The
Home Stretch:
July 29
to August 7, 2004
Today and tomorrow
would be a pleasant change. Instead of a routine of riding several hours from one
location to another, my two-wheeled travels would be limited to visits to the
day’s ashiatsu therapist. For today that meant a ride from the District of
Columbia to Fairfax, Virginia – about 26 miles. Traffic was moderate and the
trip took about 40 minutes.
My therapist was
Barbara Brownell, whom I had discovered back in early 2003, still in the early
stage of my ashiatsu journey. It’s always a treat to see her and she
incorporates all my favorite selections from her comprehensive menu. Today was
no exception. I’m already looking forward to the next session with her when
Christine and I return to Washington early in September for 10 days.
Returned to Bob and
Natasha’s apartment and spent some time working on the web site stuff and
catching up on some phone calls. We decided to eat in tonight, and ordered
sushi from a nearby restaurant. Delicious. As was the immense ice cream sundae
Natasha fixed for me. She obviously doesn’t think I’ve been eating enough.
Early and quick
breakfast, and left around 9:30 for the trip to Frederick, Maryland, location
for today’s ashiatsu workout. I had never been to Frederick, even though
Christine had attended two years of college here (Hood College) way back when.
I arrived about half an hour before my appointment so had a chance to do a
little sightseeing in the downtown area. Seems like a nice enough place from
what little I saw of it.
Today’s therapist of
choice was Denise Ordonio and she turned out to be another winner – happy to
experiment with some stuff new to her, and that always rates a high mark in my
book. She wants me to come back so she and another of the therapists she works
with can work on me simultaneously – synchronized massage, she calls it.
Sounded good to me, so we’ve tentatively scheduled a session for September when
Christine and I are back down in the area.
On the way back to
Bob and Natasha’s, I stopped at the home of our two oldest granddaughters,
Rachel and Sasha. They also live in the district with their mother Wendie, and
it’s nice to have them so conveniently located for our trips to the Washington
area. Sasha was away at a cooking camp for the afternoon but I had a nice visit
with Rachel. They’ll both be coming to Maine in mid-August for their annual
summer visit.
My delayed (from
June) birthday present from Bob and Natasha was a dinner on them at Ruth’s
Chris Steak House in Washington. I had been so impressed by a dinner Christine
and I had at their location on Maui back in May that I thought it would be
worth a try. This one wasn’t quite up to the Maui standards, but still a very
good one and what a nice treat. Sure beats the dinners I’ve been having for
most of this trip.
Early rising so I
could get on the road for Lancaster, Pennsylvania. I’d be visiting my nephew
Rich Kelsall and his wife Carol for a couple of nights and wanted to get there
before 11, since I would be heading out again around 12:30 for my afternoon
ashiatsu session.
Said my goodbyes to
Bob and Natasha, but it was nice to know that we’ll be seeing each other in
early September when we come down for a 10-day visit. Hit the road about 8, and
had an uneventful ride, mostly on interstates, to Rich and Carol’s place.
Arrived around 10:30, about when I thought I would.
For today’s massage,
I had to ride over to the Reading area, and since part of the route is the same
way I’ll be riding when I leave on Monday, it gave me an advance look at the
terrain and road construction scene. Reached the massage studio/spa with no difficulty,
and my therapist, Pam Shomo, was there and ready for me. She’s relatively new
at ashiatsu, and in fact had done her training at the same location in Newport
News, Virginia, where I had had two sessions earlier in the week.
Then it was back to
Lancaster just in time to welcome another family member who lives in the area –
my niece Emmy Oberdorf. Other assorted relatives, new and old, completed the
cast of characters, and Rich did the cooking. Nice job and nice chance to catch
up on mutual goings on in our lives.
No big events today.
My daily massage was at 10, with a therapist only about 10 minutes away. Karen
Leque did a nice job; the major missing element was an ashiatsu background.
This is one of only two days during the trip that I wasn’t able to schedule a
session with an ashiatsu therapist on a particular day.
The afternoon’s
activity was a visit to the Lancaster craft show, with a huge number of
craftspeople under one roof. Lots of stuff, but we came away empty handed. In
addition to Carol and her daughter Becky, another nephew’s wife, Eileen
Kelsall, had driven up from her home in Philadelphia to visit and so she came
along as well.
Returned home to
find Rich busy preparing dinner including some of his own special recipes. The
main course would be Delmonico steak, and it was superbly done. The whole
dinner couldn’t have been nicer and was a good way to cap a brief but
fulfilling two-day visit. Then it was off to an early bedtime. I wanted to be
on the road by 7 or so.
