Amishville, USA

That’s the name of the campground we’re staying at tonight, primarily, I’m assuming, because we’re in the heart of Amish country. Today’s leg consisted of traipsing from Decatur to Berne, mostly along US 27. I saw a few buggies containing Amish families, and while there weren’t a lot of homes out there, I was struck by the fact that the ones I did see had no power lines attached. In many cases, I’m told by the locals, the Amish do without many of the things we take for granted, such as electricity and telephones. Clearly, they wouldn’t be as appreciative as I am (insert gratuitous sponsor plug here) of the Samsung Captivate Galaxy S phone or the ATT gizmo that connects to my laptop and allows me Internet access, which, in turn, enables me to file these compelling blog entries.

One other thing worth mentioning from today’s jaunt. At one point, I was startled to see a woman resembling Margaret Hamilton – I now know why Dorothy was so frightened in The Wizard of Oz – jump out from behind a bush on US 27 and onto the road a few feet in front of me. She immediately moved into a crouch and started snapping pictures, then introduced herself as a photographer for the Berne Tri-Weekly and explained that one of their reporters would be contacting me for an interview. Once the story runs, I will have been quoted over the years in Sports Illustrated, the New York Times, and now, the Berne Tri-Weekly. Think anyone else in the free world can make the same claim?

Tomorrow we hit Portland, with a 5:00 stop at the Marsh store on West Lincoln Street. I love Marsh…they’ve given us the resources that have prevented me from starving and/or dehydrating. Also…go to my Facebook page (Mark Joseph Boyle) to check out today’s photos. I think I mentioned yesterday that I forgot the Samsung Galaxy S in Indianapolis, and until I rendezvous with it, I won’t be able to post my photos here.

Thursday: Berne to Portland

Mileage: 16.2 (28,512 steps…unless it’s Shaquille O’Neal, then it’s 14,134 steps)

On the iPod: Dave Nathan from our Berne radio affiliate (WZBD) walked the entire distance with me Wednesday – though it must be pointed out that he almost bailed over the final few miles, even though he’s a good 20 years younger that Yours Truly – so I didn’t get to the iPod yesterday. Ergo, Beyonce and NPR are still the choices.