6/9- To Myself

Monday was a curious morning. Todd had more plans to go off and visit friends and I was hitting a strange burn out on people. I think after a month of revisiting all of my old friends and family, bouncing couch to couch between them with another month of the same on Todd's end I just wanted a day to myself and do some walking. The end of day plan was for Todd to crash a softball game out on the far end of Jonesville so I decided I'd spend my day walking there.

After breakfast with his Mom I set off on my way not long past 10am. It was only a nine mile hike which would take all of three hours so I meandered over to the Hillsdale library first. There I updated for the weekend, checked email, and did some mapping for a while. By noon I hit up the Post Office on my way out of town and set myself to a stroll.

It was indeed nice to get back out again on my own. Walking is, in some ways, my meditation because the legs move on their own and my brain is allowed to wander. Its one of the things I like so much about this sort of travel and lifestyle, and something I haven't been doing too much of since south Jersey.

I went three miles before taking an hour long coffee break at a gas station, then did the next six in one stretch to the field. I arrived two hours before the game was to start, which was two hours before anyone would show up in the lot. Finding a nice spot under a tree I shed my shoes and sprawled out to finish up the wolf book Lica had given me. It would turn out to be a thank you book to Bob due to his affinity for wolves.

Everyone arrived on cue for the game and I was soon immersed in a crowd once more. Bob had managed to get the nod from the team to let Todd play that day, since it was a league game, and I pulled up a spot on the bleachers to watch. It was a nice way to tip toe myself back into company for the evening.

After they lost we all gathered round and another reunion was born. They were all a fun bunch harassing each other to make up for years missed of practical jokes. Amid this sports complex was a bowling alley with a bar which we soon found ourselves in. I had a good time sitting back and listening as the stories flew of old times and plans to make sure certain people got together made their rounds.

By nightfall we'd been invited back to another friend's house, Dave and Bonnie. Dave gave us a ride back to their farm afterward. As we pulled into the drive I was heavily reminded, for whatever reason, of the family Ingrid and I stayed with down in Georgia. It seemed to me it wouldn't have mattered if they knew Todd or what. They just seemed like really cool, good, decent folks who would have put up two backpackers for the night had they known them or not.

The rest of that night was spent with more digging into the past, excavating some things that Todd had been shady from. Again I was in more of an observers mood, so I don't think I made for very good company. In my defense, though, they all seemed to have plenty to catch up on so perhaps it all just worked out as it should have.