The day starts slowly as I resist leaving my charming hosts’ comfortable and welcoming home–chickens freely roam the yard, a white horse frolics in the open field, and “Kitty” purrs on the front porch table. The morning’s cooler weather beckons me forth but not the low-moving, threatening clouds with spits of rain. Oh good, I get to pull out unused items from my backpack–a long-sleeve synthetic t-shirt and my Camino raincoat. Goodbye, Angela, David, and Hazel, and a big thank you!
Back at the junction of Routes 40/272 (yesterday’s final destination), I head south on Pulaski Highway. There is no redeeming feature to this grotesque human monument to the cement gods. Trucks roar by, forcing me to anchor more securely my WWN hat. I’m grateful for the wide shoulder of the road, 
but nothing else. Well, not quite. I do appreciate the route’s direct access to today’s final destination, Havre de Grace.
There is one big problem to face, however, in order to get there–the long bridge across the Susquehanna River. No pedestrians allowed. Anticipating this challenge, I resort to Plan B–sweet Judy in a Prius. Isn’t that resourceful of me?
We rendez-vous in Perryville (the north side of the bridge with no real town associated with the name), I turn off the GPS, and cross legally (and alive) by car. Oh my, how quickly the landscape flies by! It takes some psychological adjustment on my part. And voilà, we are in Havre de Grace, our oasis for two nights together before moving south. A perfect Memorial Day weekend getaway.
Havre de Grace! There’s a blog begging to be written there. Havre de Grace pronounced à la Maryland sounds nothing like the French. Why the name? What’s the story of its origin? Stay tuned.
Day 4 ends with the best of everything: dear Judy, a roof over my head, a town that honors its maritime roots, no plans to walk until Sunday, food, food, and food, and no set agenda. Now that sounds like the very definition of grace!
