Visit To Gastonia, My Other Hometown

Friday, January 28, 2011

Our visit to Gastonia has been short, but very busy. We arrived from the beach late afternoon Wednesday, and stopped at the Hampton Inn for a room. It was full, as often happens during week days. The Marriott Courtyard across the street had rooms, so we decided to stay there. After checking in, I decided to do a little visiting, so stopped by the Gaston Gazette to see Kevin Ellis. Kevin is the feature writer who did several stories about the walk.....all on the front page of the paper. We had a nice visit, and then next to Lawing Auto Repair, a local garage where I used to hang out while living here. They were good supporters during the walk, calling me several times while I made my way across country.

I left there and stopped in at Minges Printing to see Gene (the owner) and Anita, his right hand (wo)man. Gene and Anita printed the business cards and the posters displayed on the cart. Gene and I have known each other for many years, and always have lots to talk about.....this time was no exception. From there, back to the motel for an evening of TV and computer. Thursday morning I had breakfast in the motel, and headed out for more visiting. Rita needed the car to visit her Mother, so this was the first day I've had a good walk since last week. I walked downtown to the bank and to get a haircut (still get haircut in Gastonia), and then back to Minges Printing to order more business cards and posters for the grandchildren. I hung out there for a while, and then walked back to Lawing Auto for more visiting.

Visited there for a while until lunch time, then Rita and I went to Tony's Ice Cream for lunch. Tony's has been in business in Gastonia since 1915, and it feels like the 1950's when you walk in the place. After lunch, drove her back to her Mother's, and back to visiting. Stopped by to see my buddy, Mike Friday, for a while. Then back to Minges printing to pick up the order (they did a rush job for me since I'm leaving for VA tomorrow.) Then went to pick up Rita, and visit my mother-in-law for a while. She is in her 90's, living in an assisted living home, and struggles to understand exactly why I was walking across the USA.....I can only imagine. Then back to the motel to rest a while before dinner.

Jack Bradshaw had invited us to dinner with him, his wife Patsy, and Jon and Laura Childs. We met them at 6, had a nice meal and lots of talking about the walk, and happenings in and around Gastonia. Jack and Jon were two supporters of the walk......both came out on the road to visit and walk with me, and Jack and Patsy had me stay in their condo at N. Myrtle Beach. Both are "walkers" themselves. It was great to see them. After dinner, we stopped by the grocery store to get a supply of my soda of choice, Sun-Drop......can't get them in VA. Then back to the motel and start getting ready to head out tomorrow. It's always busy when we come down here.

We were up early this morning, ate breakfast, and headed out to run a few more errands. Then drove to Charlotte for the interview with Keith Larson.....which was a little disappointing. It almost appeared he wasn't expecting me or something, the interview was over before it really got started. Oh well, guess the walk is old news now! Then drove back to VA......it's the first time I've been home since late August. Some snow on the ground, but not much.....but it's cold. It'll take weeks to get all my stuff straightened out, so there'll be no time for "walk" lag for a while. It'll be nice to get back into some type of routine. Over the next few weeks I'll be visiting the students who have been following the blog, plus have been asked to speak to a men's class at a church in Cherryville, NC. So, still a few things going on that allows me to ease out of the walking mode, rather than stop immediately.

About the pictures:
Jon and Laura Childs, Jack and Patsy Bradshaw;
Gene and Anita, Minges Printing;
Charles Faulkner, Spindle Center Barber Shop;
Tony's Ice Cream.

Leaving The Beach

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

The couple of days at N. Topsail Beach was nice and relaxing. Thanks to one of the blog followers, John Woods, for allowing us to use his place. The weather was less than ideal, but that's what you get on the East Coast during the winter months. We visited my cousin, Nancy Dudley in St. James Plantation, and my brother Robert, in Carolina Beach. Robert drove us out on the beach in his Jeep, and that was fun. Because of the weather I haven't walked for a couple of days (already getting soft!), but hope to be able to when I get to Gastonia. We'll pack up this morning and head west to Gastonia for a couple of days, then on to VA on Friday.

I will be doing an "in studio" interview on the Keith Larson Show on Friday morning, January 28, at 11am. Keith is on WBT 1110 in Charlotte, NC. I hope you will be able to listen in, if not, we'll try to put a link on the blog. The pictures are: The walkingman in front of John Woods' house in N. Topsail Beach; Mayor Art Schools of Emerald Isle presenting the key to the city. (do I look pleased or not?)

