This tiny community church isn’t situated within the most economically prosperous corner of town, with protective bars on its windows, etc. That said, I find myself fascinated with the thought of what a Sunday or other weekday service must be like here– for even if it’s the greatest sermon in the world, we know that given that this is not big, fancy and glassy church, the cover of this book alone would keep many from being interested in attending. And some of the greatest pearls emerge from the crustiest of shells…

Thank You Jermaine and (son) David, for stopping me on the side of the road today, and ensuring I had enough water by going in and getting some for me!

Tuan Le invited me into his restaurant, Basil and Lime, for my first-ever bowl of Vietnamese pho soup. I absolutely loved it, and if I were to live in the Research Triangle, I would definitely return again and again. That said, as I already have a penchant for foods from afar, I look forward to eating Vietnamese many more times throughout my remaining years…

Delicious Vietnamese Pho soup! Thanks, Tuan!!

At the end of Thursday night’s walk, almost all the way back to the home of hosts Steve & Phil, I spotted a man with a large backpack and a dog, half a block ahead of me.
Homeless youths can be found everywhere USA– they often carry large backpacks, and many times pit bulls and/or other dogs as well. Sadly, the dingy, dirty homeless young adults that we often see roaming the streets carry the pain of drug addiction in their eyes as well as their footsteps. The man in front of me exhibited none of this pain, however, and I was extra-curious about his story, so I caught up to him for a friendly evening chat.
His name is Cory, and Cory’s long beard and welcoming smile remind me of my friend and former host, filmmaker Daniel McCord. Cory is in his 30′s and has been living “on the road” since he was 18. He doesn’t drink, and his appearance and energetic visage make his words very easy to believe. He has friends in many parts of the country, many of whom invite him in when he’s in town, and he often works as well. Nonetheless, he’s chosen to not permanently settle anywhere. When on the road, he avoids places that have a high concentration of homeless, as he knows that the intra-homeless world can be a very dangerously Darwinian one.
He’d recently arrived from the Carolina coast, and was looking to hitchhike or “catch” a train to Asheville.
Cory’s life appeared to be one of awesome adventures– a life that I’m sure would be fascinating to accompany for a few weeks. Hmmm… maybe someday I join such a person for a few weeks to simply get a glimpse of what living such a life is like..?
I wish him well on his path…

More to come…

“I was just getting tired of writing prescriptions…” Dr. Michael Sharp explains to me this morning, when asked of why he decided several years ago to expand his practice well beyond what he’d learned as a graduate of Harvard Medical School, and as a professor at the UNC School of Medicine.

Years ago, many of Dr. Sharp’s patients came to him reporting positive results from a number of other approaches they’d been trying, including naturopathy, Chinese medicine, and a variety of other “alternative” approaches to medicine. So, Dr. Sharp decided to begin studying these approaches to medicine as well, and ultimately discovered that the standard American MD approach is a very limited and restricted window through which health care can be practiced.
He now believes in a variety of other approaches, rarely prescribes drugs, examines a patient’s diet, activities, stress load and more to get a much broader picture of a patient’s life, rather than just treating the symptoms themselves.
Recently, I’ve been taking the time to contact and interview a number of health care professionals who practice well beyond the limited window of everyday “sick care” which so many of us have come to know as “health care” in America. I’ve been learning many fascinating things; and, after the Walk, I plan to work on interviewing, editing and sharing more from currently practicing “integrative” health care professionals
After interviewing Dr. Sharp at his home-based office, I had and was able to take advantage of a spur-of-the-moment opportunity to spend time with and interview Kathleen, his health coach wife, and healthy-promoting friends of hers as well.

They ended up inviting me to a delicious home-cooked meal before returning me to hosts Steve & Phil.

What great people! Thank You, Dr. Sharp, Kathleen, Beth and Patricia for your time!

What a wonderful experience of speaking to nine distinct groups of classes throughout today at Carrboro’s Frank Porter Graham Elementary School. Over a week ago, learning that host Phil Son works for Chapel Hill and Carrboro public schools, I invited him to forward my information to local schools. He did, and Nurse Janice Anderson of Frank Porter Graham Elementary invited me in, organizing nine distinct groupings of classes for me to speak to throughout the day. This resulted in one of the most fun and filling day’s worth of school speaking appearances yet, as I spent the entire day speaking to all grades, from kindergarten through fifth grade. Mrs. Robinson’s second-grade class even followed up by drawing me pictures and writing me thank you letters– WOW!!!

