and it's easy to see all the stores. Still, I walked at least a mile to get here. Inside I picked up a flexible 1 liter "Platypus" water bottle. (I accidentally dropped one of the "squeeze" bags that came with my water filter and it exploded like a water ballon). The Platypus is much stronger and has the same threads as my filter. I also got some down soap and a small bottle of deet.After making my purchase I set out on safari across the concrete desert to the Walmart. I could see it clearly but was amused by how much parking lot I had to cover to get there. Just for fun I mapped it out on my phone's GPS, eight tenths of a mile! Things aren't designed for foot traffic anymore. These huge parking lots needed to accommodate the automobile generations are very unfriendly to pedestrians. Another thing that's unfriendly to pedestrians is Wendy's. I stopped there the other night after 10:00pm. The dining room was closed. But, I was excited when I saw that the drive thru was still open till 1:00am. I walked up to the window drooling over what I was about to order. My hopes were crushed when the young woman behind the window informed me that I needed a car to place an order! I pleaded with her to sell me a burger but she wouldn't do it : (I wonder what will happen when oil is so expensive that people stop driving. I imagine America's obesity problem will start to get better. Will towns retreat back to their original centers? At one time houses, stores, and sidewalks existed in harmony all close together. The pedestrian was truly blessed.Unfortunately we've become overly dependent on vehicles and comfort for that matter. It's killing us. I couldn't help but laugh when I heard that some government bureaucrat is trying pass a law preventing 7/11 from selling big gulps! Hahaha.....That's not the problem. The problem is that most americans get up in the morning and go out to the garage to warm up the car. They sit in the car all the way to work, where they spend all day sitting at a desk. At the end of the day they again sit in the car on the way home. When they get home they sit on the couch till it's time for bed. It seems like everyone wants the cushy desk jobs. It's unfortunate that people who have laborious jobs like carpenters, masons, and farmers are looked at as second class blue collar types. I find it kind of funny (and backwards) that the one with the desk job now has to pay money to go to the gym and do laborious work that doesn't produce anything.The truth is the human body is amazing. It has the ability to store chemical sunlight for later use. It doesn't really matter how much you eat as long as you keep the fire burning hot. If you're burning a tiny fire then you should only feed it twigs. Anyway, I'm getting off on tangents. While I was in Walmart my friend "Medic" texted me. I met Medic in the Shenandoah National Park. She was out section hiking and gave me the trail name "Extra Credit". I earned that name by missing a white blaze and doing some "extra credit" hiking. I like her positive spin on getting lost : P Medic lives in this area and had given me her number to call when I came through. It was a real blessing to have Medic pick me up today. I got to do my laundry at her place, I even washed my sleeping bag in her tub! She took me out for Mexican food and bought me ice cream afterward too! Medic you are a real trail angel and I appreciate you being so good to me.After I finished all my errands, Medic drove me back to Port Clinton. I thought about staying at the little hotel in town because it was already so late in the day. Lucky for me they were closed, so I got back on the trail.I didn't cover that many miles today, but I got a lot done.