August 4: Day 6
The day started out with a bang. Literally. There was a rather large explosion in the stove, but amazingly, we all still have our hair! Then Mary-Kate proceeded to ruin Larry's day at 7:00 am by informing him that she has to leave on Monday and can't possibly stay for the last week. Our breakfast was a success, however, and we finally loaded up in the van at 8:30 am.Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of our bad luck... We got lost in Westerly trying to locate Route 1 (and frightening memories of Pawtucket came flying back!). We arrived at our starting point by 10:00 a.m. and after a visit from the Rhode Island police, who were simply concerned for our safety, we did our morning prayer and song session, and by 10:30 am we were walking down the hot asphalt highway.
It was so hot, in fact, that within the hour, the majority of the 20 walkers were delusional. (We later found out there was a high ozone warning today...). As we were behind schedule though, the leaders up front decided to push on through the heat and skip our mid-morning break. This proved to be disastrous. Apparently, lunch was deemed optional as well, as we continued walking well past our scheduled 1:00 p.m. lunch break. Larry kept us well hydrated, however, as he did his best to deal with all the craziness.
By the time Larry was purchasing lunch, it was after 2:00 p.m., and we had been walking for almost 4 hours straight in the 100+ degree heat. Walkers were literally dropping. Exhausted and hungry, Tracy pleaded for help over the radio and Mary-Kate scooped her off the road before she passed out. Some compassionate drivers offered us a ride and some water, but Larry arrived soon after.
Larry met the remaining walkers (who were staggering along, spread out over a 2 mile stretch) at McDonald's, but as he was finding a parking space, they were all promptly kicked off the premises because not enough people purchased food there. That's right, Mickey D's kicked out a 74 year old Tibetan monk! We trudged all our stuff over to the front lawn of a nearby house, where we knocked on the door for permission to picnic in the shady yard. After an interview with the Westerly Times, two locals joined us for the remaining 4 mile walk into Connecticut.
We finished our 15.5 miles at 5:00 p.m., a few miles outside of Mystic. Dinner tonight was provided by the Northern India Restaurant, a yummy local Tibetan-owned business here in New London. Thujeche! Our presentation was well attended, with 25 members of the local congregation. Speeches by Palden la, Larry la, and Jigme la were followed by short talks by some of the walkers: Dhela la, Tracy la, and Lha Drolma la. We're so grateful for all the hospitality from the All Souls congregation and for Perry's unending patience and openness--especially on this crazy day!
