On my last night in Greenville, I meet Brett, who’s decided he’ll occupy my “professional pedestrian” role for the evening. Hilarious!
The rest of his delegation had to put a lot of time into their Halloween costumes. Not Brett. He just had to make a sign.
That said, I’m actually told that Brett really did “play the role” throughout the evening. (I didn’t meet them till they were all through and back at Daniel’s.)
Funny, my first sign, leaving Portland, was rather similar to the one Brett made here .

Happy Halloween from Brett!

I finally depart from Greenville on foot Sunday at 1pm.
Onward!

Check out this weekend’s TV story on the Walk, from Greenville, South Carolina:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33s3BSuEjkc&feature=share&list=UUvo-Tl7jgRMg43qpadycEdQ

I plan to depart from Greenville on Sunday, Oct. 28th, at 1:00 PM from McPherson Park. If you’d like to join me for minutes or for miles on my way to Greer Sunday, please meet me at the corner of E Park & Rowley Street by 1:00 PM. I’d love to walk with any & everyone!

Much Light,

George

Creative forces collided today, as my host Daniel McCord introduced me to two people he’d recently been in contact with regarding their “Breakfast With Strangers: 50 Meals Across America” honeymoon tour throughout the United States: Matt Webber & Courtney Dillard.  As they realized that sharing meals with strangers was a perfect way to bridge social gaps that so many of us experience, they decided to embark on a mission of sharing and caring across America from their cozy minivan. What a wonderful way to spend a honeymoon!!  They’re even going to write a book about it!

Funny, as Daniel and Matt had previously been communicating with one another, they discovered that Matt, who lives in Portland, had been aware of my walk almost since the day I began. Julie Magers, a wonderful mutual friend, was on the receiving end of the telephone when, many days before my first mile, I called to see about getting Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber’s support– in the form of taking twenty minutes through Portland with me. Julie loved the idea; she put me in touch with the right people, and Kitzhaber ultimately did walk with me.  Julie and I have been friends ever since.  Julie linked me with a handful of her closest Facebook friends, and Matt was one of them.

It was a true pleasure sharing the first meal of the day with Matt & Courtney– both of them very fascinating people. They’re over three months into their five-month breakfast-sharing mission, and they too are now well aware of what nearly everyone who embarks on such an outward transcontinental social mission learns: originally-planned dates and deadlines do not allow nearly enough time to begin to get to know the people and places well. I myself learned this lesson before emerging from Oregon, but I didn’t actually expand my timeline until walking across the Golden Gate Bridge. Three years later, that original, self-imposed nine-month deadline lays flattened and nearly forgotten below the countless incredible experiences I’ve since soaked up across all the additional days & stays.

What a fantastic experience sharing the first meal of the day with Matthew & Courtney, newlywed Oregonians who are spending their five-month honeymoon driving around the United States, enjoying "Breakfast With Strangers."

Rob Pearce, another local Couchsurfing host who wanted to meet us all, joined us for the meal this morning. A fascinating and energetic guy, Rob is a twentysomething "starving entrepreneur," as he puts it. Whether or not he's starving now, I already detect an energy within him that could propel him to the stars ~

As we step deeper into the documentary project, Daniel led me on a walk of several miles through Greenville's well-kept, central parks.

Under Main Street...

The Reedy River runs directly through the middle of downtown Greenville

Bostjan, Brian, Sandrine, Puja, Daniel & I all team up for dinner at Swad-- a local vegetarian Indian Restaurant.

As we attend a Gujarati-themed, vegetarian Indian restaurant, Puja, a Gujarati herself, shows us all "how it's done!"

As much as I love ethnic foods, including Indian food, I obviously have a lot to learn not only about what I'm eating-- but HOW I'm eating it. My I-have-no-idea-but-I'll-try-anyway approach had Puja laughing out loud as I ended up building my food more Mexican style-- far from Indian style-- but the only way I knew how!

After staying up till nearly 5 AM catching up on communications, blogs and more, I awoke after nearly seven hours of sleep to yet another beautiful day in Greenville. Daniel had reserved the afternoon for obtaining some premier footage for the short film he’ll be making about the Walk.

Today’s film footage ranged from street shots, moving shots, scene preparation for an extended interview, and even an hour’s worth of recorded frisbee tossing! Funny– one these distance tosses smacked me in the lip with enough force to slightly bloody and fatten my upper lip. So, no interviewing for today– but hopefully tomorrow will work well .

After the day was complete, Daniel, a very skilled cook, treated us all to homemade pizza, complete fresh produce from his front-yard garden!

Everything made from scratch, this pizza was SOOO delicious!!! Daniel followed with a baked acorn squash for dessert!

By now, I typically get a specific vibe from reporters who end up doing a great job on the Walk story. Such reporters enjoy their work, and do their jobs very well. P.J. Javaheri put together a great story, as have Ashley Winchester, Allie Cat, Karen E Wink and many others. Local TV reporter Dana Wachter enjoys her work, asks a variety of well-planned questions, shoots from a variety of angles, and doesn't plan to publish the story for days, as she generates a well-created piece--which I'm told typifies her work.

As my host Daniel McCord is currently working on a short documentary project about the Walk, Dana makes Daniel's willingness and generosity to host me in addition to his project part of the story.

"What are some of the toughest things you come up against while walking across America?"