What a magical experience!!!

Andrea & Tommy, who hosted me in High Point, had told me that they’d like to catch up with me before I leave North Carolina. As they’re both from Florida, they also both wanted to visit North Carolina’s Research Triangle, so today is the day the slated to come and visit me in the Durham-Chapel Hill area.  We’ll be meeting up slightly outside the Triangle, and I really look forward to it!

Tomorrow, I speak to nine separate groups of kids at Carrboro’s Frank Porter Graham Elementary School. I’ll likely be exhausted by day’s end, but nonetheless, I’m really looking forward to meeting and speaking to all the kids and the school staff!!

I’ve spent much of this week working on communications, working on the website, and working on previous blog posts from months and years past.
Sometimes, I wonder what may grow more exhausting: the outdoor part of walking across America, or the indoor part of it. Without a doubt, the indoor part has definitely been more time-consuming. I absolutely love the Walk. Even so, sometimes even doing a whole lot of what you love can grow exhausting…
That said, I meditate, so my spirit is in fantastic shape!!!

This was a first of its kind, and it was awesome– I loved it: Mark Haywood, senior at the University of North Carolina, asked if he could interview me “on the road.” He proposed that he walk some miles with me during the radio interview, so we met up yesterday and promptly hit the pavement together.
I told Mark that I needed to walk by East Chapel Hill High School, and, an NC native, he knew the best way. We walked for miles through neighborhoods, rural backroads, and urban main roads.  As he asked me a wide variety of broad and specific questions, I delivered full, complete answers to him, pausing occasionally as twenty-ton diesel trucks roared by us.
Mark was the first reporter I’ve spoken with who has actually chosen to “experience” the road, and I loved it. We enjoyed a wonderful conversation, both on and off the record. I learned fascinating things about Mark as well, for he’s about to undergo a major “next-step” transition project as he’ll soon be graduating, and faces a world of possibilities post-graduation.

As the interview was concluding, Mark, who’s obviously ready to work hard to create a very bright future for himself, asked me: “how should I decide what to do next?”
My answer: “Seek your answer in receptive silence. Go out into nature. Meditate. Clear the clouds of clutter within to reach the golden voice of intuition grounded within you– to reach and read your ‘God Compass,’ which will always point you in the right direction.”

Yesterday’s Route:

View Larger Map

One year ago today, on the auspicious date of “March Fourth,” two cross-country walkers, Andrew Forsthoefel and George Throop, happened to bump into one another.
Our paths crossed on a sunny Sunday morning, as Andrew was five minutes into his day’s walk from Franklin to Jeanerette, Louisiana. I had just said farewell to Franklin host Paul Fitch, who was on his way to the local Catholic service. Paul had invited me in for another evening, but as the weather was great, I was ready for more miles this Sunday. Instead of quickly returning into the house to pull together my belongings and prepare to leave Franklin, the morning weather was so bright and beautiful, that I just had to stand outside for a few minutes, close my eyes and bow into the sun, feeling gratitude for the glorious goodwill of the world around me. Upon opening my eyes, over the five-foot hedges of Paul Fitch’s front yard I saw the bobbling head of a clean-cut young man carrying a backpack, with a small flag and sign attached. Neither his image nor his visage met the profile of many of the homeless & aimless youths I’ve met across the long miles. There was something special about this man, currently walking across this small Louisiana town, distant from any big city vagabond concentration.
Upon getting his attention, I learned that he was walking across America. I asked him if he’d like to come in for water and/or bananas; I was obviously very enthusiastic about his story. He happily accepted my invitation and followed me into the house, having no idea that I didn’t actually live there, and that I too was walking across America.  I brought him inside, and showed him my Chariot full of gear, signs attached: “WALKING ACROSS AMERICA.”

Andrew’s eyes immediately doubled in size with this surprise– it was as if I’d transformed into a Unicorn before his eyes– he was in disbelief, and later admitted that he thought he was on Candid Camera.

We ended up calling off our respective walks for the day, giving us time to get to know one another, “talk the walks,”  and see if super-cool host Paul Fitch wouldn’t mind hosting us both upon his return.

Everything worked out like a dream!

