When people ask me what the greatest “thing” about walking across America has been, I don’t even hesitate in answering them: “the people!”.
In the summer of 2009, before taking the first steps of the Walk, I figured that a nine-month time frame would be long enough to finish my smiley-face route from Washington to Washington. Mathematically, I figured that by walking 20 miles per day, six days per week, I’d maintain a pace of 120 miles weekly, and burn through 4,500 miles in nine months. On paper, that plan sounded great. In practice, however, the best decision I’ve made since Day 1 was to completely scrap that original nine-month timeline.
Just a week into the Walk, after staying overnight for the very first time in the homes of friends Jim, Sam and Frank, I was already realizing the richness of interpersonal experiences I was earning from the project. One week in, in Salem, Oregon, I stayed two nights with Steve & Eileen, cousins of my stepmother, and suddenly felt a strong connection with these previously-distant family members. Jodi & John Alterndorf, a Corvallis, Oregon baby boomer couple, hosted me during my second week on the road, without even having previously met me. The rapport grew like wildfire, and three years later, I still look forward to returning to visit them again.
By the time I met veteran long-distance walker Skip Potts, half a month into my journey, I shared with him my concern that walking across America could be done far too fast. Skip understood, and before we parted, he wisely advised me to not get caught up in dates and deadlines. “Let the experience unfold on its own.”
As I aim to inspire others across the miles, I needed to allow the necessary time for the magic of the miles to enlighten me as well.
That said, while I found the words and ideas attractive immediately, and they planted a strong seed of inspiration within me, I also wasn’t about to shake my solid momentum of the “nine-month Walk plan” very quickly. It took several weeks and several hundred more miles to achieve that.
After crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, on November 22, 2009, having raced my way through the ultra-magical northern California redwoods, Sonoma vineyards and Marin peacescapes, I was ready to relinquish what had become a ball and chain of a self-imposed deadline.
Looking back, nearly three years and over three thousand miles later, I can’t thank myself enough for having done so. Regarding the Walk– the greatest decision I’ve made was to actually follow my soul’s calling to embark on this Walk of Inspiration Across America. The second greatest– and sweetest since the miles began, was to slow it down.
Slowing down the miles was like stopping to open the windows of what was becoming a stuffy cage of self-imposed rules and regulations. Suddenly I had a chance to breathe. I’ve even “gone outside” a few times. At the urgence of my family, late in December, 2009, I left off at the corner of Tyler & Pearl Streets in Monterey, California, (later to return to that exact corner,) to come home and spend Christmas with my Grandfather, George, for whom I was named. This was to be my last visit with Grandpa George, a dear visit I’ll always remember.
In June of 2010, I returned again for Grandpa George’s funeral, and spent ample time with family. I said goodbye to Grandpa John, my maternal grandfather, before returning to the road later that year, and then returned home for the last time for Grandpa John’s memorial service during the summer of 2011. I’ve been on the road ever since.
Every time I’ve been called home, I’ve always returned from the exact point at which I left off, and continued on foot from there, connecting each and every step. From the Pacific Ocean, with the exception of two very dangerous bridges in Louisiana, I’ve connected 100% of the steps to where I am now, Atlanta, and I’ll continue to walk all the steps till I reach the White House.
I’ve spent extra time with family and friends in nearly every state since the grand Golden Gate. I’ve made time to get to know and to love so many of America’s distinct corners, to speak to classes, to catch up on communications, and form bonds with a fascinating variety of people.
I’ve been earning an astoundingly awesome education– which classrooms and paper could never come close to giving me. I’ve spent time with rich and poor, cowboys and bankers, doctors and dirt movers– and I’ve found appreciation for every one of them. I’ve spent weeks in large and small towns across the American landscape, allowing me time enough to get to know and appreciate a variety of people in each location, and just long enough for each of these places to begin to feel like “home.” “Home” now seems to be every state I’ve walked through.
Today, the road has become my home– and the sweet souls who’ve dotted my path with their smiling hearts across thousands of miles are all my family.
Expanding the timeframe of Walk has easily been the best decision since embarking on this incredible journey– it has allowed me to spend ample time with wonderful people in more places than I can count across these thousands of miles. Though a lot of hard work is involved, I’m truly living a dream. I couldn’t imagine any greater way to EnjoyTheWalk!!