Dana produces quality work, and the interview may not air till this weekend. I’ll post here on EnjoyTheWalk when it does…

Though I arrived late Friday evening to the home of Greenville CSer Daniel McCord, Julie & Carson had still offered to take me on an off-the-route excursion for Saturday, and I’d lined this little adventure up days in advance both with them and with Daniel. So, they came by Saturday morning and scooped me up from Daniel’s. I ended up spending Saturday night back at their place, and took a walk with them and friends of theirs on Sunday, before they dropped me off back at Daniel’s, and said goodbye–till whatever point at which we all meet again…

After arriving late Friday night with Daniel, who walked the final few miles with me, I awoke to in his cozy home, just north of downtown Greenville.

Having picked me up early, Julie & Carson ushered me away for an off-the-route excursion up into the surrounding Carolina hills. Julie took us to a Jamaican restaurant-- a family favorite.

These office clips are one of the handiest things I use across all my miles, and I'm thrilled to see a restaurant using them artistically, to hold down table cloths on windy days!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Carson races his father, Tim

Sunday afternoon, fabulous friends of Tim & Julie invite us all to a very pleasant hike around Lake Placid

Julie, Jade & Carson meet Daniel, as I transition from their home to his. They kicked off an auspicious opening conversation, as Julie is very interested in the up-and-coming theater work that Daniel will be doing, in addition to meeting locals through the Couchsurfing network.

As I complete the transition from one home to the next, in a rare event, those hosting me meet one another, as Julie, Jade and Carson meet Daniel. They kicked off an auspicious opening conversation, as Julie is not only interested in the hosting/traveling network in which Daniel & I both participate (Couchsurfing), she's also interested in the local theater work in which he's involved.

Daniel, Daniel, Romey, Eleacia, Steve, Shea, Bryan and Victor

Daniel hosted a DELICIOUS vegetarian potluck tonight. Attending, from left to right, were all eight of these wonderful people above + me.

Daniel & Daniel are actually roommates. Bryan was a former roommate, and still a close friend. Shea is also a close friend of Daniel’s. Victor is a part of the Couchsurfing network, and so is Eleacia. Though it took till tonight to finally meet the shiny spirit of Eleacia, her brother Romey, and her fiance Steve, Eleacia has been in contact with me digitally ever since I reached the border of South Carolina. It was Eleacia who started the ball rolling which eventually resulted in a room at the Hilton nine days ago, and she brought those closest to her to tonight’s potluck, in addition to delicious veggie dishes.  What great, shiny, wonderfully fun souls they all possess!!!

The second Greenville I’ve arrived to on foot in recent months (after Greenville, Alabama), Friday was my day to step on into Greenville. Host Daniel McCord, a documentary film-maker who’s been awaiting me for weeks, came out on the road to walk the final miles into town with me. He’s begun shooting a short documentary on the Walk.

Before leaving Powdersville, Dr. Tim McPherson (MD) and I took about an hour out for an interview about healthy living. I've recorded it, and will edit and post clips at some point down the road. Not too soon, as I haven't really been finding the time for much beyond what I'm already doing... Awesome Guy! Thanks, Tim!!

BEAUTIFUL fall day. If it weren't for the fact that I'm spending so much time with people along the way, I would walk nearly every one of these beautiful days!!

Brian Rascoe, Director of Operations for Powdersville's local water department, explains to me how clean and preferable local drinking water is over any other option.

After their daughters saw me speak at their middle school yesterday, the family spotted me on the side of the road and invited me to dinner. Nice folks!!

More to come!!!  :)

Powdersville Middle School invited me to speak with several hundred students across grades 6, 7, and 8, throughout the day today. Even though junior high was by far the least favorite chapter of all my school years, I love speaking to middle schoolers at least as much as kids of any other age. Wanting to spice up my speeches and make them more effective, I watched some on-line comedy for inspiration, and sharpened my statistics on cancer deaths, so I could tell them just how many lives would be lost by the time I was to finish any given time frame of speech to the kids–making the healthy living message all-the-more urgent.

Ms. Julie Richard, my current host, teaches art at Powdersville Middle School (PMS, by the abbreviation you’ll see above their stage). Ms. Richard organized all of the speaking appearances to the school, including a subsequent appearance to the elementary school, next door.

Though a bit exhausting by the end, today was one of the funnest days of 2012 .

Anderson County Sheriff's Deputy Officer Simpson made sure I was legit before allowing me to proceed.

Officer Simpson is awesome! We exchanged contact info, and she plans to help seek meal assistance for me down the road . I really enjoyed chatting with her!

Hello, Powdersville Middle School!

Great kids here!

Great coach too!

During one of the breaks, some of the students want to try some of the foods I eat on the road. They liked my wholesome treats!!

Ms. Julie Richard, art teacher here, continues work on another of her mesmerizing masterpieces during our lunchtime chat.

After the middle school let out for the day, I went next door to the elementary school, where a handful of the kids helped me show the small size of my tent. Time to get more involved with actual items I'm using on the road, I see...

At the end of the day, we all walked a lap around the school grounds. Fun Stuff!!!

Tomorrow: On to Greenville itself!

This recent story is from the Hartwell Sun, and comes in two links:
1. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0VKAghAeyH7UzRGcXEwMkpfbHc/edit

2. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0VKAghAeyH7TnIwT1RHWTFiaTQ/edit

I encourage you to utilize Google options to visually enlarge the size of the story, if you’d like…