DAY 252: ON THE ROAD TO STARKE, FLORIDA

Please go to Blog DAY 172 for background information re the Harre Cooney:

I have returned to the home of HARRE COONEY and his wife MARYANNE, where we three (SPIA, SAM & ME) are invited to take some R & R while we fix up SPIA and help Harre around his ranch.

SPIA is snugged up to the lakeside shed, complete with electrical hookup and fresh water.
Tomorrow, we have to ourselves as Harre and Maryanne have previous appointments to tend to.

We may have found a solution for SPIA's worn out leaf springs holding up the "Home" part. With the added weight of SAM cantilevered off the back of SPIA, there has been a severe out of balance condition since leaving the Peace Arch. SPIA is unstable at the front tires...especially when braking.

Before heading North on the next (Winter) phase of our walk, we MUST find a solution to get SPIA balanced out...this may mean new rear springs and overload shocks (shock absorbers), or perhaps we must leave SAM behind in Florida to be retrieved at some later date.

Our original plan was to spend three (3) months at Harre's ('til about January 01, 2012) to wait for warmer weather up North...I just don't know if I can sit still for that long. As much as I have been looking to spend time with Harre and Maryanne - which I do -, the call of the road is so strong, I would not hesitate to set out tomorrow morning...snow, ice, or cold be dam....d.

I have invited a number of my friends to help choose the walking route. Our general route will be:

from LAKE CITY, FLORIDA - along the East side of the Allegheny Mountains (perhaps along the barrier islands - OCRACOKE, CAPE HATTERAS, KITTY HAWK, -), thence up the Shenandoah Valley with a quick stop in Washington D.C., thence to Manhattan Island (New York City - where I lived nearby in WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK for nearly 20 years),'

thence up the Hudson River to the Erie Canal - following the canal all the way to ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA (where my Great Great Grandfather made somewhat of a name for himself a few years back)'

then turning West under the Great Lakes, then following the USA/CANADA border back to the Peace Arch in Blaine Washington - with possible side visits to Glacier National Park, Yellowstone, and a trip or two across the border to visit some of Canada's treasures.


I give this general outline so that anyone may participate in our route selection to visit a favorite - or desired - place near to the main trek.

Oops...a number of gnats somehow found their way inside SPIA's living quarters while I was typing this up...I have the itty bitty fan going to cool the humid evening air a bit. To get rid of the critters, I gave them one shot of CUTTER Insect Repellent - they were congregated around the ceiling light...

Not expecting any spread of the spray, I was surprised that the fan forced it around the back wall and directly into my face. I received a bit of spray inside my mouth about 10 minutes ago - I rinsed, gargled, and spit a number of times, but the top back corner of my mouth near the throat is giving me some pain...I feel fine at the moment and continue to rinse with clear water. If it keeps up, I may ask Harre to take me to ER just to be certain all is OK...

We shall see...