Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Last evening was somewhat of a challenge. I left McDonald's when the rain slowed, and walked a block or so to the camp site. It was near some trailers, so I walked to the closest one to let them know what I was doing. A woman came to the door (which surprised me because I thought she might be afraid to open the door), and I explained to her I was going to put up a tent nearby and just wanted her to know. She was fine with that, so back to putting up the tent. I was under a couple of those live oak trees, which sheltered the site from some of the rain. Soon I had the gear and me inside, spent a little time reading the paper before lights out. I woke up once during the night and noticed the rain had stopped, so was glad of that. I was up at 6, packed quickly because of the radio interview, and was ready at 640. The interview was short and seemed to go ok.
It was time to head out......no particular goals today, I still don't know about walking through Camp Lejeune, so need to resolve that before making some decisions about route. My first stop was at McDonald's for breakfast and read the USA Today. After that I headed north down Bus. Hwy 17. It was cool and cloudy today, but no rain, so I can handle that. The traffic coming into town was heavy, and no shoulder to walk on, so not a pleasant first few miles. I soon was on Hwy 17 (not business), and had a better shoulder and the traffic started to thin out. I decided to call Camp Lejeune to inquire about the request, and after talking to several people, was told I could not walk through the base. So, that's that......a bummer, but I can stay on 17.
I walked another hour or so and the phone rang. The man introduced himself as Frank (that's all), and said he was the Head of Base Operations at Camp Lejeune. The walk through the base has been approved and he wanted to get some details about when I would be there, how long on base, etc. That was really good news......long ago, before so many rules and restrictions, my daughters and I rode our bicycles from VA to Myrtle Beach, and we rode through the base. Since 9/11 (or before), travel is restricted to only those with a pass. Frank and I talked several more times during the day, and decided the best schedule would be to be at the base first thing Thursday morning. The walk is approx. 15 miles, so should take about 5 hours or thereabouts. This is really a highlight of the walk, and thanks to Frank and the CO of Camp Lejeune for making it possible.
I stopped at a Hardee's in a town named Hampstead. Several guys were sitting in a booth in the corner, eyeing this stranger pushing a cart. Finally one of them came over, introduced himself as Jim, and said: "my friends said you were homeless, but I told them you had money!" That started a conversation that lasted a while. Jim (nickname Jabbo) is an adventurer himself. His was mostly on a motorcycle, but he understands why a man would be out walking across the country. A really interesting guy, and we could have talked longer, but the walkingman needs to be walking. My brother Robert is looking over the route to get me to the base on time. He created a scenario of 2 short days, so I headed to the first stopping place.....the intersection of Hwy 210 and 17.
The more I thought about the route and the short days, I decided to take 210 into Surf City, then walk 210 north to the base. That allows me to be closer to the ocean and pass through some small beach towns. It added about 5 miles to the trip, but there's time for that. I walked into Surf City and found a couple of good camping spots. Then set out to find a place to do some computer stuff. Stopped first at Hardee's, but they had neither wi-fi or an electrical outlet. But I did meet an interesting guy, Lee Autry. He's from Ontario, Canada, and spend half of the year down here, and half up there. He's a retired IT guy also, so we had that in common. Lee comes to Hardee's most every day, and sit and watches the sun set. But no sun today, still cloudy and cold. I decided to look around more and found a local restaurant, Watts Diner. Met Lynn there, and she said I could use the electric outlet, although they didn't have wi-fi.....but I have the air card so can connect through that. I ordered dinner, ate, and worked a while there.
I finally left Watts, looking for another place to hang out. Walked around town for a while, and finally ended up at a local convenience store with an electrical outlet and a table beside it. The woman said it was ok to use it for a while, so I did. Met more people coming into that place, some who had seen me walking into town. Two interesting people who came in to talk, Susan Lee and Tyler Martin. Susan is from the mid-west, and came east to do some sailing. She hooked up with Tyler who has a sail boat, and they are going down the Intercoastal Waterway. Very interesting to talk to them.
My camping spot is only a couple of blocks from here, so when I wrap this up will head there and spend the night. I'll tell you more about that tomorrow, gotta get out of here.
About the pictures:
Try again, next time a little less throttle;
Lynn from Watts Diner with the walkingman;
Intercoastal waterway in Surf City.
