Day 15. 500 mile journey to Salem. Gordonsville, VA To Zion Crossroads, VA. About 21 miles. 64,000 steps. Mildly hilly. Very rural (not even a general store in sight!). High temp 69. Overcast. We sadly said goodbye this morning to our college class of ‘80 friends, our Salem team (Katherine and Shari) and Desiree! We so loved having all of you join us and missed you on our walk today. We also said goodbye to Betsy Brantley and Susan Garrett, our hosts extraordinaire for the last several days, and Academy ‘73 grads. We will miss you so much and are so grateful for your many kindnesses!!! And, we were delighted to welcome Jane and Kendall, mother and daughter – Jane and Holt are life long friends! We walked out of Wolftrap Farm today lead by a parade of Flow Audi cars driven by members of C’80! Our video team worked their magic and put together a short video to celebrate Flow Audi’s sponsorship of our journey! Our walk today was totally rural, save walking through Gordonsville – not even a general store in sight until we reached Zion Crossing! We met some interesting people along the way – in passing cars who slowed down and from front porches- who loved our story. One lady even stopped us from her car to warn us about a black bear sighting in the area! Am reflecting tonight on this journey and the elite athletes I have the honor of teaming with. These women trained hard, are focused, disciplined, work through excruciating pain, take care of each other, and walk close to a marathon every single day – a rather Herculean feat. Make no mistake, though the photos always show everyone smiling and having a great time (and we are!) there are very hard hours and days as well. One of our team had an enormous blister today that engulfed her entire toe, for instance, and still completed the entire 22 mile walk. I am profoundly proud to be a part of this team, who also love to be with those who join us along the way, give selflessly of themselves to promote Salem and her impact on developing women as leaders for 250 years (and all of those to come!) have opened their lives and hearts to our video team to enable documenting this event for history, and who are all simply wonderful humans. And, the same is true for our team leaders, Holt and Lisa, without whom NONE of this would be possible!! Thanks to all of you for joining us along the way, walking virtually with us, and following our journey! Salem Proud!!
#mysalemjourney. #journey2salem
– Lucy Rose C’76
Day 15, 22 miles from Gordonsville, VA to Zion Crossroads, VA.
Started our day with a walk through downtown #gordonsvilleva to meet my fiends, Garrick and Anais Gupton for coffee. This helped with homesickness to see familiar faces, hugs, and make plans for a future meetup.
Onward through thick countryside – our fourth day of its kind with nary a bathroom or country store all day. We sure find quiet, scenic routes! Many locals throw up a friendly wave as they drive by or from front porches. Barking dogs in many front yards look on us curiously as we walk nearby. When folks inquire about our journey, we have a QR code we share.
Our day ended at a hotel that offered both a hot tub and pool! I positioned myself between the two, swinging my legs from hot to cold for an hour while hydrating.
#mysalemjourney
– Frances Cronlund C’98
Day 15 Journey to Salem
Departed Wolftrap Farm this morning, saying goodbye to our fabulous alumnae support. And we walked. It’s what we do. Loved visiting with our new walkers today, Jane and her daughter Kendall. They added a lot of great energy!! 🏃♀️🤣💜💛 #mysalemjourney #journey2salem
– Debbie Faires A’82