When the idea of staying overnight at the homes of people you only meet via the internet (and haven’t yet met in person) first reached my ears, my automatic response was to be highly skeptical, probably somewhat fearful. However, through my recent, earlier-in-2009 travels through Mexico and Central America, I kept running into some of the most trustworthy, fun and open-minded people who were directing me toward Couchsurfing.org.

Had I become some Silicon Valley techie multi-millionaire in my 20′s, and had I still decided to embark on this Walk of Inspiration Across America, I don’t believe I would have even considered an idea like Couchsurfing– scheduling homestays with people you’ve never met and have no connection to. I was walking on a needle-thin budget, however, and given that Couchsurfing had been so emphatically applauded to me by some very admirable friends, I decided to create my own profile and look up some potential hosts within Oregon, the first state I was to fully walk across on foot.
Looking at Canby for CSers, I found Mike & Wilma Bruno, who were my age and both spoke English & Brazilian Portuguese, languages I speak as well. I contacted them via the website, and they invited me into their Canby home for my first overnight stay on CS.
I was a bit nervous as I walked into Canby this Thursday afternoon from Lake Oswego, but as I arrived to our slated meeting point, Mike stepped out of his car to greet me with the warmest handshake in the world. The look on his face was one of greeting a good old family whom he hadn’t seen in a very long time. I was sold immediately.
Mike & Wilma treated me to dinner at one of their favorite local restaurants, before taking me back to their handmade home, in the woods outside of town.

Mike made the house they live in, which features an outdoor outhouse, ladder to the upstairs loft (where they sleep). The house is bound with wooden nails.
They made sure I had plenty of blankets for a comfortable night’s sleep on the downstairs couch, and I nodded off shortly after they retired upstairs.
After a very restful and refreshing night’s sleep, I heard a calm, gentle voice call my name: “George– George, are you awake?” at the breaking of dawn. I opened my eyes to the sound of an owl, hooting in the trees just outdoors. There was no one near me.

Mike & Wilma proceeded to make me a delicious lunch for the road the following morning, before returning me to last night’s stopping point.

I’m eager to stay in touch with Mike & Wilma across the miles, and visit them again upon finishing the Walk.

Thanks So Much, Mike & Wilma!!

Mike & Wilma Bruno, and their newborn baby girl. (This pic was taken a year after they hosted me in Canby.)

Here is a three-minute video in which I speak about my Couchsurfing experiences. The video was made in South Carolina, in the fall of 2012, by aspiring documentarian Daniel McCord, three years after this first Couchsurfing experience, with Mike & Wilma Bruno.