Day 8 - Sandusky, Ohio

Our stop at the Grand Tetons reminded us of the grandeur of the U.S.

How does a man brought up in Cheektowaga, NY end up spending a night in Sandusky, OH, by way of the Grand Tetons? It’s a long, long story that we’ll save for another day, so let’s move on.

Today and tomorrow are slow days on campus for our End Student Debt 7k Marathon so we decided to do some driving to get in position for our New York City arrival and the first Presidential debate. We’ll make a stop at Penn State in University Park, PA on Sunday afternoon and try to catch a few students on our way to the Big Apple.

One pleasure I had today was to speak to the 4-member crew of a Subway off Interstate 80 in Indiana during a lull in business. These young millennials immediately got it and I heard the words of gratefulness I’ve come to expect. Our millennials are all waiting for that spark to ignite their hope and I keep being there to witness it do its work.

Tonight, at dinner in Sandusky restaurant, I spoke with our server, Courtney. A single Mom with 3 children, she drives her children to and from school twice a day, for a total of 4 hours driving, then does the night shift in a restaurant. She took our order and paused to listen to the reason for our marathon road trip. She became so enthusiastic I decided to give her some extra leaflets. As we were completing our meal, she came to tell us she had shared Jill’s good news with the entire staff of the busy restaurant. The spark keeps igniting hope!