Friday morning dawned with more cold, snow and ice. We hated leaving Mommy but had to get underway. We had breakfast together, sang a few of Mommy's favorite hymns for her, kissed her and headed out the door.
We bundled up because we knew we were heading for the mountains and were going to be facing bitter cold. Kandy said we looked like a bunch of Penguins waddling up over the mountains of WV.
After Tweety covered her share of the journey, two and a half miles, she was hot and ready to start peeling off some of her layers. Vicki started noticing that her legs weren't sore and was able to scoot us along another two and a half miles. I think her knowing we're heading toward her grand kids is giving her more motivation. Becky and Joel have adopted children that none of us have met and were recently blessed with the birth of little Halle. We're looking forward to getting to know our new nieces and nephew. It will be fun seeing those eight little ones!
Robin and I threw in a couple more miles and helped drive our Flintstone car across Cheat Lake. The wind was really whistling across that bridge and we moved a little faster to find a wind break.
Pam was telling herself that she was so tired because it was Friday night. She wanted to just put on her robe and be lazy. She remembered the important role she plays in moving our Flintstone car up the mountains. She donned her Eskimo coat and warm boots with winter treads. After about a half mile she pulled her coat off. By the time she reached her second mile she was walking in her bare feet. Pam admitted that she actually wanted to quit after the first mile but knew she had to make up some miles because she felt she had slacked off earlier in the week. Pushing herself made her feel pretty good.
We covered nine and a half miles on Friday. It was snowing so hard it was difficult to see exactly where we'd be for the night. There was finally a break in the snow and we saw we were about a half mile beyond the Fairchance road exit heading east on I-68.
We're grateful we can convert our Flintstone car in to a camper that will sleep the six of us. It would be a cold night.
It's wonderful we six sisters can share this journey. We're having fun creating the tale of our trek. More importantly, we're bonding even closer and motivating one another so we all will be healthier.
We've covered a total of 42 miles together. We're encouraging one another to keep on keepin' on.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
Day 4
Thursday morning finds us anxious to put Pt. Marion in our rear view mirror and get under way to Winchester, VA. We'll cross in to West by gosh Virginia today, or at least Tweety hopes so. She's begging us to get further than the old, run down gas station at the state line. She really, really doesn't want to have to sleep there for the night. We reassure our baby sister that she won't have to so we start adding our walking miles to the two she's contributed.
Vicki adds a couple more and is happy to say her legs are less sore than they had been. Pam clocks two more miles and is hoping to bump that up to three for the weekend. At this point, we're nearing the Dairy Mart on 119.
We're having a serious discussion about where we're going to end up for the night. Maybe I-Hop at the Glenmark Center. Funny how all our stops center around food. Wherever we stop for the night, we know we're going to need Eskimo boots and coats before we leave and start up the mountains. Kandy's all set with her new Christmas boots and already has her Eskimo coat. The chemo makes her very intolerant of cold so we'll have to bundle her up and make sure her feet and hands stay toasty. We don't want her to get hoarse from breathing in the cold, frigid air so she'll have to cover her nose and mouth with a warm scarf, too.
Vicki suggests we find some space suits to wear as we travel in the cold and snow. Maybe we can borrow some from our friends, the Jetsons.
Robin's busy with some electronic gadget she brought along and says maybe she won't walk and we'll have to stay at I-Hop. But, she's just kidding and gets her mile in, too.
I throw my feet in to the trek and give us another mile. That should put us at I-Hop, unless we decide to take our first detour from our charted path and go spend the night with Mommy at Mapleshire. Yes, we'll have to walk around to the Mileground and down Easton Hill in Morgantown but we've all decided staying with Mommy is what we want to do. We know she'll love it and we'll get a charge out of making the aides/staff mind their p's and q's with her.
We have a good time laughing and talking; Mommy's certain she and Daddy raised a bunch of nuts! Then we unroll our sleeping bags and fall asleep. Tomorrow's going to be a rough day. It's cold, snowy and icy. We're going to start climbing up in to the mountains. We need to be rested for what lies ahead as we head to VA.
Together, we'll get there. Eight miles today, Ain't nothin' gonna break our stride.....
