It was great to get home! My reunion with my little granddaughter, Cadia was worth all the delayed planes and I have been loving every minute with her. Her sweet ways and sparkling eyes have long stolen my heart. I have also enjoyed reconnecting with my other loved ones and getting back into the groove of working.

The plan was to be home for a couple of weeks and then head out walking again but the plan has gone the way of the dodo bird on account of my purse being stolen. After getting groceries, while returning the cart (about 20 feet away from my car) my purse was taken right out of my front seat just as bold as you please.

The Food Basics security footage showed me leaving the store with my purse. I remember looking at the empty cart as I returned it, narrowing the theft down to that brief moment when my back was turned. Apparently this new tactic is becoming a thing as stores generally do not have cameras in the parking lot. Aside from the cost and inconvenience of replacing all my cards and losing everything else in my large leather bag, I was buying a saw mill that day and had $4500.00 of hard earned cash in my purse to pay for it.

I am ultra cautious and aware while travelling but I guess I let my guard down here at home. I generally tend to be a trusting sort – in the summer the blueberries at my roadside stand are sold on the honor system and so far that has worked – but I also know that we are living in increasingly desperate times. I still believe that most people are good and trustworthy but I will move forward with more vigilance and caution.

By the end of that day, while obviously still shocked and gut punched by the monetary loss, I had it settled in my mind that it was just money. It wasn’t people and it’s the people in my life that matter. My family and friends were ok and I was ok. I could earn more money. So I am staying home and doing that. I like to think there is a reason why things unfold as they do but sometimes poopy things just happen. I had a good cry and then I let it go.

I am fortunate to have wonderful family and friends who give me much joy. Thank you for sharing this crazy adventure we call life with me. And thank you for taking the time to read. I truly appreciate it! See you on the flip side! Maybe in the blueberry field!

Take good care!

Arlene aka… Blueberry.

These last five weeks have been quite an adventure! It was a mix of challenging weather, altering course, great times with friends, treasured solitude, and through it all, forcing this old horse to keep putting one foot in front of the other, mile after mile, even when she didn’t want to.

I decided that, before flying home, I wanted a couple of days rest and, more importantly, a shower. So here I am in a Fort Lauderdale hostel, all clean and spiffed up in my black merino longs (that’s my sleeping gear) and my brushed cotton flowy purple skirt. My hiking clothes are safely stowed in a biohazard bag and I feel ready for the ritz. Everything is so relative!

I walked from Key West to Key Largo catching glimpses into the lives of seafaring folk fishing from bridges and fixing their boats. Most business’s in the Keys are nautically related in the form of resorts, marinas, seafood restaurants and dermatology offices. Mansions and manicured lawns of the rich and beautiful filled a lot of the other spaces, all against the stunning backdrop of the ocean.

Eventually my life as a good little troll sleeping under bridges didn’t work for me anymore. The shores became rocky and the space became a wind tunnel. One night the wind was so fierce it pressed my tent hard against my face the entire night and I fretted briefly that I was going to be blown out to sea, but all was well. Except that it literally ripped the fabric of my tent. And so I have finally, sadly, retired Big Agnes.

Stealth camping in the open air was lovely. The stars were bright and the weather was kind. I found good spots where I was sheltered from view and felt secure. If anything, it was easier than sleeping in the tent. Mind you, the weather cooperated, there were few mosquitoes and of course, I stayed out of the undergrowth.

I had only ever associated Florida with busy coastline and Orlando tourism but there is a whole different world in the interior. It is full of lush horse country, diverse wetlands and wildlife that most people don’t see. And with the exception of one back woods road section of the trail where I was primed to run at the slightest hint of banjo music, I felt comfortable and safe.

Tomorrow night I will fly home for a couple weeks before setting off on the second leg of my winter wandering. And to answer my own question – do I still have the horses for this particular type of travel? My answer is, I guess I do. I’ve always been more of a work horse than a thoroughbred. The old girl is a bit lame and definitely past her prime, but she ain’t ready for the glue factory yet.

I rolled over and rested my head on my back pack. It had been a long, needed and good, if fitful, sleep. I was on bumpy, uneven ground snugged into thick, hidden undergrowth on a shoreline beside the #1 highway on Key West. Even on the far side of the urban sprawl there wasn’t a lot of choice. The previous day, after exploring the island and having been awake for 36 hours, I found an acceptable spot for my tent. I set up, crawled in and was asleep within minutes. Slowly I opened my eyes. The sun was rising and it was time to get up. I was suddenly wide awake! There was a significant sized ragged hole in my tent wall! Was it there the night before and I was too fuzzy brained to notice? Did I accidentally do it myself in the night? Then I saw a hole in my backpack and a hole in the waterproof bag inside my back pack that held my oatmeal. And oatmeal on the floor of my tent. Using my ace detective skills I put the clues together – but what furry foe was the culprit? I quickly packed up just as a woman glided into the shore and hopped out of her kayak. We started chatting and I mentioned the hole in my tent. “Oh, that will be a river rat”, she said. “They are super big, they will chew through anything. I hate them.” What! A river rat chewed into my tent and backpack and was eating my food, a foot from my face, while I was sleeping! I am no lover of rats (river or otherwise) and I can’t describe how grateful I am that I didn’t wake up during that! I was having trouble processing it actually. But in the end, the only thing to do was to buy a bigger roll of duck tape and just keep walking.

The weather has been warm and comfortable. I am feeling stronger and have been averaging about 30 kilometres per day. It’s a little tricky finding stealth spots on the limited real estate here now that I am undergrowth-by-the-shore shy after the river rat incident. Established campgrounds run upwards of $80 – $100 U.S. a night, which doesn’t suit me either. But I’ve taken to climbing under the bridges at the beginnings or endings of islands (of which there are many) and that’s working out pretty good.

I saw a key deer on Big Pine Key and that was super cool. They look like white tailed deer but are only half the size. They are the smallest deer in North America, are an endangered species and live only in the Florida Keys.

I woke up this morning close to the big 12-kilometre long bridge. I knew a storm front was moving in about 1pm and I wanted to be finished and off by then. By 7am I was booting it along on a separate walkway were people fish and paralleled the bridge. About two kilometres in, the walkway ended and precious time was wasted backtracking and starting again on the actual road.

A three foot high guardrail sounds like a lot, but in the wind on a long bridge, high above big water, it didn’t feel nearly high enough. Between the wind and the cars and big trucks whizzing past I must have looked like a drunken sailor. Thank goodness for my stabilizing poles!

The sky turned black earlier than forecasted. Must walk faster, I thought! I was about four fifths of the way across when the skies opened the wind turned scary. I struggled to get my rain coat and pack cover on as I was slammed by wind and rain. A few minutes later a truck stopped right on the bridge and opened the door. “Get in,”they yelled. I wasted no time scrambling over empty car seats, relief flooding through me. I was already drenched and shivering.

Their names were Jamie and Jo, a lovely 30 something couple from Wisconsin. They had just received a tornado warning on their phone when they saw me. They took me to their Airbnb in Marathon (the other end of the bridge) where I met their kids and parents. They dried my clothes and fed me lunch. They were a beautiful family and it reinforced my belief that there are kind, helpful, wonderful people everywhere. Again, I was overwhelmed with gratitude!

I am on Conch Key now and settled in for the night under a good bridge. The road overhead is loud but that’s ok! I’m writing this post fast as my U.S. phone plan runs out tomorrow. So my next post will likely be from the airport in Fort Lauderdale where I will have wifi. Until then, I’ll just keep walking. 😊