Day 059 - Casey to Greenup IL

The temps were in the 50's on an overcast day. We had a 10 mph quartering tailwind from the east southeast.

Four persons did the entire walk with me. Melissa Dunn, Laura Davis, Nadine and James Rich. There are now thirteen persons and two puppies that have done at least one entire day. Melissa's maternal grandmother died of ovarian cancer and her Mom is a five year ovarian cancer survivor. Laura does daily five mile morning walks with Melissa.

Nadine is the daughter of Barb Hannigan who is a fellow Liberty Bell Wanderer. Barb is an RN. She showed up at my house just as the hospice worker told me that Joan was starting to fade. It was a brutal heat wave and the hospice staff was overworked. Barb was a tremendous aide for me and the hospice worker taking care of Joan and keeping her comfortable the last two days.

Gary Strohm met us at the start of the walk and took a picture of us in front of the World's Largest Wind Chime in Casey. It was completed in 2011. The frame is over 55 feet high. The longest chime is 42 feet. We all took turns ringing the chime. Casey is also the home to the world's largest wooden golf tee. Apparently it has not been mounted in its final location. We did not see it.

James spotted a fox early on in the walk. Since there were five of us we travelled down old deserted segments of the original National Road where possible. Halfway through the walk we came to D & D Auto. The owner let us use the restroom and provided us with coffee and candy bars. He told us that the building dated back to when Route 40 was first completed thru the area and that it had served as a café and auto repair shop. A light rain had started by the time we left D & D so we all donned our rainwear, some more fashionable than others.

Next we went thru the town of Greenup which is billed as the "Village of the Porches". A block downtown reminded me of the second floor porches in the French Quarter in New Orleans. I got permission from the American Legion to go up on their porch and take a picture.

Later on in town we saw an auction run by Smitty's Auction Service in progress. One of the items being auctioned off was an aluminum Christmas tree complete with ornaments and a color wheel.

Just prior to the end of the walk we passed over the first covered bridge I've gone over on the walk. It is 200 foot long spanning the Embarrass River. It was rebuilt in 2000.

When finished we returned to Casey and dined at the Whitling Whimsey Cafe next to the Chime. They have really good food reasonably priced. The had two huge 10 foot "W's" on the ceiling. Nadine picked up on the fact that the shelf that ran around the ceiling was loaded with dozens of nostalgic items that all began with the letter "W".

Last might Nadine & James helped me set up a twitter account for the walk. Please tell everyone you know that uses twitter to follow my account at @ocjoan.