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Along the Natchez Trace

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

These Shoes Were Made For Walking....

I wore a pair of New Balance Tennies coming here from Texas...  brought along a pair of high top hikers and a pair of sandals.  The mistake was bringing only one pair of sandals...
My Tevas weren't new...   they were well broken in...  had quite a few miles on them.  Real comfy, trusty, go-anywhere kind of shoes.

The kind you can wear to church (if no one looks closely at your feet) or on the beach...  and when in better shape, even had a good tread that got traction.  The soles were even thick enough that I didn't feel rocks or much of anything underfoot when walking.

I wear a pedometer...  and will tell you right now that the last week I've not done much walking at all....  but to date have walked over 420 miles in our time here...  averaging about 5 miles per day.  I have no idea how many miles they had on them in the maybe 5 years or so I've worn them before this trip.

A month or so ago Bill bought some gorilla glue and filled in where the soles were separating from the foot bed.   You can see that yellowish line at the toes....  but even that is starting to wear away.  About a week or so ago the base under the ball of my foot started to split...  causing it to pinch my foot.  There's hardly any tread left on bottom...  I can feel every pebble I step on.

Here in Costa Rica the Farmacias sell drugs and other medical supplies....  but you buy them individually.  The bandaids I bought to cushion my feet cost 50c each.  I bought 10 because I didn't know how long one would stay adhered to the shoe.  So...  I have 3 bandaids...  cost $1.50 American to cobble together a fix for the shoes above.  As it happened....  those 3 have held for a week now...  I still have 7 to take home :-)

Yeah, I could have bought a new pair of shoes here, but I'll admit it....  I'm cheap.  AND....  I have at least 5 pairs of sandals back in our motorhome that seldom get worn.  I just kept thinking if these shoes would just hold out x amount of weeks...  or days....  then I'd be okay.

As of tonight they have less than 48 hours before I can toss them in the trash and bid them adieu...

But...  darn!  It's gonna be hard to say goodbye to them...  they've served me well.  I'm gonna miss them.  It's like losing an old friend.  Oh well...  I still have a day left to wear them...  But...

That's All For Today!


6 comments:

  1. Oh, the ever-present "shoe tale!" It certainly looks to me that those Tevas could tell a lot of stories. Are you packing them to take with you when you leave? Or are you just going to put them to rest in Costa Rica?

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  2. A good pair of shoes is really hard to part with, but there comes a time. Soon you be back home and get another newer pair out.

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  3. It is hard for me to throw away a pair of shoes or boots. After they sit around awhile without being worn, I may toss them but it is a hard thing to do.

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  4. Once I get a pair of shoes broken in, they stay with me forever! Love your Sandals story.

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  5. I have a pair of hiking sandals that are getting pretty thin and I can feel pebbles, etc. I'm trying to find another pair and can't find this brand and style, so I am still wearing the worn out pair. Totally understand.

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  6. You wore out a pair of Tevas? I didn't think that was possible.

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