Mike K, one of the really good guys.

Now settle down all you Dookies out there, this isn't your Mike K. This is Mike Killebrew , assistant city manager and goodwill ambassador for Dana Point, CA and just an all around nice guy.

Since Mike first heard of my walk, he called me up and offered to provide any support needed while we were in his area. He has more than lived up to his word. On our first day there, he called us up and arranged a tour of Dana Point. He took us by stores to let us buy supplies that we needed, rode us back to our hotel, and also had a great BBQ place to recommend. He also said that if we had any problems within a couple hundred miles of him, to not hesitate to call and he would be glad to help us out.

But the nicest thing he did for us was offer to carry our walking cart to Lake Elsinore and meet us on Wednesday afternoon. It would have been impossible for us to push the cart up the narrow, twisted roads we traveled on today.

It is hard to believe that someone you didn't know a few days ago would offer so much help. Thank you Mike, you helped us get over the hardest part of our journey!

David at San Juan Capistrano Best Western

We were concerned about our first two days on Ortega Highway from San Juan Capistrano to Lake Elsinore. I went to the front desk of Best Western this morning to speak with someone about this highway and it was there I met David. David told me that the highway had a lot of turns and traffic and it could be dangerous.

David offered to drive Alan and I up the highway at 7:00 am when his shift ended to let us see for ourselves and to also show us a few camping spots that were not marked on the map. The road was just as David described, so we decided for the first two days to not bring the cart, only what we could carry on our backs.

Mike Killebrew, the assistant city manager of Dana Point, offered to drive our cart on Wednesday afternoon to Lake Elsinore and meet us there.

This is the kind of support that we hope to get along our trip. Thanks to David and Mike for helping us get off to a great start.

Written by Julie , as told by Jeff

T-Shirts

Some of you have inquired about t-shirts mentioned in a previous post. If you are interested, send an email to Walkingman2011@Hotmail.com for a list of sizes and colors available. The design is big logo on the back, small logo on the front. The cost is $15 and that includes shipping within the USA.

I think I can, I think I can.....

Do you remember the story about the little red steam engine? That's about the way I'm feeling right now. I've "talked the talk", it'll soon be time to "walk the walk." All the planning is done, hundreds of questions have been asked, and maps have been studied. Some things will have been overlooked, but hopefully nothing major. I'm ready to go. Ready to get some miles and days behind me, and get settled into a comfortable routine. Ready to learn how much food and water is needed in a day, and how many miles my body can take.....and how often I need rest.

I have few, if any "fears" about the trip.......I do worry about traffic since we'll be primarily traveling roads. In fact, the first 2 days could have heavy traffic, so I'm anxious to get that behind us. And, I worry if my body can take the daily grind for 200 or so days. But, I am prepared to extend the walk past March, 2011, if more rest days are needed.

Much will happen in the 7 or so months I will be on the road. Seasons will change from Summer to Fall to Winter to Spring. I'll miss going to the NC State Fair in October with Julie and her family, that's always a fun time. I'll miss Christmas with the family, and can't ever remember that happening. (will Santa be able to find us on the road?) There will be family birthdays and anniversaries, and other holidays that I will miss. And being somewhat of a sport's fan, the entire NFL season will come and go, as well as the college football and basketball seasons.

Julie asked recently if I would miss watching TV. After thinking about it for a few seconds, I decided TV is something I do when there is nothing else to do. If my life was a meal, TV would be the loaf of bread or basket of hushpuppies that's brought out while our order is being prepared. Something, that if it's there, is fine, but also ok if it's not. Something that will fill us up if we're not careful, and keep us from enjoying what we really came for. So, no, I won't miss TV.......don't want to spoil the real meal.

Since word has spread about the walk, the favorable comments and well wishes from people interested in this adventure have been a pleasant surprise. Your support and energy will play a big role in helping me complete the walk. I hope you'll continue to communicate throughout the walk. There have also been newspaper and radio interviews, which you can read/hear via the links on the blog. It's been loads of fun, and kinda hate that part will end.

If you want to communicate, there are several ways: comments on the blog; send an email to walkingman2011@hotmail.com; or call my cell phone, 540-339-2531. The phone will probably be the most unreliable due to either low battery or no towers, but leave a msg and I will return your call.

