Day 027 - Washington to Claysville PA

On the road again. (Went to Willie Nelson and Lee Ann Womack concert with Joan and her Mom at the Mann Music Center). Everything is covered in white again. Temps in the. 30's and intermittent flurries. Footwear for the day is hiking boots. March 15 was the last day that I wore one of my new pair of sneaks. I've been wearing either hiking boots or my old sneaks that I've worn since August. My big toes are starting to wear a hole in the material. Yes I keep a log of what shoes I wear each day.

I pronounce words with "wash" in them with an added "R". Joan would cringe if I said I was going to waRsh the clothes or when I referred to our nations capitol. Whenever we would discuss WaRshington PA I would tell her I was correct since that's how the locals pronounce it. When I talked to a Pittsburgh media outlet and told them I would be passing thru WaRshington the gentleman laughed and said I must be a local. I have crossed over to the land of having to ask for a pop if you want a soft drink.

I walked thru Washington and walked down some of the same streets that Joan and I walked during the AVA walk here less than three years ago. After leaving town I walked past one of the original stone "S" bridges (details in future blog) and walked past a sign commemorating the birthplace of William Holmes McGuffey. My Mom gave Joan and I a set of McGuffey readers that her parents had used. I am now walking on PA bike route "S". I seem to run in to it everywhere the last few years. I used to drive a portion of it on some back country roads on the way to work at Vanguard at the other end of the state.

Sean Ramaley a former member of the PA House of Representatives took me out for dinner. His aunt Gwen passed away in 2005 from ovarian cancer. For the next three years, he sponsored a resolution in the PA House recognizing Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. For the last 7 years, he has marched with survivors and other families during the Pittsburgh-area's annual Walk to Break the Silence. Philadelphia does the same walk in Fairmont Park each September. I have walked it the past two years with my sister-in-laws nieces and nephews. This year it will be on Joan's birthday and I will be in Nevada.

Sean offered to pay for a nights lodging. I can't believe I'm saying this but my lodging is covered into the first few days in Indiana. He offered me a rain check and said to give him a call the first night that I am without a place to stay. He is second person on my waiting list.

I want to thank the following members of the media for their coverage of the walk. Cathryn Stanley of the Barnesville Entrprise, Andrew Miller of This Week Community News, Jim & Tony from WJPA Radio Washington, PA, Scott Beveridge of the Washington Observer and Diane Adams of Small Town Life. I will post the articles on the blog as they are published.

I am officially losing track of how all of these media personnel are finding out about the walk which is a very good thing. If anyone finds an article about the walk that I have not recognized in the MEDIA section of the blog please send me the link so that I can thank them for their efforts by recognizing it on the blog.

If anyone knows of a media outlet or publication that may be interested in covering the walk please feel free to contact them directly. They do not need to be on the route of the walk. Tell them to check out my blog www.ocjoan.blogspot.com and then to contact me at ocmdbreeze@aol.com or 610-906-6252 if they have questions. They are welcome to use any text or pictures on the blog or Facebook.

Last night Barbara & Steve Havens put me up for the might in the house on a wooded lot built by Barbara's Dad a WW II Vet in 1952. En route to her house we stopped at the Sarris chocolate store. It had a really neat display that was a four foot high working carousel made out of chocolate. We had a delicious chicken dinner followed by German chocolate iced brownies which was an amazing combination of two of my favorite desserts. I maintained super human restraint by only eating four. She packed four for me to take on the road.

The way Barbara found out about my walk was that Carol Rautenstrauch the LBW bus trip coordinator extraordinaire contacted the PA Alpha Delta Kappa (Phi Chapter - Washington) which Barbara belongs to.