August 11: Day 13
]
We awoke at our usual 6 am time and headed over to our starting point in Darien around 8:30. Along the way, Dhela, Tashi, and Thinley gave interviews with Voice of America. As we passed through downtown Stamford, it was another scorching day. We ate lunch at Cardillo's Deli and continued on to Greenwich. When we saw the “Welcome to New York” sign, we were ecstatic and posed for many pictures to prove our accomplishment. Our success was short-lived, however, as we soon got lost in Port Chester, NY, while Larry was busy shuttling people and luggage. Although we found Route 1 again after a little back-tracking, Larry was lost for ages in the van!
We reached our stopping point in Rye a little after 5:00 pm. After our closing circle, we left for our presentation at the First Congregational Church in Stamford. Even with the huge van and an extra car, we still had to make two trips to get everyone to the church, by which time it was 7:30. The presentation was hosted by the Interfaith Council of Southwestern Connecticut, and they were deeply moved by those of us who spoke impromptu and from the heart.
By 10:00 pm, it was finally time for dinner. We ate at the diner next to the church where we were staying--our first time dining out this whole walk! We stayed at the First United Methodist Church in Greenwich, which generously agreed to house 25 dirty strangers at the very last minute. Our scheduled housing had fallen through when the number of walkers increased from 10 to 25, and in addition to phone calls all week, we called over 30 churches just that morning before having success. All of us slept in one room, but I think everyone was so tired that no one's snoring could keep anyone awake!
