Local Artist's Family Takes On El Camino | Michael Dillingham
To all you Breaking Bad fans we aren’t talking about Jesse Pinkman, today we hear about Michael, Chris and Michelle Dillingham’s treacherous 100-mile pilgrimage along The Road to Santiago!
Portrait images by Twin Spire Photography, trip photos provided by Dillingham family.
Michael Dillingham is a local artist who was born with cerebral palsy and maintains a studio at Pendleton Art Center, 1310 Pendleton St, Cincinnati, OH 45202. I spent about an hour with these three wonderful people and this article only begins to express the vivid memories and level of emotion shared from what appeared to be a truly life-changing experience.
An interview with a Cincinnati family about their journey along the El Camino de Santiago:
How were you turned on to the idea of traveling to Spain to hike El Camino de Santiago?
Michelle: Chris and I were first exposed to El Camino through the movie The Way with Emilio Estevez which is a fictional story about a father who loses his son. The other source was through the Rick Steves’ Travel Show on PBS talking about the pilgrimage route on the north of Spain which thousands of people travel to every year.
Chris: We also got to know Patrick (Gray) and Justin (Skeesuck) through a Facebook group we are a part of who have a documentary called “I’ll Push You: A Journey of 500 Miles, Two Best Friends, and One Wheelchair.”
How did you come upon this opportunity to travel to Spain with Michael?
Michelle: Well like Chris had mentioned we got to know Justin and Patrick’s story about their first trip in 2014 and following their trip they did a speaking tour and also wrote a few children’s books. They opened up this opportunity for individuals with disabilities to apply to join them on a trip along the last 100 kilometers of El Camino de Santiago and over 100 applied, Michael was one of 12 selected! We prepared all year and got passports and Michael even worked on selling his artwork to help cover part of the expenses to make the trip happen. Kelly Maglocci who I know you do work with attended an art walk and invited him to have his work shown inside Columbia Plaza and we also held viewings with popcorn of the documentary!
What was getting over to Spain traveling with Michael like?
Michael: The time zone was hard. (Micheal signed to Michelle.)
Michelle: Well we took three planes to get to Santiago, from CVG to JFK to Madrid and then to Santiago. The weather when we landed was beautiful, sort of early fall-like temperatures, when we left Cincinnati on September 26th you may remember it was unusually hot at the time. For us just arriving with it being our first time in Europe in this ancient inner-city where it was all cobblestone and hills everywhere was amazing!
Chris: There was almost 20 hours or so of travel on either end of the trip with a 6 hour time difference so when we arrived it was 6 am but for us it felt like midnight! Some of the challenges we faced were just with accessibility with the hotels we arrived at being as it is an old historic town the buildings aren’t all that handicap accessible. So for instance the three of us with Michael’s equipment couldn’t all fit into the same elevator. The accommodations were good just challenging. But there was nothing like walking into Cathedral Square to see the church and it is MASSIVE and the whole idea was just so surreal to think we were about to do the pilgrimage to get back to the place we first landed. We had a special wheelchair we ordered with small rubber tires in the front and big tires in the back that worked fantastically well for Michael to use to address the cobblestone issue in order to get around the city together.
What was your favorite segment of the journey, besides the finish line?
Michael: The gardens. (Michael signs.)
Michelle: Each leg was like 14 miles a day so I really enjoyed all of the café stops along the way for café leches and spending time with others in the group from all over the world!
Chris: The eucalyptus forests, and actually for me I liked the fact that when we would finish these crazy inclines from all the hills you were always rewarded with some beautiful picture. You would get to the top of the hill and see rolling hills for miles and miles. One time there was even a woman working and leading probably 25 SUV-sized bulls with just a stick and verbal commands, the bulls knew Spanish, and they would just listen to everything she said walking down this narrow path in a line!
What were the biggest challenges while you were on the trail?
Michelle: There are whole books that map out the entire trail but there really isn’t anything that fully prepares you for some of the major changes in terrain you face. That said, I want people to know that I truly believe anyone can do this trip. We are just a normal family with normal means and we were on this trip with people of all ages, there were two others in freedom chairs, a little person with bone issues and a blind woman, it was really an inspiring trip and we all grew in confidence together.
Chris: Day one was brutal, your confidence is challenged immediately but by day three you knew what your strengths and weaknesses were and what we needed from our helpers who came on the trip. You would think that the steep inclines we had to climb up would be the most challenging part but you gain your breath back by walking up a giant cliff, the issue is actually coming down it, my knees were on fire! But all of this led up to that moment we entered the square again after our journey and it was just overwhelming to know we had done it.
Were there any others on the trip that you specifically bonded with?
Michelle: Yeah actually we met this other couple from Pennsylvania, Krissie and Mark, and they are married and they do a lot of volunteer work with para-athletics and I think that’s what drew them into coming on this trip! Mark told lots of stories which actually really helped because it distracted Chris from his pain because he blew out his ankle on the second day on the trip!
Chris: Well and let me tell you about Brian! Brian was an emergency room doctor and he pushed with us on Day 4. And there were major hills all day but this guy had calves like pillows on the back of his legs. We finished 2nd that day and he actually would go back down the hill to help others up and I’m talking about a hill unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Like the hill over by St. Ursula times 1 1/2! And just thinking about making it up that hill and then to go back down is just inconceivable to me, it was incredible.
Where did you train to prepare for this long journey?
Michelle: Me and Michael did Sharon Woods Lake Trail because that has some steep hills and a part of it where it’s kind of treacherous because you’re right on the lake so you have to be careful. And then when we got back a friend took us to Spring Grove Cemetery which we had never really explored and we still had the ropes on his bike from our trip to pull him up hills and there I was pushing him up this really steep hill in Spring Grove and telling Michael “Oh it’s like we’re on the Camino again!”
Chris: The local parks, me and Michael ride trails and our main park is Otto Armleder we did a lot of rides there and also Loveland Bike Trail. But Michael actually started his training last December where he would ride an hour or an hour and a half in the house on an indoor trainer that was given to him. Michael was a complete and total beast with training but especially on the El Camino, pedaling to help those who were pushing him throughout!
Is there anything from the trip that you’ve wanted to bring back with you?
Michelle: Well we’ve definitely been talking about going back to Europe again, haha! And we’ve also talked about traveling more in general and like rail-to-trail long distance bike routes here in the states!
Chris: The inspiration I brought back was how good we work as a unit. And then just the relationships like I still know all the names of the people we traveled with and it reminds me of this restaurant in Nashville called Monell’s and above the door there’s a sign that says “No cellphones at the table.” and “You enter as strangers but leave as family.” And the first time I went in there I thought, “you can’t tell me I can’t use my phone if I’m paying you x amount of dollars for a dinner” and secondly “I’m already with my family.” But by the time we finished dinner, at the time I was there with a group of my buddies, we knew where everyone else was from at the table and we had a full conversation because no one had phones out or anything. So these experience allowed us the freedom to let other people into our life when I’m usually so guarded with my family.
A huge thank you to the Dillingham family for sharing this amazing experience! If you wish to learn more about Michael and his artwork please visit his website at https://michaelstudio100.wordpress.com/.
