Latest Update from Karla

Subj: Henderson Harbor, New York
Date: 8/22/02 3:01:27 PM !!!First Boot!!!
From:    kbwalk@mailstation.com

Howdy Everyone!
  Clear back in May when I was in Millbrook NY, I met
up with Jean at the Post Office. She was really
interested in my walk, and she contacted her
sister-in-law in Burlington VT and told her I was
coming that direction. So when I got to Burlington, I
spent 3 days with Terry & Theresa. Terry then called
up his sister in Carthage NY and told her I was heading
that direction. So as I got closer to her town, Dawn
extended a warm welcome and invitation. She also
helped make some connections for me when I got to
Harrisville, a town not too far from her.
  In Harrisville she called up one of the churches,
who then found a place for me to stay at someones
house. Actually I got to stay in their 5th wheel
trailer down by the river, and that was pretty neat!
The people in Harrisville are all so kind! The Hair
House gave me a free hair cut, the Bakery served me a
great sandwich for lunch, and the Rose Garden gave me a
free breakfast and t-shirt the next morning.
Small-town America is a great way to travel, because
everyone likes to show off their home town.
  That evening the church was having a bar-b-que, so I
went to that. Dawn also was there that evening, and I
enjoyed meeting her. They had me give a talk about
epilepsy and my walk, and the evening was enjoyable.
The pastor asked me then if I'd talk for a few minutes
tomorrow during the church service, and I said sure.
  He pastors 2 churches in 2 small towns, and in the
morning he picked me up and we went to the church in
Natural Bridge. There he had me speak for a few minutes
and said that the offering would be for the Epilepsy
Foundation. I was thrilled and suprised! After the
service he asked me to come to the next church in
Harrisville, so away we went. The same thing happened
there, too. I was really happy about that. After
being well churchified and hearing the same sermon
twice, I finally hit the road around 1pm.
  I met up with Dawn at an ice-cream shop that I was
absolutely positively suppose to stop at and have an
ice-cream cone. Everyone told me NOT to order a large,
because the ice-cream is about 12" high on a cone.
They all said to get a small, and I'm glad I did. Even
a small was almost too big.
  That evening Dawn had company over for dinner, and
the food was great and the visiting was fine. Dawn
writes a weekly article for a local newspaper, and the
editor was one of the guests at her house that evening,
along with some friends from work. Later that night
after everyone left, we called up Terry & Theresa, who
were currently down in San Diego visiting their other
sister. It was great to talk with them again, and they
were glad we made the connection.
  On monday I was on my way to Watertown, where I was
planning on staying at the fire station. As I was
walking to town, a fellow from the Watertown Newspaper
found me out on the road and took some pictures. Then
at noon, one of the gals I met the night before came
and picked me up and took me out for lunch. After
lunch she dumped me back out and I was on my way again.
  I got into town and stopped off at the Chamber of
Commerce to ask for directions to get to the fire
station. I was really suprised when she handed me a
tote-bag full of gifts and goodies. The bag included a
t-shirt, a magnet, a candy dish full of candy, a coffee
mug, some note pads, a water bottle, and 2 bottles of
sun screen! They told me how to get to the fire
station, and I was once again on my way.
  The fire station building in Watertown is fairly
new, only 5 or 6 yrs old. It's a nice, big building
with lots of room. They gave me the grand tour of the
place and showed me where I would be staying. They
have a section designated for women which includes a
large room with 4 beds, a couple easy-chairs, a TV, a
huge locker room/shower room -- but alas, no women! So
I had this huge, nice room to myself. I have always
enjoyed staying at fire stations, and my only concern
is that I stay out of their way. Sometimes I get to
sleep in a little bedroom, and other times I've slept
in a storage room, a conference room, a rec room, and
even a weight room. And they are always so nice! Even
though I've stayed in many fire stations, there really
haven't been too many interruptions during the night.
But when it does happen, the first thing I hear is the
loud crackling sound over the PA system, followed by a
voice. My immediate reaction to that is to instantly
pull the covers up over my head, because in the next
second all the lights in the building will
automatically come on. Then there's a flurry of
activity, followed by the wailing of the sirens
trailing off in the distance. Then the lights go back
off, and this all happens in about 2 minutes.
My hat is off to the firemen who are able to react
instantly and be there during a time of crisis. God
Bless America, the land of the free and the home of the
brave.
  On wednesday I headed out early in the morning.
They were going to haul my cart that day, and as I was
packing up I found a note with $25 in it. By 6am I was
on my way to Henderson Harbor, around 18 miles away.
  As I was walking along, minding my own business, I
came upon an area that had some road construction going
on. Usually at road construction sites, I walk right
in the area where the construction workers are, rather
than out in the one lane of traffic. As I was walking
by, there were several men down in a hole laying wires.
One guy saw me, climbed out, wiped his dirty hands on
his jeans and shook my hand, saying "you were in last
nights paper and you're walking across America!" We
visited for several minutes, and then I left.   A
couple miles down the road, a pickup pulled up beside
me. He was from the construction site and said this
was from the workers. He handed me a wad of money and
left. It was fifty dollars.
  I continued on and stopped at a little hamburger
stand. He too recognized me and gave me a free drink.
I finally made it into Henderson Harbor, and stopped at
a restuarant. She fed me a free sandwich, and then
went to the store next door and got me a free t-shirt.
  Now I need to tell you about Kim. Her daughter has
epilepsy, and she was picked as the Winning Kid at the
Epilepsy Foundation in Rochester. Kim lives in Oswego,
where I'll be heading for this weekend. The EF
contacted Kim and told her about my walk and when I'd
be arriving, and Kim got on the phone and has made
arrangements for me as I travel from Watertown almost
to Rochester, where the EF will then make arrangements
for me as I continue on past to Niagara Falls. So
there's a span of over 150 miles that the Epilepsy
Foundation and Kim are helping me out and making
connections for me as I go.
  So when I walked to Henderson Harbor, I already knew
I had a place to stay at, thanks to Kim. I contacted
Mary, who lives next to the Yachts Club. She was
helping serve a lunch there when I arrived, and she
said the door was open and that I could go and make
myself at home. Mary's daughter Valerie lives a couple
houses down and she owns a hair salon. And Valeries
daughter Danielle -- who's my age, lives nearby, too.
So between the 3 of them, I was well taken care of. I
cleaned up and was out sitting on the porch when
Danielle came along and we visited. She is so nice!
Then Mary came, and a little later 6 of us all went out
to eat. The restaurant gave me my meal for free, and
this group was fun and lively! They then drove me
around and took me to see Stoney Point Light House,
which is now privately owned. It was late that night
before all the visiting slowed down, and I really
enjoyed meeting such neat people. They want me to stay
for a week, but I must continue on.
  Today I'm walking to the Redwood Motel in Pulaski,
where Kim has made arrangements for me to stay tonight
and tomorrow night for free. I'm suppose to stop off
at the Golden Fish restaurant today and get a free
lunch. On friday night there's the Farmers Market
going on, and I'm suppose to meet assembly man Will
Barkley there. Also on friday, Story Teller restaurant
will serve me lunch for free, and for the next few days
the Richland Highway Dept will be hauling my cart.
Then I'll get into Oswego on sunday, and stay with Kim
and her family for 3 days. She has several things
lined up there, such as a TV station, a radio
interview, a couple meetings, the newspaper, and a day
at the state fair.
  Y'all take care and have a great day! KB

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