Winding Down

Monday, January 24, 2011

The celebration at Emerald Isle was quite an occasion. Mayor Schools and others did a great job making the family and me feel welcome. And the snow was a bonus....I think the unofficial tally was 7 inches. The beach was beautiful, and the sunset Saturday evening was brilliant. The children and their families left on Sunday, and Rita and I just hung out. We walked for a while on the beach (I found a sand dollar!), and of course I watched the football games.

This morning we'll pack up and move to another beach house in N. Topsail Beach for a couple more days, before driving to Gastonia to visit friends and family. Then, back to Daleville on the weekend. On Monday, January, 31, 815am, I will be doing a radio interview with Ben Ball on the morning show "Coastal Daybreak", out of Morehead City, NC. The station is "The Talk Station, WTKF-FM, WJNC-AM". Here are a couple of new links:

A video that granddaughter Abby did at her school in Apex, NC. We could never get the video to load on Youtube, so just filmed it off the screen and loaded that way. The quality suffered some, but still you can see it.

An article by Kevin Ellis in the Gaston Gazette.

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.

Day 145 - The Day Before The Last Day.

Friday, January 21, 2011

Last night was restful, being inside in the utility building. The woman who runs the business, Cathy, came by Burger King while I was still there, and said I could stay in any of the buildings.....so I got an "upgrade" for no extra charge. I walked over and was looking through each one when Jack Bradshaw called, and we had a good laugh about the buildings. Turned out they were not cold like the bus, so that was good. I read the paper for a while, but soon was asleep due to lack of sleep the previous night. The family is coming down today, and I will spend one more night in the tent before seeing them tomorrow. My goal today is just walk a few miles, find a camping spot, and get ready for tomorrow.

The first stop was at Burger King for breakfast and the USA Today paper. Hung out there for a while and started walking toward Swansboro. News about the walk has been in the local papers, so lots of people waving and tooting their horns. A guy came out of his house and crossed the street to talk. Introduced himself as James Baggs, a resident of Swansboro since 1946 (or of this area). He was quite an interesting guy and we must have talked 30 minutes or more......what's the hurry? The mayor of Emerald Isle, Art Schools, stopped by to check how things were going, and he stayed and talked a while. I eventually headed out, with much more knowledge of the area than I had before meeting James. I passed by the historic district of Swansboro, and snapped a few pictures. then crossed over the White Oak River into a small community named Cedar Point.

I saw some young people working on a project near the waterfront, and walked down to check things out. Turns out they are students from UNC-W, working on a project to determine the right size to build artificial reefs for oyster beds. The students introduced themselves as Mark (it was his project), Katherine, Anne, and Luke. They were shoveling shells into baskets, and going to take the baskets out in the water and create an oyster reef. Nice students, and an interesting project. While I was there, a reporter for WITN, Channel 7 out of Jacksonville, Amanda Paul, came and did a story about the walk. Amanda was a pleasure to talk with, and did a great job with the interview. It was supposed to be on TV this afternoon around 5-6, but I didn't get to watch it. Maybe it's on their website. If someone finds it, pls comment with the link.

You know, I've driven these roads for years, but it's amazing the things I'm seeing today that I've never noticed before. I have about decided to not go on the island until tomorrow morning, so started looking for a place to camp near the bridge. Frank Rush, Emerald Isle Town Manager, called and I told him I might camp over here. He suggested somewhere near the Visitor's Center near the bridge. I went in there and introduced myself to Mary Licko, and her husband Bill. If you're ever a walkingman, Mary is the kind of person you look for along the roads. She was ok with me putting up the tent there, and even suggested I could use the facilities at the center. I set the tent up in the back of the building, and about that time things started getting crazy......in a nice way.

People starting coming in to visit me, phone calls from both friends and reporters, and about everything else. Two women from the Swansboro Area Chamber of Commerce came in, introduced themselves as Donna Hammond and Sherri Hitchcock-Hutson. We talked a while and before long they were inviting me to lunch at a great little place in Swansboro, Church Street Deli. I had soup, a ham sandwich with cheddar and horseradish, and bread pudding for dessert. A great meal and good company. While there, a woman came in with 2 children who wanted to see this man who just walked across the USA. They had lots of questions, and we had fun talking. Mary from the visitor's center called and told us there was a photographer waiting there to take some pictures. He was from a sister paper to the Gaston Gazette, and both papers will run the article. (I said it was crazy today.)

