Why A Pilgrimage?

We get asked this question often, and it’s a bit of a long answer.

The very short answers are:

• We ate too many sweets and treats during the stress of Covid lockdown. (Yes, we know that was 3-4 years ago.)
• We wanted an excuse for extended physical exercise.
• We just got lost on the way to the Olympics in Paris.
• “Don’t you know everyone in Boston dresses like this?”
• We want to see parts of Europe neither of us have experienced, and to immerse ourselves more in them.
• If we were going to feel out of place as tourists, then we might as well look ‘out of time’ as well.

All those answers are true, but we still think there’s more to it. I think the following paragraphs might shed light on an ongoing conversation we’ve been having while walking.

Adam grew up in what I’d call a very secular household. His mother’s family has some secular Jewish practices and traditions, passed down from her mother, and his father’s family is Irish and French Canadian Catholic. Growing up, Adam was expressly told that he could get any book he wanted and that his parents would take him to any reasonable religious service that he wanted to attend. He didn’t, but the option was there and I think he felt confident that he could do that if he wanted. In high school, he was quite the raging atheist and didn’t understand why his peers weren’t “living according to their values.” This is the same kid who biked to school, and once canoed to school, to avoid using gas and cars.

Adam took French classes in high school and went to France twice. The second time, he stayed with a host family in Annecy who we still keep in touch with.

I think one of the most formative experiences of his life was participating in a semester program with Kroka Expeditions, an outdoor school in central NH. This program taught him self reliance and how to be ok in his surroundings. Years later, he went back to Kroka and led a summer trip for middle school students in which they canoed the length of Lake Champlain. Adam wore 1750s French Canadian clothing the entire time, of course.

In case you’re new to Adam Hodges-LeClaire, he’s probably most well-known for sailing across the Atlantic on the French frigate L’Hermione, which recreated the voyage of the Marquis de Lafayette in 1780. He did this in history clothes the entire time, and then portrayed Lafayette once the ship reached the US.

At that point in time, someone told him, “Don’t let this be the greatest thing you ever do.” So thank you, Sharon Burnston, for really putting a bee in his bonnet about doing something else equally as cool. I think marrying me and building a life and family together is the greatest thing he’ll ever do, but I digress.

I grew up in a home that had a set belief system; my parents are born-again Christians. We had lots of love in our house, but because of my parents’ beliefs, we weren’t presented with other religions and I didn’t learn about them until I was in high school and then in college. That being said, I made the choice, when I was 12, to follow Jesus, and that choice has carried me through many difficult moments in my life.

In high school, I had the opportunity to do a 5.5 week exchange program with a student from Stuttgart, Germany, and I absolutely loved it. I still can’t speak German other than a few phrases, but the experience taught me how to fend for myself in a place where I was somewhat uncomfortable. I loved the sense of independence and freedom it gave me.

I’ve also been to Spain twice, Paris twice, the UK once, and went back to Germany twice. I like traveling, but for a long time, I’ve wanted to spend an extended period of time in Europe. In fact, in 2017 I started researching design jobs in the UK – but before I could get very far, I met this fascinating guy on Tinder and all his Tinder photos were of him in historic clothing, and then I fell in love with him and didn’t want to leave the US. That worked out well, I think. Adam thinks so, too.

Both of us have moderated our beliefs – Adam prays every once in a while, and I don’t think I will ever go to a church that does not fully embrace women in leadership roles or affirm and welcome everyone, again.

So, why go on a pilgrimage route, and a Catholic pilgrimage route, when neither of us are Catholic? I think it’s because we believe that if we’re going to do something, we’re going to DO it. We wanted a longer trip with a specific goal in mind. We want to see parts of Europe that most tourists don’t see, and we want to get to know the people in those parts of the world. We’re also at a point of life change – I’ve just left my job of 9.5 years and I’m striking out on my own, and we’re moving towards being in NH full-time. We’re also contemplating having children in the near future, and we wanted to do a long trip before any came along.

Honestly, I probably didn’t need to tell you all those bits about our adolescence, but I think it’s helpful to understand where we’re coming from.

Personally, I’ve found so much meaning in doing this walk. It’s challenged me in new ways and I see places where I need to grow. I’ve also found it to be humbling, because you have to be able to ask for help. We’ve met some absolutely incredible humans so far who have gone out of their ways to help us, even when we didn’t expect it or ask for it. In Caffiers, or AirBnb host gave us a ride to the laundromat, and a nurse whose cat peed on her duvet and had to come wash it in the large washing machine gave us a ride to our next stop. The campground hosts in Licques were warm and welcoming and went above and beyond our expectations. The gîte in Thérouanne had boot dryers, laundry, and warm company. The gîte in Amettes was so lovely and comfortable. We absolutely loved our AirBnb hosts in Ablain-Saint-Nazaire (merci, Isabelle and Franck!!), and as we were walking into Arras yesterday, a lovely woman named Anne, who was out taking nature photographs, offered us water – and we had just run out. All of our needs have been met, right when we needed them.

Two Bible verses/passages have often gone through my mind as I walk, in part because I hurt my ankle and in part because blisters have caused a good deal of discomfort:

“And so it was, that as they went, they were healed.” Luke 17:14b

“I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand. The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭121‬:‭1‬-‭8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

This all being said, this is still the longest vacation we’ve had free from work since…. before college? So this week, instead of being miserable and walking through rain on a sore ankle, we’re spending more time in Arras, Laon, and Reims, working on sewing projects we didn’t finish before leaving home, and taking trains to get from place to place. We’ll be in Langres around 4 June and will start walking south, towards the mountains, from there.

Onwards!