Last evening was somewhat of a challenge. I left McDonald's when the rain slowed, and walked a block or so to the camp site. It was near some trailers, so I walked to the closest one to let them know what I was doing. A woman came to the door (which surprised me because I thought she might be afraid to open the door), and I explained to her I was going to put up a tent nearby and just wanted her to know. She was fine with that, so back to putting up the tent. I was under a couple of those live oak trees, which sheltered the site from some of the rain. Soon I had the gear and me inside, spent a little time reading the paper before lights out. I woke up once during the night and noticed the rain had stopped, so was glad of that. I was up at 6, packed quickly because of the radio interview, and was ready at 640. The interview was short and seemed to go ok.
It was time to head out......no particular goals today, I still don't know about walking through Camp Lejeune, so need to resolve that before making some decisions about route. My first stop was at McDonald's for breakfast and read the USA Today. After that I headed north down Bus. Hwy 17. It was cool and cloudy today, but no rain, so I can handle that. The traffic coming into town was heavy, and no shoulder to walk on, so not a pleasant first few miles. I soon was on Hwy 17 (not business), and had a better shoulder and the traffic started to thin out. I decided to call Camp Lejeune to inquire about the request, and after talking to several people, was told I could not walk through the base. So, that's that......a bummer, but I can stay on 17.
I walked another hour or so and the phone rang. The man introduced himself as Frank (that's all), and said he was the Head of Base Operations at Camp Lejeune. The walk through the base has been approved and he wanted to get some details about when I would be there, how long on base, etc. That was really good news......long ago, before so many rules and restrictions, my daughters and I rode our bicycles from VA to Myrtle Beach, and we rode through the base. Since 9/11 (or before), travel is restricted to only those with a pass. Frank and I talked several more times during the day, and decided the best schedule would be to be at the base first thing Thursday morning. The walk is approx. 15 miles, so should take about 5 hours or thereabouts. This is really a highlight of the walk, and thanks to Frank and the CO of Camp Lejeune for making it possible.
I stopped at a Hardee's in a town named Hampstead. Several guys were sitting in a booth in the corner, eyeing this stranger pushing a cart. Finally one of them came over, introduced himself as Jim, and said: "my friends said you were homeless, but I told them you had money!" That started a conversation that lasted a while. Jim (nickname Jabbo) is an adventurer himself. His was mostly on a motorcycle, but he understands why a man would be out walking across the country. A really interesting guy, and we could have talked longer, but the walkingman needs to be walking. My brother Robert is looking over the route to get me to the base on time. He created a scenario of 2 short days, so I headed to the first stopping place.....the intersection of Hwy 210 and 17.
The more I thought about the route and the short days, I decided to take 210 into Surf City, then walk 210 north to the base. That allows me to be closer to the ocean and pass through some small beach towns. It added about 5 miles to the trip, but there's time for that. I walked into Surf City and found a couple of good camping spots. Then set out to find a place to do some computer stuff. Stopped first at Hardee's, but they had neither wi-fi or an electrical outlet. But I did meet an interesting guy, Lee Autry. He's from Ontario, Canada, and spend half of the year down here, and half up there. He's a retired IT guy also, so we had that in common. Lee comes to Hardee's most every day, and sit and watches the sun set. But no sun today, still cloudy and cold. I decided to look around more and found a local restaurant, Watts Diner. Met Lynn there, and she said I could use the electric outlet, although they didn't have wi-fi.....but I have the air card so can connect through that. I ordered dinner, ate, and worked a while there.
I finally left Watts, looking for another place to hang out. Walked around town for a while, and finally ended up at a local convenience store with an electrical outlet and a table beside it. The woman said it was ok to use it for a while, so I did. Met more people coming into that place, some who had seen me walking into town. Two interesting people who came in to talk, Susan Lee and Tyler Martin. Susan is from the mid-west, and came east to do some sailing. She hooked up with Tyler who has a sail boat, and they are going down the Intercoastal Waterway. Very interesting to talk to them.
My camping spot is only a couple of blocks from here, so when I wrap this up will head there and spend the night. I'll tell you more about that tomorrow, gotta get out of here.
About the pictures:
Try again, next time a little less throttle;
Lynn from Watts Diner with the walkingman;
Intercoastal waterway in Surf City.
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