Day Four

Wednesday, April 11, 2018
Feast of Saint Leo the Great 

I followed Dad a couple miles at a time. It was a joyous day for me for no reason other than the sun was shining and I was driving with my tone-deaf voice drifting out the open windows. Stuart, my cat, is always napping on the bed in the RV, and there is something expressly joyful in that too. Life is good.

When I got to the toll before the Antioch Bridge, however, my jaw dropped. It felt like a roller coaster and the RV just kept clicking up the hill. I tried to take a picture, but the hill was so steep, all you could see in the camera was road. "Walking this must have been terrifying," was my only thought as I drove an eternity over that bridge. 

Crossbearer's Log

I started my day in Antioch, California and walked several miles over the very tall Antioch Bridge which spans the San Juan River. The Antioch Bridge climbed for approximately 3/4 of a mile with approximately a half mile descent. 

It was incredibly daunting, with no protected pedestrian crossing, that I seriously considered calling Laura so she could drive me over the bridge. Instead, I kept repeating the mantra to myself, "Do not be afraid," and spent the next thirty minutes walking across that bridge with my life in God's care. 

The Antioch Bridge connected me to Highway 160 (The River Road) which runs alongside of the San Juan River. The beauty of the river gave me something to take my mind off of the long, arduous walk. 

Started at 9:50 A.M. and finished at 3:10 P.M. 

Slow walking day.

Legs and shoulders in pain. 

Dad made it, though. He always makes it. And we drove back to my brother's house in Sacramento along a levee road. Needless to say, my dad was terrified of the edge the entire drive, vowing never to take the levy road again. We had to create a new route for him after driving the levee roads because, and I quote, "I now understand what they mean when they talk about levees. 'I drove my Chevy to the levee, but the levee was dry. This'll be the day that I die.'" He's dramatic. Just kidding. Everyone knows I'm the dramatic one. He added approximately nine miles to his route that day.

Today's Coordinates:
Beginning:
N 38°0.0724'
W 121°50.6676'
Elevation: 56
Course: Stationary

Ending:
N 38°5.9300'
W 121°42.3512'
Elevation: -15 ft.
Course: N O T