Stepping Stones Indeed
When we started posting about the trail, our friend, Sally, said she lived near the trail and would be happy to help us out when we passed through NY. Since we jumped down the trail, a visit with her arrived sooner that we thought. Sally works for Stepping Stones Foundation, which is a non-profit organization that manages Bill and Lois Wilson's historic home and archives. Despite the short notice, Sally opened her home to us and arranged for us to have the whole Stepping Stones experience. It was so awesome to have this be a part of our adventure- I love nerding out on history stuff.
We also went into this visit not being sure if it would be a healing up period or an indefinite break from the trail. We decided to take it day-by-day like we had last time, but felt pretty discouraged that this was an additional injury. One of us hurt leaves both of us dealing with feelings about it. Again, Seth is really frustrated and disappointed that his body isn't doing what he wants it to. I want to be comforting and not make Seth feel worse than he does and I have my own disappointment and frustration about being not being able to be on the trail.
There was a lot of this happening.
We had a wonderful tour through Stepping Stones with a volunteer tour guide, Jim. He told some excellent stories about Bill and Lois and their home. He located their lives and the establishment of Alcoholics Anonymous within a historical context, which demonstrates how integral their efforts were- especially to the treatment of addiction within the United States. I particularly liked learning about Bill's homemade technology, Bill and Lois's relationship, and the relationships they had with others over the years. Seth had to leave halfway through the tour because his feet and knees hurt so badly. My knees were killing me too, but I was in it to win it. I continue to wonder whether my knees will ever stop being stiff and sore.
In front of the Stepping Stones sign outside the welcome center, formally Bill and Lois's garage.
In front of the house and historical marker.
This table is the one where Ebby first talked to Bill about getting sober through spiritual principles.
Wit's End was Bill's writing space up the hill from the house.
Inside Wit's End. This is the desk where Bill Wilson wrote Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
A tour at Stepping Stones is definitely worth a visit for history buffs, psychology buffs, and people interested in Alcoholics Anonymous and Al-Anon. The archives are extensive and the area itself is really beautiful. Sally went out of her way to make us comfortable and aid our healing process. Eating King Kone and watching the Bachelorette for the first time were highlights. I can't believe how quickly the Bachleorette sucks you in- Rachel, you're just infatuated with chiropractor guy- he did not deserve that Breitling watch.
There was also a lot of ice cream-eating happening. We made Sally bring us here twice. King Kone- so good.
By the second day, Seth's tendon hadn't changed. It wasn't really swollen, but the creaky feeling continued- the internet says this indicates an issue with the fibers rather than some kind of inflammation. We didn't want to do another two-week wait, so we decided to head back to Atlanta. On our last break, we had discussed stopping by Washington D.C., so we decided to roll with this option. D.C. Was in my radar because I wanted to take the opportunity to visit a grad school buddy and I hadn't been back to the city since living in Bethesda, MD as a kid. Seth had also never been to D.C. and I thought he would nerd out on the museums and monuments. As luck would have it my grad school buddy was off work this week and was down for reconnecting, so we made arrangements to take a bus down there.
Sally had a magnet on her fridge that said "don't put a question mark where god put a period." I feel totally prepared to debate punctuation with a god who's interested in grammar, but I generally struggle with envisioning god as a person. So I changed the reflection of the magnet to "go with the universe's flow." Envisioning the universe's energy as the flow of a river is one of the first ways I connected with any kind of god-concept and it still works for me. So I started thinking, "What would I do if I wasn't resisting the flow?" I'm not really sure what the overall answer to that question is, but trying to continue on the trail started to feel a bit like swimming upstream. We have some exciting alternative plans in the works (Paris!), which distracts me from the implosion of the trail plan. So distraction is helpful, however, making new arrangements highlights the loss of the uncomplicated life we had on the trail. This simple existence was one reason we wanted to hike- to get away from having to make arrangements and plans. On trail, we decide how many miles we want to complete and walk those miles. Big decisions are whether to sleep in a tent or a lean-to and whether to filter water at this stream or the next. So even though we have a kickass back-up plan for adventure, all the feelings of leaving the trail life get stirred up. The predominant feeling is sadness, but I always feel sadness most easily. I can tell other things are rolling underneath the surface, but Washington D.C. allowed me not to think about it for another couple of days before we officially headed home.