Vicki adds a couple more and is happy to say her legs are less sore than they had been. Pam clocks two more miles and is hoping to bump that up to three for the weekend. At this point, we're nearing the Dairy Mart on 119.
We're having a serious discussion about where we're going to end up for the night. Maybe I-Hop at the Glenmark Center. Funny how all our stops center around food. Wherever we stop for the night, we know we're going to need Eskimo boots and coats before we leave and start up the mountains. Kandy's all set with her new Christmas boots and already has her Eskimo coat. The chemo makes her very intolerant of cold so we'll have to bundle her up and make sure her feet and hands stay toasty. We don't want her to get hoarse from breathing in the cold, frigid air so she'll have to cover her nose and mouth with a warm scarf, too.
Vicki suggests we find some space suits to wear as we travel in the cold and snow. Maybe we can borrow some from our friends, the Jetsons.
Robin's busy with some electronic gadget she brought along and says maybe she won't walk and we'll have to stay at I-Hop. But, she's just kidding and gets her mile in, too.
I throw my feet in to the trek and give us another mile. That should put us at I-Hop, unless we decide to take our first detour from our charted path and go spend the night with Mommy at Mapleshire. Yes, we'll have to walk around to the Mileground and down Easton Hill in Morgantown but we've all decided staying with Mommy is what we want to do. We know she'll love it and we'll get a charge out of making the aides/staff mind their p's and q's with her.
We have a good time laughing and talking; Mommy's certain she and Daddy raised a bunch of nuts! Then we unroll our sleeping bags and fall asleep. Tomorrow's going to be a rough day. It's cold, snowy and icy. We're going to start climbing up in to the mountains. We need to be rested for what lies ahead as we head to VA.
Together, we'll get there. Eight miles today, Ain't nothin' gonna break our stride.....
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Days 2 and 3
Needless to say, we were anxious to get a move on and not spend another night in a funeral home. Day 2 found us making our way from Carmichaels to Stacey and Jenny's homes in Greensboro. None of us being as young as we once were, we're feeling some aches in the old legs. In spite of the aches, we keep truckin' along. Of course Tweety, the baby, showed us all up today with her four miles.
No doubt, walking outside is much more enjoyable and goes faster than using DVDs and walking indoors. As Tweety said, "I felt like I'd walked ten miles when Leslie Sansone said the first mile was almost up." But she finished up those two miles and went out later in the day and walked two more.
Our Flintstone car traveled 9.45 miles on day two for a total of 16.45 miles!! Woo hoo—we met our first goal! We said “Hi” to Stacey and Jenny as we headed up out of Greensboro and on our way to Dilliner. We stopped for the night at Penn Pitt School. Kandy thought we were going to head to her house and spend the night for a pajama party but we couldn't make it up her snowy, icy hill.
We reached Day 3.
As Vicki stated, Penn Pitt hill is pretty steep. Her legs were sore and just absolutely did not want to climb that hill. Pam and I pulled her up and got us within 3/4 of a mile to Andrea's house in Dilliner. We just needed to see how far Robin and Tweety's legs were going to take us for the night. We still have Kandy along for the ride and that's quite ok with all of us. As soon as she's up to it, she'll be pushing that car along with the rest of us.
We had some concerns about where we were actually going to end up spending the night. That stretch of Route 88 doesn't offer many places to stop, runs right along the Monongahela River and is pretty dark and desolate. We hoped we didn't have to end up sleeping with trolls under the Dilliner or Pt. Marion bridge. (Robin had to but that's a whole different story.) If we didn't make it to a shelter, there were all kinds of suggestions of what we could add to our Flintstone Car to make it homier for our travels....Boy Scout tent or pull out camper. We all agreed that we could use our imagination and make our car anything we wanted it to be.
Talk of imagination and tall tales made us all think of Daddy and all the stories he told us when we were growing up. Guess we get it honestly.