Up at 5:30, packed
and bike loaded, had a quick breakfast with Rich, said my goodbyes, and was on
the road about 7. The trip to Branford, Connecticut, today’s destination, was
uneventful, even allowing for a couple of road construction delays. Pulled into
my motel in Branford around 12:30, got checked into my room, and caught up on
telephone calls before heading off for my 3:00 ashiatsu treatment.
Today’s therapist
was Jen Reynolds, who was trained in this modality about a year ago. She did a
first rate job, including some aspects of ashiatsu a little new to her. Then it
was back to the motel, some more telephoning, and finally dinner at a locally
recommended seafood restaurant. The meal was fine, but the service left
something to be desired.
Tomorrow it’s off to
Salem, New Hampshire, which will be my overnight base for massages in
Gloucester, Massachusetts, tomorrow afternoon, and Andover, Massachusetts,
Wednesday morning. Definitely on the home stretch – I can almost smell the
Maine air.
No complimentary
breakfast at this inn, so got an early start and headed for Salem. Stopped
around 9 to refuel the bike and myself – my usual cinnamon roll and coffee at
McDonalds. Back on the road and an easy run to my destination, the Red Roof
Inn. My room was ready, so I had time to spare before leaving for my afternoon
ashiatsu session in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Got to Gloucester
with an hour to kill before my 3 pm appointment and used the time to do a
walking tour of the downtown neighborhood and add some digital pix to my web
site files for this final ten days of recording my journey. Then it was time to
meet Caroline Sexton, who was all set for our session. She has worked on me
before, so I knew it would be an especially good workout, and she didn’t
disappoint me. She is trained in shiatsu as well as ashiatsu, and easily mixed
the two together during the routine. A great job!
Decided to take some back roads on the return trip, so as to avoid the inevitable rush hour traffic congestion on the roads around Boston. It took longer than the trip down, but at least the traffic was moving. Since there weren’t any restaurants within walking distance of my inn, I picked up a sandwich and beer and was soon back in my room for an uneventful dinner and evening at my final motel stop of this trip.
Today began with a
letdown. Weeks ago I had scheduled an ashiatsu massage with a therapist who
practices in Andover, Massachusetts. But last night when I checked my cell phone
there was a message from her saying that she couldn’t keep the appointment –
blamed it on the office staff who had set it up. Most of my therapists would
have found a way to make it happen; too bad she couldn’t.
But the day wasn’t
over. I headed for Plymouth, the town where our daughter Sue lives and where
I’d be staying for the next three nights, and soon after was back on the road
to the little town of Lincoln, New Hampshire. I have a very talented esalen
therapist there who often works on me when I’m in the area, and she would take
care of me. She came through with flying colors and did a super job.
Got back to Sue’s
condo a little before she returned from work, having picked up Anna from day
care on the way. Sue’s friend and next-door neighbor Julie joined us for
dinner. Shrimp cocktail and shrimp scampi were the featured items on the menu,
and what a nice change they were from my usual fare. Then it was an early
bedtime for all of us.
Today and tomorrow
are relaxation days. Sue will be at work and my principal commitments will be
appointments with my ashiatsu therapists. I can think of worse ways to spend
the last couple of days on the road.
My appointment today
was with Marie Straiton in Concord. She had also worked on me the second day of
the trip and is a wonderful ashiatsu therapist. I knew I could count on a
remarkable performance, and indeed it was. Her studio in Concord, the state
capitol, is only about a 45-minute drive from Sue’s condo, so not a big
inconvenience. In fact I drive further than that to reach a couple of the
therapists who are part of my regular group in Maine.
Worked on some web
site updating during the afternoon, including getting the final group of
digital photos organized for uploading to the site. Sue arrived home around 5,
and Anna a little later (she and her dad had dinner out together). Then we
ordered pizza to eat in, and were joined by Sue’s boyfriend Jamie. We had
rented a movie to watch but decided to put that off till tomorrow, and called it
an early evening instead.
Sue has today off.
Like most single mothers, she has many demands on her time –her job, her
graduate studies in financial planning, and bringing up Anna. To reduce some of
the work-related burden, she has been working a 4-day week, but will probably
go back to a 5-day schedule starting this fall. But today would be full of
activity, including getting stuff together for a friend’s baby shower taking
place tomorrow and also preparing one of my favorite meals (Philippine pancit
and lumpia) for tonight’s dinner with a new couple in the neighborhood.
As for me, the day
was much less stressful. My dear friend and our Barefeet2004 team captain
Regina Burtt, who started me down the addictive path of ashiatsu a couple of
years ago, would again do the honors, as she had early in the trip, back on
July 4th. But today, since I didn’t really feel an ashiatsu need, I asked for
one of her other specialties, esalen. What a remarkable job – hard to imagine a
better way to spend an hour and a half! I’ve already booked her for our visit
to Plymouth in September.
