I got up and slowly packed up. I took my time getting ready to go. When I left I went right out to the 90 and headed up the highway. I came across a grocery outlet a little ways up and decided to go in and get a loaf of bread to store in my pack. I also googled a McDonald's and saw that there was one a few miles ahead where I would take an early break and get breakfast.
I walked west and it was hot. I was crossing the bridge over to where Pensacola was on the days route and hoped it would be cool walking over the water. I came up to the McDonald's finally and went inside. I ordered 2 of the breakfast specials of a hash brown and a sausage mcmuffin for a $1. So I ate 2 of each for $2 and some change. It was pretty filling and it was good having 2 good hot meals in 2 days.
I charged my things there and filled my waters before leaving. I also went to the dumpster in the back to make a new "food" sign to tie onto my backpack. So I made the sign, tied it onto my backpack and then took off walking down the road.
I got into the long bridge and walked over the water. It was really hot but once in a while a breeze blew to make it somewhat bearable. I walked for miles down the bridge. There were some sort of eel looking fish swimming on the surface when I would glance down. And also plenty of boats and waverunners flying around. The waverunners looked so refreshing and I love riding those things. I watched them go by and was really envious.
When I reached the highest spot of the bridge I stopped to cool off. I drank water there and caught the breeze to dry some of the sweat that was now pouring out of me. I sat there a while and then headed past the water and past the bridge.
Once I was off the bridge it instantly got way hotter. The breeze was no more and I was drenched in sweat. It was hard to keep going but I did. I know that Texas to California is going to be brutal so I need to be able to handle this stuff out here easily. I stopped for water breaks every few miles.
Eventually I got to a church to take a mid day break of maybe an hour or so. The day before I walked 17 miles and today was 19. I wanted to pace myself to get there not too late and staying hydrated. I drank water there and filled up in the faucet on the side of the church. The water was cold and good tasting. I chugged a lot. I also used the outlet there for a charge.
I left there about an hour later around 4. I had about 10 miles to go so I got back on it. It cooled down a little but was still pretty hot. I walked about 6 miles when my shoulders started to hurt. I moved them around and stretched while I walked to try and loosen them up but they still hurt. I pulled off and took a 15 minute break to stretch them out more.
I walked about 3 more miles and crossed under the 10. As I crossed it I took a little 5 minute water break. When I sat there a man came walking down the highway. When he approached me I asked how he was doing? He said not worth the shit. He just got out of jail and had nothing. He needed to get to Texas about an hour east of San Antonio but had not a dime. He was older maybe around 60 and missing a bunch of teeth. He seemed like he grew up in Texas and had that accent and stuff. I ended up giving him about a dollar in change as all I had besides that were 20's. He said thanks and that he was going to fly a sign at the store to get some beer. He wreaked of hard liquor too. He had nothing at all beside what he was wearing. I wondered how or where he slept at night or what would happen to him. He took off.
I kept walking and it was dark. I had a little more ways to go to get to the church. I pushed all the way and made it there at about 9. It was pretty hidden and a decent place. The best spot I found was on some concrete in the back corner. I laid my bag down there and climbed in. It was still really hot and I was still soaked in sweat and continuing to sweat. The mesquitos were brutal. I had to stay all the way in my bag to avoid getting bit but it was so hot inside the sleeping bag it made me sweat more. I kind of half slept most the night while constantly sweating. Eventually I got so hot I just pulled off my shirt and threw it over my cart. It was literally dripping sweat off of it. It was really gross.
I woke up in the early morning at maybe 3 or 4 and sat there staring up into space. I seriously sat there like a weirdo for about an hour with my eyes open and not even thinking. It was like I was asleep with my eyes open. It was pretty trippy. Finally I snapped out of it and kinda had a "what am I doing?" moment and rolled over to close my eyes and go back to sleep. Pretty miserable night of sleeping.
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