Have you ever surprised yourself with what you can do?
I've certainly surprised the heck out of me!
I retired on June 6, 2012, and I am 2,310 days into retirement.
I woke up exhausted that first day of retirement,
but I put one foot in front of the other and started walking
a few circles around the kitchen, dining room, and living room.
By Day 3, I was rested enough to tackle a walk along Piney Creek,
and I decided that I was going to walk from my home
in Aurora, Colorado to St. Anthony, Newfoundland.
I began adding up the miles I walked on trails near my home
and plotting them on a map from my front doorstep,
to the highway, and on to I-70 and Kansas.
I wasn't sure I could do it,
but I doggedly kept putting one foot in front of the other.
Overflow from Piney Creek
Open Space, Aurora, Colorado
May 20, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
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Terry, my sisters Barb and Bertie, and I had visited St. Anthony
in mid-July the year before while chasing icebergs.
Located at the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland,
St. Anthony's location and history had captured my imagination,
and I hoped its allure would inspire me when my feet dragged.
My Goal: The Finish Line in St. Anthony
Great Northern Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada
July 15, 2011
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
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from Aurora to St. Anthony,
an average of 1.7 miles/day (2.7 kilometers/day).
Ironically, on the day I "arrived," I was about as far away
as you can get from St. Anthony in Canada.
I was roaming around in Beacon Hill Park in Victoria, British Columbia.
Beacon Hill Park
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
September 23, 2017
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
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Location of Victoria and St. Anthony
and didn't know I had "arrived."
When I figured it out several days later, I asked myself "Now what?"
I had a vague idea of walking to Reykjavik, Iceland,
so I turned around and started "walking back" to St. Barbe, Newfoundland
where I could catch the ferry to Blanc-Sablon, Quebec
and start hoofing it for Red Bay and Labrador City.
I love Reykjavik, but somehow it didn't compel me the way St. Anthony had.
I needed another spot on the map to aim for.
One of Pat Hatt's posts in It's Rhyme Time came to my rescue.
It was a zany travel post that included Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland,
and Ittoqqortoormiit, one of the most remote towns in Greenland, spoke to me.
I had my next "walking" goal.
Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland
So I've been walking, walking, walking
while traveling, traveling, traveling
and racking up the miles since September 23rd last year.
Last week, on September 25th, we flew over Greenland on a sunny morning.
I was beyond excited, to the point that Terry gave up
trying to shush me and pretended that he didn't know me
as I snapped the glaciers 40,000 feet below.
Glaciers Flowing to the Ocean
Norwegian Airlines
Southeastern Coast of Greenland
September 25, 2018
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
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And then on the flight map I was following, up popped Ittoqqortoormiit!
Ittoqqortoormiit
Norwegian Airlines
Over the Labrador Sea
September 25, 2018
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
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Of course it was too far away to see and on the other side of the plane,
but it became very, very real!
"Look, look, Terry! That's where I'm walking!"
I shook his arm as he tried to pretend he was asleep
and pumped my feet up and down on the floor:
"I'm walking there right now,
and when I get there, I'm going there for real!"
"We'll see," he said with surprising and sudden patience.
I'm so glad he gets me.
Our flight path took us over Hudson Strait and Resolution and Edgell islands;
also exciting, because I've walked almost to the end
of the Torngat Mountains at the northernmost tip of Labrador
between Ungava Bay and the Labrador Sea.
Over Resolution and Edgell Islands
(the northernmost tip of Labrador is to the left of the flight path)
(the northernmost tip of Labrador is to the left of the flight path)
Norwegian Airlines
Over the Western USA
September 25, 2018
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
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Norwegian Airlines
Nunavut, Canada
September 25, 2018
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
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After some sleep, I totaled up my walking miles.
On September 27, 2018, I had walked 1375 miles (2214 kilometers)
from St. Anthony in 369 days,
an average of 3.7 miles/day (5.9 kilometers/day).
I don't know what surprised me more:
how far I'd come or how fast I'd walked.
I thought I'd be slowing down six years into retirement.
I'm walking faster!
Ittoqqortoormiit here I come!
On September 27, 2018, I had walked 1375 miles (2214 kilometers)
from St. Anthony in 369 days,
an average of 3.7 miles/day (5.9 kilometers/day).
Google Maps ~ 2018 (I hope!)
I don't know what surprised me more:
how far I'd come or how fast I'd walked.
I thought I'd be slowing down six years into retirement.
I'm walking faster!
Ittoqqortoormiit here I come!
Google Maps ~ 2018 (I hope!)
Taking a Cappuccino Break from Walking
Brighton, UK
September 24, 2018
© M. Louise (MacBeath) Barbour/Fundy Blue
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