Reunion Trip - Day 3

When I woke up this morning, I finally started to feel like normal.  Two days of working and driving had taken a toll but I wasn't very far (only a few hours) from South Bend when I started my day and that was reassuring.  I began teleworking early (0630) and checked in with some of my work colleagues about whether they needed me for additional meetings (none were added).  This gave me some flexibility for working and driving and opened up an opportunity for some miles on the North Country Trail.  At 0815, I drove a short distance from the Rodeway Inn to eat breakfast at the Blue Ribbon Diner.  I had a nice meal and listened to the old timers at the counter talking about life in Wauseon.  When I was finished (0845), I drove south into town (OH-108) and found where the Wabash Cannonball Trail (part of the NCT) crossed Ottokee Road.  I couldn't find a trailhead lot but there was ample street parking.  At 0900, I started walking east and listened to a short telecon with my earbuds.  The weather was very nice and I saw lots of birds and rabbits.  The meeting was over in about 20 minutes but I continued walking all the way to County Road 13.  I met other local people along the way and, after they realized I wasn't a local, they queried me about my reasons for visiting their town.  Reaching my car again after about three miles (1000), I returned to the hotel and did another hour of teleworking in my room.  At 1115, I checked out of the Rodeway and headed south on OH-108 until I reached US-20A.  I drove west to the town of West Unity, paralleling the Wabash Cannonball Trail (NCT) almost all the way.  I parked in a public lot there and conducted another telcon with my work colleagues (1200).  After that ended, I located an NCT trail marker in a park south of the center of town and then started following blue blazes towards the north.  These markings were sporadic and I required an online map to follow the different farm roads.  Along the way, I crossed I-80/90 and eventually reached Territorial Road, which was also the boundary of Indiana and Michigan.  I found a sign that talked about how far NCT took to reach the Wisconsin border (1150 miles - yikes) and checked my odometer - 9.5 new NCT miles.  It seems like cheating but there is no actual walking trail in many places along the overall route.  Satisfied, I dialed into another work telcon and started driving west in earnest.  After following more farm roads, I reach US-20 - from there, the rest of my drive to the Notre Dame was pretty easy.  I'll admit that the two lane highway was a bit frustrating (lots of trucks) as I drove into Indiana but, after I passed Elkhart, the road expanded to four lanes.  I arrived at Ironwood Drive at around 1500 and made my way (via South Bend surface streets) to Campus.  At 1520, I parked at the Hammes Bookstore - very glad to have finished the trip!  From that point, it was a whirlwind of activities: checking in at the Eck Center, getting my room assignment in Ryan Hall (a new dorm), finding my room and unpacking the car, meeting up with a representative of the Alumni Association (Beth), assisting in setting up a drink/snack station for the Golden Domer Club and (finally) getting settled in my room.  Starting at about 1630, I managed to do about two more hours of teleworking - surprising, since I'd thought my day was already done.  A fellow Alum, Maria J. from my Class), had heard I was on campus and wanted to meet up for some planning of our own Class Reunion next year.  I agreed - but first, I tried to check on the person from the Class of 1950 (75th Reunion!) who I'm supposed to support (at the Morris Inn - no luck).  Next, I walked (for the first time ever) to the Eddy Street Commons and got a quick snack at Noodles & Company (1905).  After that, I made my way to where Maria was waiting with her friends (from the Class celebrating their 35th) at their "party tent".  It turned out that I could join the fun by paying some dues - I did that and immediately started getting my money's worth with food and drink.  Along the way, I encountered three members of the ND NROTC I'd known back in the 1980s - it was great to talk to them for the first time in 35 years.  At around 2100, I left to check out the dessert (and, it turned out, drinks) venue on the De Bartolo Quad.  This turned out to be good, since I learned that the Alumni Association has most of the food and drinks covered for the weekend.  I got some good shamrock cookies!  It was cool and dark there - with views of the Golden Dome - and I was going to leave because I didn't know anyone where.  Maria showed up then and we talked through some of the options for our Class Reunion.  Returning to the Class of 1990 tent, I spent another hour visiting and talking with friends of friends of friends.  By 1045, I realized how exhausted I was and said goodnight.  Back in Ryan Hall, I got settled for the night and tried to sleep on my dorm room cot.  It's been interesting so far - my NDAA volunteering begins in the morning!  NCT Today = 11.0 miles (1.5 walking) / NCT Total = 34.2 miles