Robin and Tweety gave us another four miles on our journey. Their legs got us in to Pt. Marion for the night. Big decisions then, where do we sleep? Tweety was adamant that it would not be in another funeral home. Robin suggested the Brass Rail---Pam said that was a good place because they had little trailers behind it. Vicki suggested Sporty's---that way we could eat, too. Kandy agreed, said they have good pizza and especially good pizza burgers. I suggested Apple Annie's but Robin was dead set against that--too buggy for her. I told them we weren't sleeping in Foodland, it gives me the creeps.
Not entirely sure where we ended up spending the night of Day 3. Obviously we were all hungry when we were discussing it so I'm sure it was some place with food.
There was a time when "The DeVault girls " actually walked all over Greensboro. Kandy remembers the comments being made "there are the DeVault girls". She says some of us were too young to be walking with them then, but the sisters always walked together whether it be to the park to go swimming, skating, or just to go watch the little league games; or just out for a walk!!
The DeVault girls out walking together is nothing new or unusual. We're a team.
We waved to Andrea this evening and tomorrow we’ll start out for Winchester. We’ve walked a total of 24.45 miles already. When we reach the 180 mile mark, we’ll be blowing kisses to Vicki’s cute little grandchildren. We're going to have a hard time containing Vicki, she'll be so excited to see her grandchildren.
No doubt, walking outside is much more enjoyable and goes faster than using DVDs and walking indoors. As Tweety said, "I felt like I'd walked ten miles when Leslie Sansone said the first mile was almost up." But she finished up those two miles and went out later in the day and walked two more.
Our Flintstone car traveled 9.45 miles on day two for a total of 16.45 miles!! Woo hoo—we met our first goal! We said “Hi” to Stacey and Jenny as we headed up out of Greensboro and on our way to Dilliner. We stopped for the night at Penn Pitt School. Kandy thought we were going to head to her house and spend the night for a pajama party but we couldn't make it up her snowy, icy hill.
We reached Day 3.
As Vicki stated, Penn Pitt hill is pretty steep. Her legs were sore and just absolutely did not want to climb that hill. Pam and I pulled her up and got us within 3/4 of a mile to Andrea's house in Dilliner. We just needed to see how far Robin and Tweety's legs were going to take us for the night. We still have Kandy along for the ride and that's quite ok with all of us. As soon as she's up to it, she'll be pushing that car along with the rest of us.
We had some concerns about where we were actually going to end up spending the night. That stretch of Route 88 doesn't offer many places to stop, runs right along the Monongahela River and is pretty dark and desolate. We hoped we didn't have to end up sleeping with trolls under the Dilliner or Pt. Marion bridge. (Robin had to but that's a whole different story.) If we didn't make it to a shelter, there were all kinds of suggestions of what we could add to our Flintstone Car to make it homier for our travels....Boy Scout tent or pull out camper. We all agreed that we could use our imagination and make our car anything we wanted it to be.
Talk of imagination and tall tales made us all think of Daddy and all the stories he told us when we were growing up. Guess we get it honestly.
Robin and Tweety gave us another four miles on our journey. Their legs got us in to Pt. Marion for the night. Big decisions then, where do we sleep? Tweety was adamant that it would not be in another funeral home. Robin suggested the Brass Rail---Pam said that was a good place because they had little trailers behind it. Vicki suggested Sporty's---that way we could eat, too. Kandy agreed, said they have good pizza and especially good pizza burgers. I suggested Apple Annie's but Robin was dead set against that--too buggy for her. I told them we weren't sleeping in Foodland, it gives me the creeps.
Not entirely sure where we ended up spending the night of Day 3. Obviously we were all hungry when we were discussing it so I'm sure it was some place with food.
There was a time when "The DeVault girls " actually walked all over Greensboro. Kandy remembers the comments being made "there are the DeVault girls". She says some of us were too young to be walking with them then, but the sisters always walked together whether it be to the park to go swimming, skating, or just to go watch the little league games; or just out for a walk!!
The DeVault girls out walking together is nothing new or unusual. We're a team.
We waved to Andrea this evening and tomorrow we’ll start out for Winchester. We’ve walked a total of 24.45 miles already. When we reach the 180 mile mark, we’ll be blowing kisses to Vicki’s cute little grandchildren. We're going to have a hard time containing Vicki, she'll be so excited to see her grandchildren.
