The fog was thick when we left Camden this morning for the nine mile walk to Rockland. After the first three miles the rain started and by about mile six it began to come down much harder. We took a short break at a park along the water - we couldn't see anything though because of the fog. We decided to skip our lunch and pressed on into the revitalized downtown of Rockland stopping at a book cafe for a hot cup of caffeine. The owner of the joint told us we could have any dessert for free as a reward for our walking.
Because we pushed into Rockland sooner than expected the Unitarian Church was not going to be immediately available to us so Jason Rawn walked over to the city recreation center and asked if we could have our lunch there. They kindly said yes so we sat in the basketball court bleachers eating while watching a couple of our folks shoot some hoops.
One older woman joined us today for the walk and I learned she had heard our two speakers on WERU radio the other day. She wrote down the Maine Veterans for Peace website address given out over the air as the site to find more information. She went to the website, checked our daily schedule, and came to the supper program in Camden last night and then walked with us today. She shared with one of the walkers that when her son was in the military he was repeatedly exposed to the use of depleted uranium and has spent recent years battling four different cancers. She had real incentive to walk with us.
College senior Morgana Warner Evans from West Bath, Maine has been with us the last two days and is specializing in chasing down people as we pass them by to make sure they get one of our flyers. Everyone remarks about her boundless energy and strong determination to share the message of the walk with as many people as possible.
My favorite part of the day was again hearing the Buddhist chant in four part harmony during the rain performed by the women from Voices for Peace based in Bangor - who I've fondly been calling the McGuire Sisters.
Tomorrow we head south to Damariscotta and will be staying at the Friends Meeting House.
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