I enter my room for the night. Some people look at the bed-size. Others look for bathroom towels. I look for electrical sockets. I do this every time I check into a room. Every time.

I have my iPhone, my Iwatch, my iPad, my Garmin, my battery pack, and my Nikon camera battery to charge. While I sometimes feel like a mule pulling a too heavy cart, I have these electronic devices, and by gosh, I’m going to use them. Somebody might say, “Navigate without AllTrails using the Via Francigena map” or, “Don’t bother with google maps.” Nope. I’m using them as long as I have juice. I’m going to find a shortcut. I’m going to take the quickest way to the hotel. Where is that Office of Tourism where I can get my credential booklet stamped? After the clothes washer finishes (the second time I’ve had a washer), I’m off to take photos of Besancon. I’m going to use the Nikon with its full battery. Yeah!

So many other ways I’ve used electricity. Novice that I am, I’ve been able to stay connected with folks on Facebook. I’ve been able to videocall Mary. As solitary as this walk has been, I’ve found it increasingly refreshing to realize that I share my walk with others.

There’s downsides to electricity. We almost joined Zoe and Smokey, and Gus and Lisa. Last week, a branch came down on the Georgia Power line to the house. Mary smelled that striking burnt electrical smell. Georgia Power came and checked everything; Stephen, our engineer nephew came and checked the basics. To be safe, Mary and Dwight spent the night in a hotel. Along with State Farm, Mary is assessing what got fried, AC and lights at a minimum. We now have a whole house surge protector.

Electricity doesn’t magically appear. Earlier in my walk I passed dozens of wind turbines. I passed tall slab mounds left from coal mining operations. A couple of days ago, I passed a dam and a small power plant. Every day I pass fifty foot electrical towers, along with hundred of smaller village and tower power poles. I know that it might sound petty, but I remember often feeling “Dang, that would be a perfect photo of that church, but those power lines ruin the photo!” While I still feel that way at times, I’m now actually looking for photos that blend the two in an interesting way.

I know that our heavy use of electricity is damaging our environment. No doubt about that. I dutifully turn out lights; I take quick showers. But I’m no off-the-grid romantic. I’m a modern guy. I’m a modern secular guy whose life is so tied into the electrical grid that I can’t imagine life without electrical power. Even though the Lowder Jones family probably didn’t have electricity until the 1930’s because of Roosevelt’s rural electrical legislation. Now, it is one of those visible and invisible features of life. Now, it is one of those features of life that we love, we fear, and, at times, hate.

Tomorrow, when I go off route to Strasbourg, I know the first thing that I’ll do at the BnB. “Where are those electrical outlets?”