Day 1
Monday arrives. We're all off doing our normal daily routines but now walking is going to become a part of that routine.
Vicki was the first to clock her miles....she headed to her basement and kept walking to keep herself warm. She walked for 20 minutes in the morning and another 25 in the afternoon. She was getting us off to a good start and encouraging the rest of us to get moving.
Kandy is going to strap on a pedometer and walk around in her house. She did do some walking throughout her house the first day. There's no pressure on Kandy right now, we're going to let her contribute what she can to this journey but she's in the Flintstone Car with us. She ain't heavy, she's our sister.
Pam walked 1 mile that evening with Leslie Sansone. As for how Pam felt… well, when Leslie said, “You’ve made ½ mile!” she thought, “ONLY ½ mile?! Ugh!” But did feel better after that. Pam said she could probably have pushed herself further after the 1 mile mark but allowed herself to be happy for reaching today’s goal.
Myself.... First I walked circles through the house....in the living room, in to the dining room and kitchen, back to the bedroom.....I got bundled up and went out and walked up and down my driveway for about 15 minutes. My pedometer said I walked 1.69 miles. When I was outside walking I thought, "Keep moving and you won't get cold." Then I was thinking, "If my neighbors see me they'll think I'm nuts." Then I was looking at the lights hitting the snow and thought how pretty it was.....looked like my front yard was covered with little diamonds.
Robin took the challenge and walked 30 minutes in her living room and finished it up with a 5 minute jog. Even if she wasn't totally up for it, she came through for us.
Tweety was a busy girl the first day with shoveling snow and doing all kinds of chores. That evening she walked her mile and could have walked further but said it was too cold to stay out.
OK—we did GREAT today!! We have a total of 7 miles which means our Flintstone car made it all the way to the Yoskovich Funeral Home in Carmichaels from Jefferson!!! Thought maybe I should go out and walk another mile so we didn't have to stop for the night at a funeral home. We should be able to make it to Greensboro tomorrow.
We're all having fun and doing something good for ourselves and each other. The beauty of this group thing.....we keep each other motivated. Maybe there will be a day when these Flintstone flippers of mine aren't going to be wanting or feeling like making that ol' cave-car go. That's where my sisters come in and boost me up--and we'll do the same for any one of us feeling like we just don't want to take that walk today.
Stay tuned.....
Vicki was the first to clock her miles....she headed to her basement and kept walking to keep herself warm. She walked for 20 minutes in the morning and another 25 in the afternoon. She was getting us off to a good start and encouraging the rest of us to get moving.
Kandy is going to strap on a pedometer and walk around in her house. She did do some walking throughout her house the first day. There's no pressure on Kandy right now, we're going to let her contribute what she can to this journey but she's in the Flintstone Car with us. She ain't heavy, she's our sister.
Pam walked 1 mile that evening with Leslie Sansone. As for how Pam felt… well, when Leslie said, “You’ve made ½ mile!” she thought, “ONLY ½ mile?! Ugh!” But did feel better after that. Pam said she could probably have pushed herself further after the 1 mile mark but allowed herself to be happy for reaching today’s goal.
Myself.... First I walked circles through the house....in the living room, in to the dining room and kitchen, back to the bedroom.....I got bundled up and went out and walked up and down my driveway for about 15 minutes. My pedometer said I walked 1.69 miles. When I was outside walking I thought, "Keep moving and you won't get cold." Then I was thinking, "If my neighbors see me they'll think I'm nuts." Then I was looking at the lights hitting the snow and thought how pretty it was.....looked like my front yard was covered with little diamonds.
Robin took the challenge and walked 30 minutes in her living room and finished it up with a 5 minute jog. Even if she wasn't totally up for it, she came through for us.
Tweety was a busy girl the first day with shoveling snow and doing all kinds of chores. That evening she walked her mile and could have walked further but said it was too cold to stay out.
OK—we did GREAT today!! We have a total of 7 miles which means our Flintstone car made it all the way to the Yoskovich Funeral Home in Carmichaels from Jefferson!!! Thought maybe I should go out and walk another mile so we didn't have to stop for the night at a funeral home. We should be able to make it to Greensboro tomorrow.
