One of the most common questions I receive upon meeting new people: “What has been your greatest experience of the Walk?”
Without hesitation: “The people!” An endless stream of Angels have been assisting me all along the way. (I write this blog from the home of a couple of these Angels.”
Angels have provided me with shelter, food, advice, directions, media contacts, speaking appearances, organizational visits, in addition to countless new friendship that will endure for many years to come…

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!

Since the Pacific Ocean, I’ve connected every single step, till now. Without a shoulder, this quarter-mile I-10 bridge between the Louisiana Visitor Center and the I-10 truck weigh station proved FAR too dangerous to attempt to walk (run) across. Having run my way across a similarly dangerous bridge in Orange, TX, just two days earlier (an experience that left me quite shaken), I’d resolved to no longer put my life on the line to connect every last step, while still connecting as many steps as “safely” possible (my alternative route when the LSP trooper shuttled me across the bridge involved facing three big, aggressive, unleashed dogs).
I’m not happy that I had to break the continuous line of steps, and a deeper part of me feels I’ll be back someday to find a way to “tie up” any such portions. However, when I think about the decision in light of the risks, I wouldn’t change my mind. Swampland holds countless bridges, and I’m hoping to be able to walk across at least 99% of them…

Walking across America, I've connected 100% of the steps, until this too-dangerous-to-pass bridge on I-10. Louisiana State Patrol drove me across.

Once I've finally finished packing my stuff into the front and back of the LSP Cruiser, and am enclosed in the back seat, ready to be transported across the dangerous bridge, the Trooper then asks me for identification. I gave him my ID; he called it in erroneously-- I corrected him in the process. No warrants for George's arrest, and we proceed on, to the other side of the bridge.

I'm traveling with enough stuff now, that I packed my stuff both in the trunk and back seat of the Patrol Cruiser

Louisiana State Patrols shows up to drive me across the dangerous I-10 bridge

All done. We've made it to the other side, safe and sound.

A fascinatingly new chapter of the Walk has opened– where I’m staying with and learning about fire stations. I’ve stayed back-to-back nights with 2 fire stations, as I’ve finished up my thousand miles of Texas. They’re totally awesome guys– real American heroes– and learning more about who they are and what they do paves the way for greater appreciation for the countless contributions firefighters make to society. Smiling for the camera is Travis, of Orange, Texas’ Fire Station #3. I rode along with the crew twice last night– first to a freeway vehicle wreck where the driver was trapped, and next to a call for a structure fire. Pretty exciting to ride in the back of that big red firetruck (”engine”)– and worth losing the sleep after an exhausting 17-mile day through mosquitoes and dangerous bridges… Regarding the departure to the structure fire, see this 30-second VIDEO.

Ange, the mother of my current Beaumont Victoria House hosts, took the time today to drive me up and down the route I walked yesterday, in search of the missing sleeping mat. Michelle (previous host) also promised to keep her eyes peeled. We didn’t find it. No anger/frustration though– as unexpected challenges happen from time to time, and you never know what silver lining may be interwoven.
Well, I’ve been finding out:
First, I have to be happy for whichever homeless person likely found the mat, and now has a warm pad to sleep on for however long (s)he possesses it. Next, as I consequently wasn’t leaving town today, Ange enthusiastically took me to visit The Art Studio, which was founded as a non-profit in 1983, by local artists to encourage other artists to practice their disciplines in Beaumont and SE Texas. I was given a personalized tour by Greg, the founder, Ange’s former husband. The Art Studio is an inspiring place with bright people painting, creating ceramic pieces, making music, and much more… VERY cool! Greg told me that Janis Joplin and the Big Bopper hail from there area. A musically inclined family, he also told me he heard one of his kids was now part of another new band, Fat Gay Dads, this news was revealed to him by his son’s gf– a legitimate member of the band Scrotum. Through conversation, staff at The Art Studio actually altered my walking route: instead of walking through Vidor, I’ll now be walking through Bridge City to get to Orange and to the Texas-Louisiana border.
Finally, as Ange has learned that I have yet to see America’s Third Coast (i.e., the Gulf Coast), she thought it was very important I see it, and has invited me tonight to join her and her boyfriend tonight as they travel to a beach home on the Bolivar Peninsula– the very peninsula wiped out by 2008’s Hurricane Ike, the second-costliest hurricane ever to make landfall in U.S. history They’re hooking up a dear Houston friend & me with a room in a local B & B tomorrow night, in neighboring Crystal Beach. I’ll join my dear Houston friend for the remainder of the weekend, procuring a new sleeping pad in the process, before returning to Beaumont and continuing with a two-day walk to Orange.
All that said, I was NOT completely discouraged from logging any walking time today: I ended up walking a six-mile loop to the southeastern edge of Beaumont: Lamar University. I left off at the campus library, from which I’ll continue walking this coming Monday, on a completely revised two-day route, new sleeping pad securely tied to the cart! I’ll take a deep breath as more miles are postponed through this weekend. For now, Third Coast, new friends, new places, and new supplies…

Greg & Ange Busceme, The Art Studio, Beaumont, Texas, January 2012

Well, today’s weather is PERFECT for walking. My body feels very ready to continue on from Beaumont and keep counting down the 30 miles left to the Louisiana border. However, my sleeping mat must have somehow fallen out of the usual place where I have it tucked behind the cart, underneath my external daypacks. Yikes! The sleeping mat, a six-foot long, yellow on top, gray below mat which collapses like an accordion, is a critically important piece of camping gear. Not only does it separate me from bare concrete many times, it’s insulated– making all the difference in the world between a relatively “warm & cozy” night’s sleep outdoors, and freezing my butt off on a solid piece of concrete slab. I’m going to have to retrace some miles today– hoping to locate it– hoping it didn’t wash away in yesterday’s torrential rains…

Monday’s 12-mile day ended in Huffman.

