Enjoy a short video - Oregon to Chicago

Great way to begin the morning - A rope swing into a beautiful lake.

After a peaceful sleep at Windsor Mountain Camp of Hillsboro, New Hampshire, we were treated to a large breakfast at the ‘mess hall’ with the children and staff who live there most of the summer. It is a very well organized community of people from various ethnic backgrounds stressing the multi-cultural enrichment and interaction of the members there. The grounds are sprawling with a large lake and fields, trails, athletic facilities as well as cabins and campgrounds.

Following breakfast we were invited to share with the group our experiences which will soon come to a close for now. We were very excited to meet some of the children and staff already and now we had the opportunity to meet over one hundred people there before leaving for another day on the road. Singing our theme song, we were accompanied by Gabie on guitar, one of the teenagers who attend the camp. I taught her the song in a matter of minutes and she accompanied us as we sang and played the song on harmonica.

We are grateful to her and all the children who were so kind to us as well as the staff including Sarah Herman, the Chief administrator there, and Dobo, one of the visiting staff members who has worked there in the past and is quite popular with all the children he meets.

Leaving Hillsboro, we traveled east on route 9 towards Maine. We made a stop in the capital city of New Hampshire, Concord, and met some children from a camp there on the lawn of the Capitol building. Callie McGuire from Kid Camp of Concord organized about 40 children and greeted us with colorful handmade signs on the lawn. Ken Williams from the Monitor, a local newspaper, kindly stayed and covered the story for us.

The children were very enthusiastic as we explained to them our harmony adventures. They thoroughly enjoyed our song and the Harmony Train that ran around the front lawn of this beautiful building. Some of our other team members showed us a little late after having finished with the first ceremony at Windsor Mountain. We then had some skits and photo sessions with the kids. They also all took turns holding the Torch as they made wishes for harmony and a better world.

So far, we have had over ten thousand people holding the Torches and making wishes for something good in this world which is in dire need of all the good thoughts, prayers and wishes for harmony and oneness in love and kindness. The children are very serious about this, and giving them a chance to express it is the most powerful and beautiful experience you can imagine. If it was not for all the thousands of beautiful children who have blessed us with their light and love we would not have made it this far in our ten thousand mile adventure of hope and harmony. We thank each and every one of them!

We finished today’s adventure at the Italian Heritage Center of Portland. It was a unique event in that three mayors from local cities all came there to greet us along with members of the Italian Center who treated us to a wonderful meal. Mayor William Dowling of Augusta, the state capital of Maine, and his wife Kim, drove an hour to get here and greet us. Mayor Cohen from Portland along with Mayor Maxine Beecher of South Portland and her husband Ed as well as all the others present waited for twenty minutes for us as we had gotten lost on our way to the Center. We seem to have a knack for getting lost even in small cities.

We are grateful to all those who waited there for us including the President of the Italian Heritage Center, Diane Aikins, and her husband Gene as well as other board members and their spouses. A special thanks goes to JoJo Ricci, our ever faithful friend we sometimes refer to as our ‘Mom’. She has welcomed us each time we come through Portland and even has an archive of materials, shirts, brochures, and certificates that she has collected from all of our runs here. We also offer much gratitude to Polly, our local and loyal coordinator who arranged all of this for us.

What better way to describe our wonderful experience at the Italian Heritage Center than from a real Italian, our runner from Milano, Francesco. He says, “Every day on the run is special, but there are some that I’ll never forget. This evening was one of those. We had the pleasure and honor to be the guests of the Italian Heritage Center of Portland.

When we arrived at their club a group of Italians and Americans were outside waiting for us as well as the mayors of three cities: Portland, South Portland and Augusta. Everyone welcomed us whole heartedly (as one would expect from Italians), and the mayor of Augusta, William Dowling with his lovely wife Kim, proclaimed August 8 as World Harmony Run Day in his city. This was very special to all of us, as we have had many chances to meet mayors but so rarely receive that kind of reception.

We have met people from many cultures while running across this country, but I can say (not because I am Italian) that the effulgent Italian Heart and hospitality is unique. I felt as though they took me into the family immediately, as did the rest of the team.

They made sure we all ate well and kept the conversation lively. It was so much like being among family.

After a long time I was again able to speak my language in full sentences rather than short jokes with my teammates. Those at my table were Assunta and Jesse Savage, Carlo Giraulo and Paul Andrielli. I was proud of what they have done here in the US. Italy is a small country, but these people keep up the tradition and the pride of being Italian.

I want to thank the president of the Italian Heritage Society, Diane Aikins, for giving us such a special reception. We will run many miles fueled by your kindness and pasta. Grazie amici! - Francesco

After tearing ourselves away from the wonderful family feeling of all of our Italian-American friends, we settled into the historic and beautiful Eastland Park Hotel in downtown Portland. This hotel originally opened its doors in June of 1927, the day after Lindbergh made his solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Since then it has been updated and renovated but still maintains its heritage and character. General Manager, Peter McNamee has offered us four beautiful and large rooms for the night. Amanda, from the LLC Parking management offered us free overnight parking in the garage as well, a very valuable asset in the heart of a busy downtown area with limited space.

We also have finally reached the Atlantic Ocean once more. In Oregon, when we first saw the Pacific after crossing the whole southern part of this vast and beautiful country, we stayed in Portland one night. Now we are next to the Atlantic Ocean and stayed in Portland as well, this one being in the beautiful and friendly state of Maine. Harmony is blessing us on every step of our very long journey from Portland to Portland and from sea to shining sea.

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