August 12: Day 14
For breakfast this morning we had to go out to a local bagel shop since we had no time yesterday to buy groceries, and as a result, we got a late start on the walk (around 9:30 am). Jeff Garnett from the US Tibet Committee walked with us today in the intense heat and with his local expertise, he helped us navigate the route. We were also very happy to have Karma Phuntsok, president of the Boston Tibet Association, join us once again to finish the rest of the walk.
For lunch, we ate some sandwiches in the shade provided by IHOP (the space that is) right by the edge of the Bronx. We had a good reception walking through the Bronx, with many people honking and waving. We reached the stopping point at the Bronx Zoo and were going to do an extra mile, but Larry stopped us because he could tell the delirium had set in particularly strong today because of the heat. Completely drained, we stopped at 4:15 pm the McDonald's around the corner from the zoo, and Larry left with the 3 other drivers to pick up their cars in Westchester. We all were looking forward to having ice cream sundaes off the dollar menu, but alas, the ice cream machine was broken! Larry finally got back at 6:00 pm after much traffic (and much pacing by the McDonald's manager).
The van and the three cars drove to the All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Manhattan where Tsewang and Sandra had dropped our luggage off to earlier. After a brief meeting discussing the crazy logistics for our final day tomorrow, groceries were bought and a delicious dinner cooked. Some more old friends joined us, including Masako, Colonel Ngawang, and some friends from Old Saybrook. Hopefully, we will all get some sleep before the alarm rings at 5:00 am tomorrow for our final walk to the United Nations!