Frank Rush stopped by to say hello, and he had lots of questions. Frank is an outdoors person, so was interested in the walk. Denise Ziegler of Emerald Isle stopped by and brought her two daughters, Abby and Addison, to visit the walkingman. We had fun talking and Denise took a couple of pictures. They left and soon it was time for Mary to leave, but she left me with one piece of advice: "there's a dark side to being a celebrity, so don't fall into that trap!" I knew when I first saw her, Mary was going to keep me out of trouble. The family has arrived now, and I've been hiding from them until tomorrow.....plus, those Cooley girls could be most anywhere. My daughter Julie spotted my hidden tent almost immediately, and sent me a text message, "i c u"......so much for hiding. So instead of being in a nice house on the beach with them, it's the tent for me tonight.

So many people have called over the past few days, some I had to cut short the conversation, others I couldn't even answer. But, I'll call you back soon and we'll talk. Also, Kevin Ellis of the Gaston Gazette called to give me some info about an article. He's done several great articles about the walk in the Gazette. Kevin just recently lost his wife after a battle with cancer, so I'm certainly been thinking of him the past week or so.

About the pictures:
Abby and Addison Ziegler, and the Walkingman, in front of the last camp site....taken by Denise, their mother;
Anne, Luke, Mark, and Katherine (l-r), shoveling shells;
Swansboro historic marker

Day 144 - Swansboro, NC

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Last night was interesting....I had a great place to camp, and electricity inside the tent, but at times thought I was being invaded. Helicopters seemed close enough that they were right over the tent, and more than once I jumped off the sleeping bag pad when a loud "boom" sounded from one of the big artillery pieces across the river. It was not real cold when I got into the tent, but during the night seemed to get more so. I woke up before 5......wasn't going to be late for my 7am appointment at the south back gate on Camp Lejeune. My goal today is get through the camp (15 miles) without any incidents, and then go as far as I can after that. It now appears I will beat the Saturday stagecoach to Emerald Isle, so maybe I'll just chill for a day.

The amount of traffic going into the base between 6-8 is amazing......it's backed up at least a half mile, and maybe farther. But I'm walking in the "out" lane, so not much stopping me. Frank passed me on the bridge and said he'd meet me at the main gate. The security people were expecting me, and directed me to a place where I would be safe from the traffic. Frank had the guest pass ready, but we had to wait a few minutes for the waiver form to come that releases the armed forces from any responsibility in case of an accident. With all forms signed and in place, the security officer asked me to wait a few more minutes until the sun rose a little more. I finally headed out around 730.

For the first mile or so the traffic was pretty heavy, but soon it had thinned out and only a few vehicles were passing me. It's a nice road, tree lined, clean, and little traffic. I could hear and see the helicopters overhead, and the loud sounds of both small arm and artillery fire. Occasionally there would be a wide strip of concrete across the blacktop......this is where the tanks cross the road, and the concrete keeps them from tearing up the pavement. I was a little apprehensive about getting on the wrong road, but the roads are well marked......almost no risk of getting lost. Frank came out to check on my progress, and we talked a while, and he went back to work. I passed a sign for Onslow Beach along the way.....don't think I've ever been there. I only stopped to rest once, and then for a short time, and was at the other gate at 12 noon......at least 1 - 1.5 hrs sooner than I expected.

I talked a while with the security people, then called Frank to let him know I was off base. Many thanks to Frank Accevedo, Head of Base Operations, for handling the logistics of the walk, and to Commanding Officer Col. Lecci for approving the request. It was just a walk down Hwy 172, but being in Camp Lejeune made it a special part of the trip. I turned onto Bear Creek Rd, a 3 mile walk to Queen Creek Rd. I saw 4 horses in a field and they came to the fence. I happened to have some mints, and offered one to the biggest horse. He knew how to eat it, and was soon crunching away. When I tried to give one to the other horses, the big one would push them away. So, he was the only one to get mints today.

I called Ken Schroder, who lives with wife Betty east of Selma. Ken had given me his number and asked that I call sometime to update him on the walk. He said they were just talking about me today, and Ken told me Betty had asked, "do you think we will hear from him again?" Well, Betty has her answer now. Betty had seen me in Subway, started to ask what I was doing, but didn't. Then she went home and told Ken to find me and see what was going on. A very nice couple. I've also passed some cotton fields today......now have seen cotton being grown in every state from AZ to NC. And I thought cotton was no longer grown in the USA. I haven't seen armadillo in NC, nor coyote....and that's a good thing. In the past couple of days I've lost my coyote stick, so have no defense against them except bare hands! Not sure where I left it, but it's not the first thing left behind on the trip.

