day 7: hi hi i completely forgot about this blog because i was eating my dinner so forgive the un-creative title

day 7 is in the books! is that an expression? on the books? one for the books? either way, it is DONE and wow, what a delightfully varied day it was. here are some thoughts from day 7!

• i did finally manage to get into my airbnb in brentwood which was GREAT because it put me very close to my first interview of the day - less great were some very thin walls with a flatmate having a loud phone conversation til almost midnight and a cat who took a poo in the middle of the bathroom???? i guess you really never know what you're going to get!
• i had my first interview quite early in the morning, and it was absolutely lovely! i got some more really thoughtful gifts for the road - some candy (which i ate almost right away), a tiny first aid kit, and a travel sized sunscreen! so thoughtful!
• i had a delightful route which utilized a train station stairway overpass as a shortcut! WOW DO WE LOVE A SHORTCUT! we love stairs a little bit less, but it wasn't so bad. i really don't know how the map knew that i could walk over the stairs though...is that someone's job, to just go around and note better access routes for pedestrians? i bet i could contribute after this adventure!
• speaking of better access routes - today was a GORGEOUS GORGEOUS sidewalk and pedestrian walkway day! i very rarely (if ever!!!!) had to hug a random shoulder or tromp through some gnarly grasses. hooray!
• but also: boy oh boy was it sunny today! i mentioned this in another blog post (or maybe one of the video blogs i keep only halfway doing because i get busy....walking....) i am SO glad to be doing my project right now. a bunch of people were worried about it being too cold at the end of april, but honestly i think i would have been boiling any closer to summer!
• another reason i'm writing this blog post so late is that today was a TWO interview day, and i had to do a bunch of walking in-between! the interview happened in the evening, which is pretty unusual for this series. i kind of like to get them done in the AM or early PM so i can walk or rest afterwards during prime daylight hours, but this was how the cookie crumbled today! another great interview and so great to see everyone in person!!!
• the elena is a dodo moment of the day came right as i arrived at my hotel. i didn't want to jinx myself by thinking too hard about it en route but i did an AMAZING job of fastening my ankle brace today. somehow it just had all the right support, for ONCE my heel wasn't rubbing and i was like, "dang, yes. i am GROWING as a hiker"..........and then i TRIPPED on the FLAT HOTEL HALLWAY and twinged my ankle!!!! insert crying face here! i'm hoping that resting overnight will help, and i do have a more heavy duty brace that i can swap to, but dang - what a way to close the day.......and tomorrow is a BIG mileage day!
• to close off with some good news: i'm in a hotel tonight and this one HAS free continental breakfast tomorrow! i am going to eat........so many pancakes.

i'm hoping that i'll be able to do a blog post tomorrow but i have an EXTREMELY long day of walking, so don't worry if i can't get to it or if it comes at a bizarre time! you can always check my instagram for (slightly) more regular updates. see you soon!