One bit of news was
to learn that Regina will be leaving her current space at the end of the month.
Were she to stay, her rent increases would have nearly quadrupled in four
years. Talk about a hot market! But the good news is that she’ll be continuing
her massage therapy, including ashiatsu, at home, which is equally convenient
to me from Sue’s condo location, and within a year hopes to have a new studio
built and outfitted on land that she and her husband own a few miles north of
Plymouth.
After a fairly
relaxed afternoon, Sue and I were joined for dinner by Scott and Lauren, the
young couple who have moved into an apartment further up Tenney Mountain (the
mountain where the ski resort is located, including the condo Sue rents). They
recently relocated from Midland, Texas, to Plymouth and have a 3-month old son,
Hudson, who is a strapping young man. Don’t be surprised to be reading about
him in the sports section some day. His father Scott has just started a 2-year
master’s degree program in athletic training at Plymouth State University. He
and Lauren are a charming pair and it’s nice that Sue will have them for
neighbors. Some babysitting exchanges will no doubt be a side benefit of their
friendship.
Tonight, after our
guests had left, Sue and I did watch the movie we had foregone last night.
“Love Actually” won’t make anyone’s list of memorable flicks, but it had its
moments. Then it was bedtime – and the realization that this would be the last
night on the road of the Barefeet2004 journey.
Day 38 of
Barefeet2004. Up at 6, got my stuff packed for the last time this trip, bike
loaded, and had a light breakfast. Enjoyed a few moments with Sue and Anna
before mounting the Trophy to begin the final ride of this year’s journey, and
then was underway a little before 8:30. Home in Bristol Mills, Maine, is
today’s destination, but the first order of business would be a stop in Salem,
New Hampshire, for the last official act of this year’s tribute to America’s
barefoot massage therapists.
Dianne Jezak, who
had given me the very first massage of the trip, would also do the honors
today. She’s a fairly new addition to my portfolio of therapists, having been
discovered by me only this past February, but she already occupies a place of
honor in this special group. Her talent, style and desire to expand her
ashiatsu skills and grow in her profession are enough to give her a
well-deserved place on my all star team.
Dianne had invited
some representatives from the local paper to drop by after our session for an
interview with the two of us. I had been happy to accommodate this opportunity,
since it is a chance for a therapist to publicize a modality that is little
known to many in the community, even those active in massage therapy. However,
the media reps didn’t show up – their loss, I’d say. Too bad, but with Dianne’s
special touch, I’m sure word of mouth will get the message out.
Then, at the end of
the session, Dianne surprised me with something out of the blue – today’s
session would be her gift to me. I protested, mildly, but was genuinely touched
by her generosity. What an absolute sweetheart! Thank you, Dianne, for being
such a gem – you can count on seeing a lot more of me. And that was already a
given.
Then it was back on
the road for the final leg. And that’s when the ride became less than fun – in
fact probably the least enjoyable of the whole trip. Reason wasn’t
weather-related, but simply summer traffic. Being Saturday, which is
traditional changeover day for summer vacation rentals, and being peak season,
the roads were jammed. One of the few drawbacks about living in a state known
as “Vacationland” – Maine’s unofficial nickname – is that summer traffic
becomes a nightmare at times like this.
Anyway, I endured
the inconvenience, and after a brief stop at my Triumph dealer to arrange for
some upcoming servicing, I clicked off the remaining miles till the Trophy was
parked in front of our garage and I was once again back home. The welcoming
committee – Christine plus Rudy, the chocolate lab, and Pumpkin, the cat and
senior citizen of the pet crew – were there, with tails wagging, to greet me,
and what a nice sight they were.
And so the
Barefeet2004 adventure has come to its physical completion, but the memories of
the trip and the friendships formed with some of our top therapists will endure
for years to come. For those of you who have followed the journey, I hope
you’ve enjoyed the web site postings. The efforts to put it together and
maintain it have been rewarded by knowing that it has been entertaining many of
my family and my old and new friends in the massage therapy community.
To Christine, my
wife of nearly 44 years, I extend a special thank you for continuing to support
my penchant for going off on occasional road trips in my efforts to rejuvenate
myself and stay young and healthy. And to the many therapists, new and old, who
treated me on this year’s trip, I say thank you from the bottom of my heart for
participating with me in this adventure. Yes, there will be another ashiatsu
tour. I’ve already got a tentative plan in place for a 2005 version, which I
expect will include a number of the therapists who made this year’s trip so
memorable. So stay tuned – the journey will continue.
Trip Statistics at end of the Trip
Miles
ridden final ten days: 1,379
Miles
ridden this trip: 7,081
States visited: 20