I turned on Queen's Creek Rd for the final 4 miles to Swansboro. Saw a group of guys doing utility work, and one of them stopped me and said he'd seen an article in the paper about the walk, and they were just talking about it......and I walk up. We talked a while, and I moved on. Queen's Creek Rd is busier than Bear Creek, and the school buses were running. The walk into Swansboro was not as pleasant as the rest of the day. I soon came to Hwy 24, and stopped at Burger King to have lunch. Noticed a booth with an outlet, asked if I could use it, and settled in to work on the computer. I met a nice young man working there named Sebastian, and he came over to talk for a while. Sebastian graduated from high school at age 15 (!), and has lived in Hawaii previously. His shift had just ended and he was waiting for a ride home.....which never seemed to come. He had a car, but his mother wrecked it (his story!)......that's a switch.

It was getting late and I needed to find a camp site, so started looking around in the immediate area. There was a business nearby that sells carports and storage buildings.......Carolina Carports. It has some nice grassy areas in among the buildings, so I asked the owner if I could put a tent in there. "That's fine, but I have an empty building in back, and you can use that if you want," was her response. Is this going to be another Greyhound bus deal?) I checked out the building and decided to take her up on that.) So, will be inside tonight, right beside Burger King. I'll let you know tomorrow how that works out.

I probably have less than 15 miles left to walk. Will do a very short day tomorrow, and finish on Saturday. Can you believe it?

About the pictures:
My guest house for tonight;
A scene on Queen's Creek;
The evening crew at BK, Swansboro.

Day 143 - Snead's Ferry, NC

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

I finally left the convenience store sometime after 9 last evening and walked the couple of blocks to the local park where I had decided to camp. I chose a spot that was dry (some of the ground was soggy from recent rains), and not so obvious to passersby. I soon had the tent up, and gear and myself inside. The camp site is right beside the Intercoastal Waterway, and I think that's Susan and Tyler's sailboat anchored just out from the park. I woke this morning to the sound of rain on the tent. Not hard, but enough to make packing the tent and gear a little messier. Plus, I don't like packing the tent when wet, but not much to do about that now. It was still a little dark when I headed out, first stop Hardees for breakfast. I sat there for a while waiting for the rain to stop, and finally crossed the street to a convenience store to find a paper. Still raining, so I sat there for a while, and the sky began to get lighter......so maybe today won't be to bad. The destination for today is somewhere near Camp Lejeune.

The walk on Hwy 210 along the ocean is much nicer than dealing with the traffic on Hwy 17. I hear the roar of the ocean rather than 18 wheelers. It soon stopped raining, but still cloudy and cold. But there are bicycle lanes on both sides of the road and little traffic, so nice walking. After Surf City Beach comes North Topsail Beach, and then a bridge leaving Topsail Island. After a couple more miles I came to Snead's Ferry, and stopped at a Holiday Inn Express to ask about using their wi-fi. They charge for that, and I was glad to pay the nominal fee. In fact, prefer to pay a little something to use their facilities. I sat there a couple of hours doing computer stuff, and then headed out....still a couple of miles before I get to Hwy 172. The motel is located a little out of the way from businesses, and I thought that a little strange. But, there's a golf course nearby, and lots of people out playing......so, think that's where they get lots of customers.

I received a call from TV station WNCT in Morehead City, and the reporter, Smitha Rao, wanted to come out to do an interview for the local news. I told her where I was heading, so she said she would meet me somewhere near the intersection of Hwys 210 and 172. I got there first, and hung around until she arrived. While waiting I hung the tent out to dry for a while. Smitha arrived, we did the interview. I'll put a link on the blog. I started down 172 toward Camp Lejeune. Along the way I passed an interesting looking place named Yopp's Meeting House, est. in 1813. After a couple more miles I saw the bridge that spans the New River, and across the river, the Back Gate Guard Station. I didn't see any places to camp on the base side of the river, but did see an RV Park and Marina on the west side. I stopped and inquired about a camp site for the night. I was told by a permanent resident that the owner goes out of town during the winter, so if I wanted to stay the night, that was fine.

The resident's wife helped me find a spot (with electricity), and soon I had the tent up, with gear inside. The woman let me use an extension cord to run to the tent so I could charge the computer and phone. The site is just across the river from the Marine base, maybe 1/2 mile or so. They are training this evening, so lots of weapons firing, helicopters flying around, and artillery booming. I feel really safe in the tent this evening. Tomorrow morning at 7 I will be at the back gate, meet Frank with the pass, and head out for the 15 mile trek across the base. I'm really looking forward to that.

About the pictures:
Mick from Monroe, LA;
Drying the tent;
Yopps Meeting House.