This is part II of long walk
Terrain: Road
Path: Station 2 - Watch Hill loop - Misquamicut loop - Station 2
Time: 5 hours, 39 minutes
Mileage: 16.1 miles
Blister Count: 2 almost (one callused, one not popped) - 1
At the car we refueled. Trail mix, banana, granola bars, and ice gave us the push to finish the loop. Plus, the fact that we were at just over 10 miles helped. Well past half-way we might as well truck through the end.
And that we did. After helping some tourists out with bridge photos and giving parking directions, we marched on.
Over the bridge and around the corner we went. We kept an eye out for seals, but the water is just too warm. However, we did find another contraption. It took a minute to figure out what we were looking at. It wasn’t a seal, or any other animal we could immediately place.
In the midst of this appearance we were commenting on how we’ve never walked down Langworthy Rd. Driven and ridden down it many times, however, distance has a different perception on your feet. We had no idea how long, or short of a walk it was to Shore Road. As we neared the end of the pond area, the snorkeler meddling on the surface became more apparent to us. Jill asked if I wanted to go clamming. No thanks. All set with sticking my feet in mud where animals might bite.
We got to the traffic light and ran out of sidewalk. Again. Though we decided the sidewalks on the Weekapaug side are much nicer than the Misquamicut ones; yet they are very much like the Watch Hill ones in that they start and end at their leisure. Shore Rd. has no sidewalks.
Unfortunately the winery was not open yet for refreshments. We misscheduled that pit stop.
I turned around to Jill and apologized for forgetting how many hills Shore Rd. has as we descended one and another faced us head on. She murmured something in the background.
As we approached the crest a loud noise shuttered through the woods across from us. I turned again to Jill with a questioning look. “It’s just the dragon,” she replied ever so casually. The dragon continued to rumble, and we continued to walk.
Shore Rd. is one of those roads that seems to never end when you are walking it. Or maybe that’s just the walking delirium setting in. Somewhere along the line we were spotted. A car bursting with excitement came up to us. It was our parents. They had a cooler full of ice. I immediately asked if they had gotten it from the station. Mom looked puzzled and Dad chuckled. I explained that I could tell it was ice from the station because of the ‘cubage.’ The ice machine there produces ice shaped differently than that from the freezer. Simple.
They tried giving us directions to walk back. We declined and continued our walk down Shore Rd. with the dragon close by. When we came to Glacier Park, Jill decided we needed a pit stop. It was a good spot to turn off and explore a little.
I only went a few feet in. The trail was clear and the Land Trust has done a nice job with marking it. One of these days, I want to go through all the trails there. And find the two geocaches…
Once we were all set we continued on. A fox was in the preserve by Winnapaug Road. He scooted away before I could take a good picture. Meanwhile, we debated whether he was hunting the dragon, or prey for the dragon.
Jill was ready for more electrolytes. We stopped at the convenience shop where I bought her another Gatorade and she impressed the cashier with our walk. The shop was also air-conditioned. We didn’t want to leave right away.
After doing a few stretches on the sidewalk out front I was ready to go again. My hands were doing much better this time; I could move them and they looked normal, unlike during Beach Logs. (This was good and noticed in case I needed to fend off the dragon.) We were on our last leg. According to Jill’s pedometer we were at mile 14 or so. She doubted it but I thought it sounded right. I told her Ocean View Highway was just around the corner and from there we had maybe a mile.
Yeah. And what a long mile it seemed! I thought Shore Rd. wasn’t going to end; then we finally came to a sign for a stop sign. “Look Jill! It’s our sign - we can stop ahead!” It was better though when we finally came to the stop sign.
We went island hopping across the intersection.
Watch Hill Road the second time, didn’t seem to end either. I kept waiting for my feet to pass me by the intersection with Winnapaug Rd. But, I swear the road got longer in the hours since we had last walked it.
It’s a busy road. One of us suggested crossing and walking against the traffic as we should, but Station 2 was on the same side as us, so we didn’t.
Once we came across the historical cemetery on our rights, I knew we were close to Winnapaug Rd. Thus, also closer to Station 2. I pondered whether there were any geocaches in there, but I don’t think so. Again we went island hopping across Winnapaug Rd.. The walk from here to Station 2 seemed much, much shorter. We used the cross walk at the end of East Ave. and scooted down the hill at the triangle. Around the next corner, we found Station 2.
I had never been so relieved to return to where once I’d been.
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