Northeastern Road Trip - Part 1



Tuesday, May 31, 2022.  Hagerstown, Maryland 7:30 a.m. EST

I’m lying here in bed, in a Sleep Inn in Hagerstown, Maryland asking myself, “What the hell am I doing here?”  I know the short answer is trying to get my last seven states and when I think about it during the day the answer makes sense. But when I wake up in the middle of the night and allergies seem to be kicking my ass the bigger question is, “Why”?

It’s now Tuesday morning the last day of May and actual races start tomorrow morning. Then I race three days in a row. Im hoping once the actual races start I can be a little more sure that it’s worth it. Right now after my second day driving and second night in a motel I seem to have more doubts than answers. 

Oh well enough pontificating. Time to go get breakfast and see what the day brings. 

Tuesday, June 7,  2022. Grover, Missouri 10:17 a.m. CST

Well it’s been a week since that last post and to say a lot happened since then would be an understatement. I’m actually supposed to have done a race in Rhode Island this morning but like I said, a lot happened. Rather than start with today and look back I think I’ll just pick up where I left off and see about catching up. 

I went to breakfast and did some research while I was eating. Distances, timelines, etc. I decided since I was traveling less than 150 miles to my next stop I would visit a couple of places and get my National Parks Passport some additional stamps. I figured as long as I didn’t overdo hiking or anything I’d be fine to start racing in Delaware the next day. 

I went to Antietam and drove through the battlefield sites stopping to read history and take pictures. Just like all of the Civil War battlefields I’ve seen I was so amazed at how much death and destruction took place. 







After that I went to Harpers Ferry it was an interesting place to visit and has a remarkable history including it’s close relationship with the Appalachian Trail and others. John Brown’s Raid is only a small part of the area’s history. Oh on a side note despite all the pictures in history books of the crazed zealot with the flowing beard. Brown didn’t even have a beard at the time of the raid. 







From There I headed to Delaware where I would be staying for my first two races. 

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