We're all having fun and doing something good for ourselves and each other. The beauty of this group thing.....we keep each other motivated. Maybe there will be a day when these Flintstone flippers of mine aren't going to be wanting or feeling like making that ol' cave-car go. That's where my sisters come in and boost me up--and we'll do the same for any one of us feeling like we just don't want to take that walk today.
Stay tuned.....
Flintstones...meet the Flintstones
It was agreed that we needed to come up with a plan or system so we would all be accountable to one another for our walking. The suggestion that we set up a spread sheet to log our miles was made and agreed upon. Pam kindly volunteered to take care of that. And Pam, the ring leader, came up with the wonderful idea that we 'walk' to all of our kids houses. We all thought that was a great idea and nothing motivates us more than our kids and grand kids.
Now we're all picturing a Flintstones' car and our feet are making it go so we can see all our kids. Funny using the Flintstones image....I've been accused of having 'Barney Rubble' feet---short, flat and wide.
Our Flintsone journey begins and will take us on the following track:
We begin in Jefferson because all of Tweety’s kids are there in Jefferson.
From Jefferson to Greensboro (Stacey’s and Jenny’s) it’s 16 miles. That’s our first goal.
Then from Greensboro to Dilliner (Andrea’s) it’s 5 miles. We can cover that in one day if all of us are walking.
Now the long trek begins.. Dilliner to Winchester, VA (Becky’s) is 160 miles.
Winchester to Jacksonville, NC (Matthew’s) is 387 miles.
Jacksonville to Columbia, SC (Bridgette’s) is 263 miles.
Columbia to Toomsuba, MS (Joey’s) is 491 miles.
Toomsuba to Madison, WI (Chrissy’s) is 838 miles.
And then Madison to Alamogordo, NM (Greg’s) is 1342 miles.
And then Alamogordo back to Jefferson, PA (direct route) is 1685. The 1685 return miles are not in the 3503 miles.)
Robin was glad we didn't include her step-daughter's residence in Japan. Good thing since several of us can't swim.
Well, we had a lot of ground to cover and needed to get walking. Monday, January 4 would be our start date.
This is going to be so much fun.
Now we're all picturing a Flintstones' car and our feet are making it go so we can see all our kids. Funny using the Flintstones image....I've been accused of having 'Barney Rubble' feet---short, flat and wide.
Our Flintsone journey begins and will take us on the following track:
We begin in Jefferson because all of Tweety’s kids are there in Jefferson.
From Jefferson to Greensboro (Stacey’s and Jenny’s) it’s 16 miles. That’s our first goal.
Then from Greensboro to Dilliner (Andrea’s) it’s 5 miles. We can cover that in one day if all of us are walking.
Now the long trek begins.. Dilliner to Winchester, VA (Becky’s) is 160 miles.
Winchester to Jacksonville, NC (Matthew’s) is 387 miles.
Jacksonville to Columbia, SC (Bridgette’s) is 263 miles.
Columbia to Toomsuba, MS (Joey’s) is 491 miles.
Toomsuba to Madison, WI (Chrissy’s) is 838 miles.
And then Madison to Alamogordo, NM (Greg’s) is 1342 miles.
And then Alamogordo back to Jefferson, PA (direct route) is 1685. The 1685 return miles are not in the 3503 miles.)
Robin was glad we didn't include her step-daughter's residence in Japan. Good thing since several of us can't swim.
Well, we had a lot of ground to cover and needed to get walking. Monday, January 4 would be our start date.
This is going to be so much fun.
Monday, January 4, 2010
A journey of 3503 miles begins.....
January 1, 2010---New Year, new beginnings, new resolutions. The resolutions are easy to make but not so easy to keep---unless you've got the help and support of family and the resolution is done as a team.
The team is my five sisters and me. Apparently Pam was bored, dreaming up ideas. Around 12:30 in the afternoon of New Years Day we all received an email challenging all of us to walk a minimum of a mile a day. If the weather is nasty, walk to a Leslie Sansone DVD. Her comment was that we all want to feel better and by doing this together we would be able to motivate one another.
