Erie, PA and New Manchester, WV

On September 1st, I left Toledo and headed east to Erie, Pennsylvania. When I arrived, I set up my two person tent on the beach of Lake Erie, a spot provided to me courtesy of Sara’s Campground. With zero previous camping experience, my stay on the beach started with me putting up my tent by myself… what a magical experience. Following that joyous occasion, I watched the sun set over the lake and headed to bed.

Wednesday morning was spent catching up on my blog and continuing to plan all while enjoying the gourmet offerings featured on the McDonald’s value menu. After I finished up, I called the nearby Golden Living Center to see if they could use any help for the day. After a brief explanation of what I am doing, they gave me the opportunity to help out with bingo! Now, for those of you who are unfamiliar, once you reach a certain age, bingo becomes sacred. This was apparent when a woman made an unauthorized switch of her bingo card. She was punished for her bingo sin by a lady who saw her commit the crime and took it upon herself to wheel across the room and kick her wheel chair. This woman was a vigilante of sorts… The Batman of bingo.

After things calmed down, I sat down with a woman named Rose who needed some extra help playing bingo. After 45 minutes and three bingos, Team Rose wrapped up a successful afternoon! Deeming me worthy enough to stay on her team, Rose asked me to come back the next night for another round! After agreeing to come back to defend our bingo title, I said goodbye and headed to talk to a man named Don. Don is a man of many stories but few visitors. Welcoming the opportunity to spend time with someone new, Don accepted my offer to keep him company for a while. After an hour and a half of stories (five minutes of which I spent talking), I thanked Don for his company and headed out. All I really did was listen, but you would be amazed by how many people of all ages are looking for somebody who will do just that!

After an enjoyable afternoon, I headed back to the campground. When I pulled up, I saw a group of men carrying my tent. Now, like I said, I am new to camping, but I was pretty sure that sort of thing was not supposed to be happening. With nothing else to do for the night, I decided to sit and watch the situation develop. After noticing me watching from my car, one of the men came up and talked to me. After sorting out the situation, I went to crawl into my newly located tent when a woman asked me if I knew the men who were moving it. After explaining that we worked things out, I went on to tell her about my mission trip. Amazed by my journey, she asked if her and her husband could pray for me. So there I was, with two strangers were praying over me on a beach on Lake Erie. Little did they know, those prayers came at the perfect time! Their display of faith and kindness inspired me!

Since Wednesday went so well, I decided to start my Thursday off under the Golden Arches again. After a morning of additional planning and an afternoon filled with phone calls to friends and family back home, I headed to the Golden Living Center for my second round of bingo. Knowing it would be tough to duplicate the success of the previous night, Rose showed up, ready as ever. Against all odds, Rose and I yelled bingo four more times, bringing our two day total to seven bingos! After we put our cards away, Rose handed me the two quarters that she won and told me to use them for my trip! That, my friends, is generosity at its finest! After helping to celebrate a 100th birthday, I thanked everyone for letting me be a part of their lives for the past two days and headed out.

After taking down my tent (a much easier process than setting it up), I thanked the generous staff at Sara’s Campground and drove off. With plans always changing, I decided to delay my arrival in Syracuse. New York, and head to West Virginia instead. After spending an hour and a half picking up trash at Tomlinson Run State Park in New Manchester, WV, I headlined to Monaca, Pennsylvania to spend the night with some family friends who moved from Minnesota 10 years ago. After a night of great company and fantastic hospitality, I thanked them for taking me in on short notice and began my six and a half hour drive to Syracuse.

Thank you to Sara’s Campground for welcoming me to stay on your beach. Thank you to the couple that prayed over me on the beach. Thank you to Rose for allowing me to be part of arguably the most successful bingo team of all time. Thank you to the Golden Living Center staff for making sure the residents always have fun things to do and allowing me to be a part of the fun. Thank you to the Tomlinson Run State Park staff for giving me the opportunity to help out. Thank you to the Marvenkos for being good hosts and great friends. And thank you to all of you who continue to support me and pray for me. Because of you, this trip is possible.