My next post will be from the road, Mile 0, Dana Point, CA. I'll leave you for now with another one of those Chinese sayings. I "get" it, and hope you do also. Talk to you soon.........

"May you have a long and happy life, and die still young."

Sharon, The UPS Lady

For the past 45 days or so, I've been pondering the best way to get the cart and other stuff to the west coast. The cart, although not too heavy, is an odd shape, and I just could never find the right box to put it in, or the best method to ship it. I investigated shipping by rail, airline, independent trucking, US mail, and of course UPS. Figuring all the time, if I kept asking questions, someone would have the answer, and maybe I'd save a few bucks.

Some of them got pretty fed up with my questions, and pretty much told me something to the effect, "I really don't care what you do with your cart, but if you want to buy a box I'll sell you a box." But not Sharon, manager of the Daleville UPS Store. I must have taken the cart into her store a half-a-dozen times, asking questions like, "what if we take the wheels off", or "take the handle bars off", or "turn it this way or that", or "put two boxes together", and on and on.

She never (visably) became frustrated with my questions, even though she had adequate reason. After I'd asked all the questions, and turned to leave, she'd always say, "you'll figure it out." And, we did, as you can see by the picture. That's Sharon, leaning on the box containing the cart and other stuff.

I believe maybe if you looked up the word patience in the dictionary, there might be a picture of Sharon somewhere in the definition. Thanks Sharon, you did your part, I'll work hard to see your time wasn't wasted. Heck, maybe I'll just give you that old cart when I'm thru with it!

Family Support

Over my life I've done some pretty "off the wall" things, this walk being just the latest. But my family continues to support my adventures, even though they are very busy with their own lives. The latest example is t-shirts my son Jeff and his wife Michelle had made for Alan and me to wear, and to pass out along the walk, and for the family to wear showing their support (logo pictured). I really wanted this walk to be for and about them and lots of people, not just the 2 doing the walking.

The shirts were designed and produced by Cotton Connection in Lynchburg, VA. H.B. Adkins is the owner, and Rachel and Nathan are the artists. My granddaughter Lauren thinks the image of the walker even looks like me. Great job, thanks for your work.

Hopefully, if social security stays solvent, and......

the stock market doesn't completely crash, this will be the only type of business card I'll need in the future. I had these printed to hand out along the way, thinking it will add some credibility to two grubby looking guys pushing a cart loaded with lots of stuff. A friend in Gastonia, Gene Minges, of Minges Printing, designed and printed the cards.....as well as a couple of posters to hang on the cart. Thanks Gene and Anita for producing the cards.

Three weeks now until the walk starts. I'm flying out of Charlotte, NC, Sunday morning, August 29. Alan will arrive in LA later that day, and we'll have to find a way from LAX to San Juan Capistrano. On Monday we'll do some organizing, walk to Dana Point and back (about 6-8 miles round trip), buy a few supplies, and do a little sightseeing. Tuesday morning, August 31, we will head East to our first destination, Lake Elsinor, CA.......about 2 days walk.

Most everything is packed and ready to go. I loaded up the backpack, slung it on my back, and it felt like I had 50 or more pounds in it. Turned out it was less than 20 (!), so even a little bit of stuff can feel heavy. Hopefully most of the time it'll be riding on the cart, and not on my back. The cart has been disassembled, ready for shipping to the west coast.

Other than that, not much left to do. Finalizing a few things around the house, and continuing to look over maps, and get Google directions, to plot out the best route. Google does both walking and driving directions, and it can get confusing. There can be several routes, each with a different twist. It's very easy to get bogged down in this.

I can't seem to resolve how to get from Cabazon, CA, to CA-62, a distance of approx. 10 miles. I-10 is the driving route, but walkers are not allowed on the interstate. There appears to be a frontage road that runs over half the distance, but not sure beyond that. Might have to walk along side the interstate.........is the desert dirt or sand? Would hate to pull the cart thru sand! But, am sure the locals will have some suggestions of how to get there. Just a few miles in a long trip.

There are 3 new links on the blog: "Where we've been", and "Where we're going", "Walk Across America Pictures." "Where we've been" will show locations that were marked with the SPOT II gps locator device. Each entry will stay on the page for 7 days. "Where we're going" is the web address of the next major destination. The pictures link is to a Flikr account where, hopefully, I will be able to upload some pictures along the route. Check these out.

That's all for now.......