Manifest Destiny: America from the Bottom Up - Day 15 - Fairfield, CT to Norwalk, CT - Route 1 and the Church Yard

I passed through Westport after emerging back onto Route 1 from my night by the road, and was feeling quite confident. I still didn't know why. I guess it was just the idea of having made it out of the dilapidated urban jungle while still being able to sleep last night.

There was an addictive quality to what I was doing. I'd go through a great deal of struggle and discomfort, only to realize after that it was actually exciting. There developed a need in me to constantly push on into the unknown for that very reason. Perhaps it was a dopamine rush? Whatever the reason, it drove me. I was developing a heart not unlike the great explorers of old. As long as I could continue getting occasional contributions from publishing the blog, I could go on like this for years if necessary. It was also likely that I would become very good at it.

It was a long 15 miles through the next two towns, each with its dozens of strip malls and the same old chain restaurants, over and over again. I did find a place in one of these mini malls called Liberty Army and Navy Surplus, where I bought a multi-pocketed vest...

Liberty Army and Navy, Route 1, Westport

Google Street View.

It took me an embarrassing amount of time to figure out how to put it on. But, once I finally did, I could get some things out of my pockets and the pack, and into the vest. This lightened the load a bit, or rather redistributed the weight and cut down the bulk.

I was hungry by noon and before reaching the border of Westport I stopped at a local pizza place, bought a scrumptious meaty pizza, drank lots of water and had a Coke...

Angelina's Trattoria, Route 1, Westport.

Google Street View.

As my one meal for the day, this certainly did it.

And I kept a few pieces for breakfast the next day.

Angelina's Trattoria was good place, with friendly staff. My server was very curious about my project and I wrote down the blog address so she could keep touch. I wanted to get into a deeper discussion with her but she was too busy. I did get a chance to watch the weather on TV and saw that there would be strong chance of rain overnight and throughout the next day.

This was a real bummer. The only reason I'd stuck around this part of Connecticut, without hopping a train to Pennsylvania, was to visit my dad's hometown of Darien. I wanted to get there the day after this. But, I wasn't looking forward to touring Darien in the rain, nevermind trying to find a place there to spend a wet night outside. I would have to try to think of something...

It was late afternoon when I left the pizza joint. They had no internet. I really want to get online to double check my routes and look for sleeping places. When I came across a McDonald's a couple miles further down Route 1, I went in and got online there. They had no AC outlets and I quickly ran out of power on the laptop. I had been looking for sleeping spots around Westport when the battery died. There was nothing left to do but go out and physically search for them. Some had looked quite promising on Google Earth, but when vetting them at street level I noticed fences or thick pricker bushes around them all.

I searched several long roads, going deeply into the surrounding neighborhoods looking dark spots. I almost chose one, but realized after I got by the edge of the road that it was right next to a hidden garage. I even scoped out a place right behind CVS Pharmacy, but there was not enough room to lie down.

In a desperate attempt to still find something in town, I crossed Route 1 again and snuck out behind the McDonald's parking lot. There was a small stream and what looked like a hidden grassy area next to it. However, when I stepped onto the grass I sank down, immersing my entire boot in the muddy water. Shit!

It was one of those times when I had to make a choice: keep looking in an area that wasn't working out or move on down the road, despite being exhausted. It was quite dark now. I chose the latter. The Spark (what I was now calling the Light that turned on inside me at North Station, in Boston 15 days earlier) was not helping with intuition. I took a hint that this was not the right town in which to camp.

I hadn't realized I was so close to Norwalk. After another two miles down Route 1, I crossed the city limit, tired but hopeful. Norwalk was a neatly laid out place with several main arteries running through its business center. At this late hour though, with swirling clouds gathering above, I was not inclined to tour the town. I only wanted to sleep in it.

I ran across a few places that looked good, but were too close to businesses that might open early in the morning or be cased-out by police cars late at night. So I just kept walking west down Route 1 toward Darien. I went down a steep hill right after passing St. Paul's On The Green Church. There definitely was a more substantial amount of green around the church property than any other place else I'd seen.

I reached the bridge at the bottom of the hill and crawled over the guardrail to investigate the area along the river for some kind of way up the hill and into the woods, possibly to the back of the church. Bridges are great places to find discrete paths. I climbed further down into a flat area, next to a small muddy swamp. Right at the river's edge was a lot of  poorly executed graffiti, liquor bottles and old fire pits. Normally I would be interested to explore, but frankly I was sick of this shit and needed to rest.

Immediately. I saw a path up the grassy, overgrown hill. I climbed it carefully, having no intention of rolling back down into the swamp or worse, the river. As I reached the summit I saw a nice woodsy place, clear and level. It was beyond the rotting fence next to the church, and very near the building itself.

Below me and to the left was a parking lot for staff people, I guessed. The flickering street light would have ruined my chances had it been working correctly. But I observed that it flicked off more than it flicked on. When it was on it barely glowed. The time was about 1:00 am now and I needed some sleep. I debated whether to unfurl the tarp, in case of rain and decided not to, but made a mental plan ahead of time about how to do it quickly if need be.

I set out the sleeping bag on what looked liked raked leaves, with the towel laid down first in order to keep my arms and face off the ground. I was keyed up and tired at the same time. Looking around. I saw that that the closest building connected to the church had a red security light shining on the inside of one of its rooms. It looked like a private meeting room. There were French doors that led out to the area where I was. I knew there was little chance at this time of night that someone would go in there, and even less chance that they would see me.

I heard a man drag a trash can across the front yard and parking lot of the church to the street beyond and then drag another one back. He went into the building. I braced myself, thinking he might go in the meeting room, But instead, a door slammed on the other side of the building. I heard his shoes walking down a path behind the church and into the back parking lot under the flickering light. He climbed into the only truck that was there, while I lay still and silent. Then, he simply backed out and drove away. That put my mind at ease. I fell asleep quickly and had no dreams that I can recall.

Norfolk Sleeping Place