Day 146 - Emerald Isle, NC

Saturday, January 22, 2011

As you might could imagine, sleeping didn't come easy last night. The closer I moved to the final destination, the more thinking I was doing in the evenings. That, plus fewer miles during the day makes me less tired in the evening. But I was asleep when the wake up call came at 6, and soon was up and getting things in order for the final few miles to the Bogue Inlet Pier. It was cold last evening, really cold, and there are predictions of several inches of snow today. There was a Hardee's across the road, so I walked over there for breakfast, and soon was back at the visitor's center getting everything ready. A guy who lives nearby, Bill Ennett, stopped by and brought me a cup of coffee. The mayor of Emerald Isle, Art Schools, arrived, took a few pictures, and I started the final 3+ miles at 830.

Traffic was light on Hwy 58, and there is a good shoulder for walking. There's been a good bit of publicity in the area about the walk, so lots of people were driving by waving, honking their horns, and stopping to take pictures. As I topped the bridge leading onto the island, I saw several cars parked on the other side of the bridge, waiting to talk and take pictures. This is the last "hill" of the walk. As I reached the other side, the mayor and others were there to take more pictures. Jon Childs and his wife Laura from Gastonia had come down for the final day.....and they were there. A woman and her daughter came up, introduced themselves, and asked if the daughter could ask me some questions about the trip. She was doing a classroom project about the walk.

All along the walk people were stopping to say hello, standing along the road waving, and taking pictures. A guy named Steven approached and asked to walk along for a while. A woman on a bike approached and walked a while. By this time I was very surprised and excited by the number of people who were out for the walk. As I neared the final turn to Bogue Inlet Pier, the mayor alerted 2 police cars who would escort me the final 1/4 mile or so. I soon saw the sign for the pier and the crowd waiting to greet the walkingman. I spotted the family, and it was a happy reunion. Everyone talked for a while, the mayor gave me a key to the city and said I was only the third person to ever receive one.......what an honor and thrill. We walked out on the pier, and the grandchildren poured the Pacific Ocean water that I carried across country, into the Atlantic.

It was snowing harder, and the crowd was leaving, so we packed up the cart and other stuff and headed to the house. Emerald Isle Realty provided a house for the family for 3 nights......a beautiful place on the ocean and lots of room. Lots to talk about, and everyone was happy about the day's events. Kevin Ellis from the Gaston Gazette called to interview me for another article in the paper. Mayor Schools and others in the area really made us all feel welcome......a perfect ending to an perfect adventure.

Over the next several weeks I'll be posting new entries to the blog about different stuff. Just things I want to share that I didn't have time to do. Plus, will be adding more pictures along with descriptions, and "cleaning" up the blog where needed. Some of the people who are following it are new to the blog, so they are still catching up on the story. I hope you will continue to read it and offer comments, questions, etc.

About the pictures:
Finally, Emerald Isle;
Pacific Ocean into the Atlantic;
A sign the family made;
Some of the crowd waiting for the walkingman;
A video of the final few steps.