Kandy is finishing a long round of chemo. Still not real strong and knows her limitations but she was the first to respond that yes, she's in. May not be able to walk fast but wants to get her strength and energy back. Once the weather is nice she plans to head to Mapletown and walk around the high school football field. In the meantime, she can just do laps in her house.
Vicki used to walk 2.5 miles a day with her friend in MD before moving back to PA. Sure, she'll do it but doesn't know where she'll walk or when. Knows she's disgusted with herself and wants to feel better. Like all of us, no way she wants to walk outside in this nasty weather we've been having.
Pam, as I stated earlier, is the 'master mind' of this. Pam's had heart problems, the exercise will do her heart good and hopefully prevent future problems. She, too, knows it will be easy to not find the time but knows it will do us all good, make us feel better. Pam says we should make it a priority, like brushing our teeth.
Debbie (that's me) knows I need to exercise. This past year I started taking medicine for blood pressure and anxiety/stress. I'm in---goes along with my resolution to start doing more things for me in 2010; going to make time to stop and smell the roses.
Robin is a little skinny thing. Hopefully, the walking doesn't cause her to lose any weight. Robin suffers from bouts of anxiety, depression and stress. She tells us that she's afraid she'll let us down in this walking thing. Won't happen....we're all supporting one another.
Mary aka Tweety is the baby of the bunch. She has such a good walking routine going already. When she said she was throwing in with the rest of us, she'd just come in from a two mile walk with her husband, Brian. They walk every week day, Saturday mornings depending on their schedule/plans and take Sundays off. Tweety will be a good inspiration for the rest of us.
All of us sisters need to pay more attention to ourselves and our health. For nearly two years we have run ourselves ragged caring for and seeing to the needs of our parents and will continue to give them our love, support and care. We're blessed to have them and to have inherited their strong wills to overcome rough challenges.
Our walking commitment to one another will enable us all to handle the day to day demands with more confidence and strength and be more productive in everything we do.
The team is my five sisters and me. Apparently Pam was bored, dreaming up ideas. Around 12:30 in the afternoon of New Years Day we all received an email challenging all of us to walk a minimum of a mile a day. If the weather is nasty, walk to a Leslie Sansone DVD. Her comment was that we all want to feel better and by doing this together we would be able to motivate one another.
Kandy is finishing a long round of chemo. Still not real strong and knows her limitations but she was the first to respond that yes, she's in. May not be able to walk fast but wants to get her strength and energy back. Once the weather is nice she plans to head to Mapletown and walk around the high school football field. In the meantime, she can just do laps in her house.
Vicki used to walk 2.5 miles a day with her friend in MD before moving back to PA. Sure, she'll do it but doesn't know where she'll walk or when. Knows she's disgusted with herself and wants to feel better. Like all of us, no way she wants to walk outside in this nasty weather we've been having.
Pam, as I stated earlier, is the 'master mind' of this. Pam's had heart problems, the exercise will do her heart good and hopefully prevent future problems. She, too, knows it will be easy to not find the time but knows it will do us all good, make us feel better. Pam says we should make it a priority, like brushing our teeth.
Debbie (that's me) knows I need to exercise. This past year I started taking medicine for blood pressure and anxiety/stress. I'm in---goes along with my resolution to start doing more things for me in 2010; going to make time to stop and smell the roses.
Robin is a little skinny thing. Hopefully, the walking doesn't cause her to lose any weight. Robin suffers from bouts of anxiety, depression and stress. She tells us that she's afraid she'll let us down in this walking thing. Won't happen....we're all supporting one another.
Mary aka Tweety is the baby of the bunch. She has such a good walking routine going already. When she said she was throwing in with the rest of us, she'd just come in from a two mile walk with her husband, Brian. They walk every week day, Saturday mornings depending on their schedule/plans and take Sundays off. Tweety will be a good inspiration for the rest of us.
All of us sisters need to pay more attention to ourselves and our health. For nearly two years we have run ourselves ragged caring for and seeing to the needs of our parents and will continue to give them our love, support and care. We're blessed to have them and to have inherited their strong wills to overcome rough challenges.
Our walking commitment to one another will enable us all to handle the day to day demands with more confidence and strength and be more productive in everything we do.
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