Beyond the Blog Day 28 (May 25) - 25th Anniversary Special

We haven't changed much. Right.

A beautiful morning to set off for an all-day hike. 30 years later.

 

If I hadn’t been exhausted beyond all reckoning, this would have been one of my favorite days of the whole event.   It was still pretty awesome, though.  The plan had been all along to have this one day to ourselves, when Cheryl and I could just ruck, walk, whatever it took to get the miles in, on the day of our 25th wedding anniversary.

 

Those of you who have reached this milestone, and beyond, know how quickly time flows….like a river that gets faster and faster, careening and carving its own course, which is the path of your lives together.   So I won’t bore anyone with the old geezer “seems like yesterday” talk, but it does.  And in the time since this event, we’ve seen our oldest off to college and her absence only underscores the rapidity of our lives.   But there are adventures yet ahead and this river has not yet gone to the ocean!

 

Changing backpacks, refueling, and taking a break.

 

This day was the second to last day of the entire event, and so full of meaning and significance.  But the head-induced meltdown from the previous day was very much on my mind, and I wanted to make a good showing for the final ruck through Myrtle Beach to Surfside.  So moderation was the name of the game….Cheryl and I planned to walk the 25 miles together through the neighborhoods and walkways around the condo, getting up early to give us plenty of time to accommodate the slower pace.   I don’t remember much from the night before, after she dragged me back from Shallotte, but I do remember whimpering when the alarm went off at 5 am the next morning.  Every muscle felt sore and I could scarcely keep my eyes open.   A few mugs of hot black coffee and a quick anniversary kiss and we were off, leaving the parking lot at 6 am.

Just trucking along, all the time in the world

There are several nice, pedestrian friendly neighborhoods surrounding the condo, which is close to the ICW and surrounded by tidal ponds, marshes, small watering holes, and the Oyster Bay golf course.  We’ve had a modest place there for 12 years, and the girls have spent many summers on Sunset Beach, so its part of our family.  Being able to walk through those places, and memories, was a comforting way to end this ruck, especially considering how sore I was.   I couldn’t use the regular ruck sack because my shoulders were rubbed raw, so I switched to the sling, which goes over one shoulder and redistributes the load.  It’s not as comfortable as the ruck sack but it is a good alternative.

Hunter.  Source of great amusement. 

We walked about 6 miles before meeting Matt and Hunter, who drove up to the condo to be with us in the morning.   I wanted the rest of the day to be “media free”, but we also knew that documenting the event was important.  So they hung out with us for the first few hours and we got some good footage, both of Cheryl and I as well as Hunter’s ongoing, non-stop commentary on everything.  He just brings the energy level up to “11” wherever he is, and I certainly needed that kind of enthusiasm on this particular morning.  

 

We continued our rounds in the neighborhood...Devaun Park, Oyster Bay, parts of Sea Trails...all very walkable and scenic roads with plenty of other bike riders and daily walkers out enjoying the morning before it got too hot.   I’m really glad Matt was around to record one “Autism Encounter”, which happened very close to our condo.   I will copy and paste from my blog post from that day since it captured the event as it happened:

One of our neighbors, Clint, asking what we were doing out there in the heat.

While walking through the neighborhood next door, we came across a gentleman who was out doing his own daily walk.  Of course we struck up a conversation...he was really friendly, and we left thinking nothing more than that. 10 minutes later he pulled up on a recumbent bicycle and gave us $50. He had no idea who we really were but the story touched them. Once again we are moved by the generosity of others and reaffirmed in our belief that what we are doing will have some small impact on the world. So thank you Clint from Sunset Beach for your unquestioning generosity

 

Almost exactly as it transpired the day before...a random encounter with an interested person, who is generous and unquestioning, giving us cash.   It really made me think that we could do something like this on a much larger scale, although we were already so close to our goal of raising $50,000.  

Clint wheeled up to us and gave his donation, completely surprising us.

 

By the afternoon, Hunter and Matt left us and it was just Cheryl and I, but the heat and humidity were relentless.  Around mile 15 we decided to go inside and cool down, rehydrate...I really wanted to avoid a repeat of the previous day, and once you get heatstroke, you tend to be a little more sensitive to it later on.  There’s not much more to relate for that day….Cheryl took a break and set up her chair outside of our unit, and I just checked in every 2 miles or so.   We did one last loop together and she was at 18 miles, which she hadn’t done in a while.   It was a strong day for her.

 

I had one more lap to do, and was delighted that my daughter Claire pulled up at that time with her friend Hannah.

 

Finishing the day with Claire

 

I had one more lap to do, and was delighted that my daughter Claire pulled up at that time with her friend Hannah.  Claire was planning to finish with us the next day, but she also wanted to run one lap with her old dad.  It was awesome and meant the world to me, to have her be a part of the big finale in person (and knowing she would be leaving for college in just a few short months).   

 

So I got in my 25 miles for that day, finishing at 4 pm.   It had taken 10 hours, about 8 ½ hours of movement, to basically walk the entire way.  It is a testament to our marriage but mostly to Cheryl’s good nature that she never complained about this being the way in which we passed our anniversary.   We had many hours of conversation, and sometimes just contemplation, and when you’ve been married as long as we have, that is enough.   We spent the evening recovering in the pool, sipping a beer, and taking it all in.  It was about as memorable an anniversary as we have ever had.

 

The next day would be the last, epic day of the Carolinas CAN Ruck for Autism!

 

The “feelings” octopus that traveled with us, in various forms, along the way.  I kept it black.

 

Don’t tell anyone but we can be mushy at times.