Ben & Frieda Sessions met in post WWII Germany, married, moved to the States, and raised ten kids together

Well out of Houston, Huffman feels like a tiny one-horse town. I was invited in by Ben & Frieda Sessions, who are in their late 70’s. Last night was my second night at their place. Ben is a retired high school German teacher. He met Frieda in Deutschland, just a handful of years after the fall of the Third Reich. Frieda was working in a counter-intelligence position for the Americans at the time, and as this brought her to be shunned by many in her home community, it made it easier for her to meet Ben, who was stationed in her native Bavaria at the time. Unlike the United States, in Germany it’s very common to ask “strangers” if you can join them at their semi-occupied restaurant tables. Ben & Frieda met when she took a seat across from him in a local restaurant. The two ultimately married and moved to Texas. They’re in their 54th year of marriage here; they have 10 kids, 20 grandkids, and 2 great-grandchildren.
Each has broken an ankle in recent months, and I was delighted to help them today with changing light bulbs, raking leaves, water plants, and relocating stuff on the porches of their cottage. Their three acres is on Luce’s Bayou, and it fascinates me to hear that they see an alligator every so often.
Ben offered me a ride to the next town, as so many other friendly hosts have done. While I love such generous offers, I must continue to turn them all down– otherwise I’m not WALKING across America. That said, 18-19 miles of Hwy 90 await me today, as I walk from Huffman, through Dayton, to Liberty, where the local Luxury Inn has invited me to a complimentary night’s stay. Forecast is for sunny skies, no wind, high of 61 F– EXCELLENT walking weather!!

Nutritional therapist Jennifer Doctorovich took some time out of her busy schedule to meet with me yesterday afternoon in Houston, to provide valuable nutritional advice. Recently in Houston, local naturopath Renald Stettler and nutritionist Faith Arch have done the same.
Though I’ve deliberately kept my outward message bumper-sticker simple, the broader message surely goes beyond taking a walk every day. Advocating a daily walk is basically a simple way to begin taking the first steps into an overall healthier lifestyle, which also includes healthy eating, and stress prevention/reduction.
Often, people I stay with and groups I speak to have nutrition-based questions for me. Though I’ve definitely collected some useful nutritional knowledge, I also feel least informed in this realm– so I’ve begun to reach out to professionals like Jennifer and many others, who’ve been responding quite favorably to me, meeting with me and taking their valuable time to provide me with useful guidance on how to craft a general message of healthy eating to groups I meet and speak to.
Though you’ll find differing recommendations from individual nutrition professionals, there are also many common denominators (e.g. drink enough water– clean water), which I’ll write more about in the future.

Though I’m a vegetarian, I loved this quick, broad, all-encompassing, 18-second, what-to-eat message Jennifer shares: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U95cFQE9N7E&feature=youtu.be

As Jennifer and so many others say, the more you eat foods that grow, the less you eat foods that come in packages (especially with long lists of unpronounceable ingredients), the better!
(Note: anything relegated to a miserable life in a cage also doesn’t meet the criteria!)

Be thankful for very uplifting and soul-expanding experience of 2011. Keep in mind what leads to precious moments of Light, Peace, Strength, Love, “Bliss…”
Leave the darkness behind, in 2011. Whenever it tries knocking on your door in the future, no response is the best response. This takes practice, dedication, devotion, commitment. Despite how long it takes, however, I’m working to prove to you that when you take determined steps in a given direction, as many as need be, you WILL ultimately achieve great goals!!!
Carry forward, nurture, and multiply the seeds of enlightenment within you.
BRIGHTEN your life story in 2012!!!

Never having visited before, on the map Houston looked like nothing more to me than just some big, oversized, oily metropolis. I had no interest in coming here, and my intention was to walk days to the north of H-town. But the Angels of Light & Love have guided me here to Houston. I’ve stayed for two weeks, and I’ve had the greatest time getting to know the wonderful locals. I’ll be heading out this coming week, yet holding on to the merry memories for all my years…

Jeffrey & Errah Lannah gave me a sunset tour of Hibiscus Hill Plantation, in Waller, TX, an organic (WWOOF) farm which supplies local businesses and sustainability-minded grocery stores with a variety of locally-grown organic products. I’ll be spending the night here, and receiving a fuller tour in the morning. Waller was not on my route, and so Jeffrey is shuttling me back & forth for this off-the-route excursion. (My walking cart is still at I-45 & I-610, in N Houston.)
I’m quite a fan of the general concept of World Wide Organization of Organic Farms (WWOOF), whose farms truly are spread throughout the world and offer countless work-trade-learn opportunities, a concept from which many youths have tremendously benefited.
HHP is owned and operated by Rick & Georgia, owners of Houston’s Georgia’s Farm-to-Market Grocery Store.

More information on who they are and what they do is found here: http://www.txgrassfedbeef.com/store/pg/15-.aspx