August 10: Day 12
We awoke in our various apartments and gathered in front of Choephel's house for a delicious breakfast. The 26 of us arrived at our starting point at 9:30 am and we were happy to see that two of yesterday's day walkers, Allison and Paul, had decided to walk another whole day with us. We were also joined by Sandra Ross from the US Tibet Committee, and Maura O'Connor of Fairfield with her two children. After safely navigating a particularly chaotic stretch of Route 1, a photographer from the local Fairfield paper met us on Post Road, and we took a welcomed water break provided by P. Gordon's Coffee Roasters. In Westport,we were filmed and interviewed by the local Channel 12 News. We also walked by House of Tibet Rugs on Route 1 and said hello to Yeshi la who was sponsoring our dinner tonight with Ogen, her fiance.
Perry Montrose, who hosted us at the Unitarian Church in New London, and his mother sponsored our lunch today, which we enjoyed in a shady parking lot while we conducted interviews with a reporter from The Norwalk Hour. After lunch we straggled along in the intense heat and had another interview with the Westport News over the phone. We reached our stopping point in Darien, but somehow managed to do an extra 1.5 miles, for a total of 17 miles by 5:00 pm.
Tonight we're staying in Westport at another Unitarian Universalist Church, which provided our sleeping quarters on very short notice. We are extremely grateful for their hospitality and the peaceful location among the trees.
