Reading Time: < 1 minute I want to thank my friends, old and new, for your caring support, for cheering me on, for your thoughtful comments, and for continuing to worry about me during the 170 days of my journey. This includes my friends and relatives, and classmates from Wantagh High School, Boston University, UC Berkeley, and CSU East Bay, […]
Reading Time: < 1 minute Today I was the kid who had to walk six miles back and forth to school—uphill both ways. Yes, it’s so easy to deceive oneself. While yesterday’s road may have been steep, today it seemed I was climbing uphill more than I was descending. Thus, the 17 miles I walked today was hard-fought, and my […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes Each day seems crazier than the one before. After walking seven miles from Athens and eating breakfast at a gas station convenience deli, I got caught in a sudden downpour of rain and hail, accompanied by thunder. By the time I had my rain jacket out of my backpack, I was thoroughly soaked. In an […]
Reading Time: < 1 minute After six hours of walking, I was having a helluva time trying to find a decent place to camp when it started to rain. At that point a man in a Prius pulled up, lowered his window, and asked if I’d like a ride. I climbed in. Hell, I’m no fool. Jim told me he […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes Last night before the rainstorm began, Lu drove into the driveway and I went out to greet her. I asked how her two doctor visits went and she gave me some details. Then she warned me about the challenges I’d be facing this morning—weather, road construction, detours, and poor walking conditions on the highway. She […]
Reading Time: < 1 minute I’m tenting tonight—on the back deck of the home of Lu, whom I met yesterday on the road to Seymour, and her husband Phil. They live in a lovely home in North Vernon, Indiana, with their schnauzer, Jazzie. When I spoke with Lu yesterday and discovered they lived close to my next destination, I asked […]
Reading Time: < 1 minute Today should have been an easier day than it was. As I was packing up at 6:30 am this morning in Larry’s backyard, he came out to say goodbye and offered me coffee. I declined the coffee, thanked him profusely for his hospitality, and got on the road. My tent, wet from dew and condensation, […]
Reading Time: < 1 minute At 2:30 am I was awakened by loud voices coming through the adjoining door to the next room at the motel. It’s at times like these I miss sleeping in my tent. To avoid confrontation with the idiots next door, I put on my pants, walked to the front desk, and once again changed rooms […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes This was a day filled with a few surprises, mostly pleasant ones. Knowing I had a long day ahead of me, I was packed up and out of the campsite at 6:30 am. Rain was expected so I kept my rain jacket strapped to the top of my kart. The first 10 miles was up […]
Reading Time: 2 minutes I can’t help but take the condition of the roads personally. Especially when the designers and builders take a perfectly good shoulder and turn it into a nightmare. For me, anyway! Some brilliant person decided that Hwy 50 in Illinois needed rumble strips that run perpendicular to the road across the entire shoulder. For miles. […]