Eseme's Den

So, after wandering the beach, I headed back to my hotel.

( The party itself, plus a Halloween costume! )

Friday involved mostly errands.

But Saturday I discovered that I can in fact walk to Gardiner and back. My leg will hate me, but I can. So I did, and ate at the Italian place where you pay a bit more than you otherwise might for a very good chef who I originally thought is telepathic, but on further reflection must be clairvoyant.

I ordered my not-on-the menu selection (I wanted marinara but with ziti, not spaghetti). I fumbled around in my water bottle sling to find my pen and paper. I wrote 36 words (I counted, and although my hands were shaking after having walked so far, I did write only 36 words). My dinner arrived. There was not enough time to boil water.

These people not only make a very fine chocolate mousse, they know your order before you arrive and are cooking it when you sit down. It's the only explanation that makes sense.

It turns out it is a little over 5.5 miles to Gardiner, and I can walk it in about two hours. Next time, I need to leave earlier so I do not arrive back home after dark.

Today I had a hot dog on a town green with M and her dog, talked writing (with M, her dog had little to add), then walked up through the campus so M's dog and her friend's dog could see the squirrels (but not chase them, which seemed a bit mean).

Then more walking! This time at Popham Beach, all the way to Perry's (next to Spinny's) for ice cream. This was probably a bit more than a mile each way - it's hard to tell because I walk more slowly on the beach. Then dinner at my parents' house, steak off the grill and farm fresh local fruits and veggies.

So I've walked about 13.25 miles this weekend. That puts me at 30.45 miles to Rivendell. I've been busy on my journey! I have climbed a steep slope, made camp in a firwood just over top of the hill, and slept by a large tree. A fox saw me. In the morning, I ate at the campsite and got water from a stream at the foot of the hill. On my walk, the road rolls up and down then zig-zigs to top of a steep bank and goes down for the last time. I could see across Woody End to the River. The sun was close to sinking as I went down the hill, at which point the road ahead rans fairly straight and level. And it is along here that I have my first encounter with a black rider. I, like the hobbits, hide.