Our hosts contacted print and TV media in Morgan City, Louisiana, who came out for the story the following morning. The story two cross-country walking bumping into one another ended up being broadcast across hundreds of newspapers and TV stations across America, and the story even received an ounce of international coverage as well!

Here’s foot of my brief VIDEO interview of Andrew:

ALSO, POSTED ONE YEAR AGO ON ANDREW FORSTHOEFEL’S BLOG:

It’s rare for me to run into fellow travelers on the road. After over 1,400 miles, I only need two fingers to count the number of times I’ve met one of my biking, walking, hitching colleagues. I met some hitchhikers outside Greenville, South Carolina and in Pascagoula, Mississippi I crossed paths with Bong Song, a South Korean who has spent ten months biking around the world (not thirty minutes later, he ran into another South Korean bicyclist who was also biking around the world, Daniel. They’d run into each other in Pakistan, parted ways with a “good luck and keep in touch” and then serendipitously, accidentally, beautifully met up again on Route 90!) But such moments are few and far between, especially because I’m walking highways and byways, paths that are normally driven and places that are normally lived in or passed through promptly. Which is why I was so blown away to meet George Throop, another cross-country walker.

I was five minutes into my walk yesterday when I came across a tall gentleman taking in the morning rays. “Morning,” I said. He greeted me in kind, and then asked what I was doing. “I’m walking across the country. Everyone has an amazing story to tell so I’m walking to listen,” I said. He nodded his head and then he asked if I wanted a banana and some water. “Sure,” I said, and as we were walking into his house he goes, “You’re really going to like my story.” Entering the living room, I saw a souped up baby carriage with the sign “WALKING ACROSS AMERICA” draped over the front. “Holy sh%!” I said.

I ended up spending yesterday with George. Our incredible host, Paul Fitch, and lovely friend Michelle took us down to the bayou to try the loquats and admire the sugar cane fields. We traded stories and thoughts all night, after stuffing ourselves with the piping hot delicious crawfish etoueffe Paul cooked up. I’ll just say this about that: I had two more bowls for breakfast today.

It’s an amazing experience to meet someone with a similar calling, and so good to be able to look into the mirror and be reminded of how excited I am about what I’m doing right now and about how right this is for me at this time. Because there are those moments when I doubt and fear, and when it feels endless and pointless and painful. Speaking with George, spending time with Paul and Michelle, breathing in this beautiful day today…I think I might follow Bong and Daniel and circumnavigate the globe. On foot. Well, I’ll just start with Jeanerette, Louisiana, the next town over, and go from there. One foot in front of the other.

Every couple of months, someone else is contemplating walking across America. Many of them do their due diligence before beginning such an epic project, searching online for anyone with on-the-road experience they may be able to contact. I contacted BJ Hill, Skip Potts and Garth Poorman before I began my walk. Among many who have contacted me before beginning their respective walks across America, Troy Yocum, Michael Tittinger and Jack Fussell make the list.
I plan to eventually write a more comprehensive “how to” for those who contact me (in addition to anyone else who may be curious). Until then, I’ll continue to answer each question as they’re asked. I haven’t met him, but a man by the name of Gary Mitchell recently found me online, and commented on a Facebook picture of mine with the following question:

“Can you tell me what typical day of walking is like? When you have to camp, what does your camp site look like?”

I answered him:

“Gary Mitchell: My typical night on the road finds me invited indoors by any one of a huge variety of different types of people. Of over three years since I began, I spent many nights in the tent in the western desert and in other areas, but in well over a year (since reaching Houston), I’ve spent only five nights outdoors. Some days on the road are long and arduous, requiring all I have; others may have me speaking to classes, spending time getting to know hosts in their environments, planning my route and hosting options ahead, catching up with communications, blogs, and photos, etc.
Walking across America is 99% mental. The most important ingredient BY FAR is a strong, focused, driven, positive mind to make it through the endless challenges that the road brings. You also must be very flexible, ideally giving yourself a very large open window of time to get to know America and all her beauties as you walk.
At some point, I’ll also be finishing a document similar to BJ Hill’s How to Walk Across America. BJ was an early adviser to me. LINK: http://walktothewhitehouse.wordpress.com/how-to-walk-across-america/

I hope this helps!”

Once again, this evening, the temperature will drop well below freezing. And once again, as has been the case every night this winter, wonderful locals have invited me into their warm home for a cozy night’s sleep. Thank You, Winslow & Harriet Carter ~