Shay and I walked to the far eastern edge of Rancho Cucamonga today. We met kids, construction workers, and Mormon missionaries along the way. During the latter half of the day’s walk, we looked back to see an abandoned complex of condos ablaze and filling the sky with smoke. We’d walked right by them just a short while earlier, and nothing seemed suspicious to us. Isn’t it funny the difference that a few short minutes can make..?

We waved to several passing, honking, and waving drivers, and as darkness spelled the end of another good day on the road, despite walking through endless miles of seeming stripmall eternity.

Salvador, a Couchsurfing host that we almost were to stay with in Ontario, told us he’d like to join us for tomorrow’s walk. (Cool!)

Kyle showed us the best way out of Azusa from his home. Before leaving, we exchanged info with Andrew, a former roommate of Kyle’s who also spent the night, and was inviting us to stay with him at his new home in Redlands.

Shay and I walked a combination of Route 66 as well as parallel streets to reach Claremont. Along the way, shortly after noon, the parents of a group of home-schooled children stopped us outside a park, inquired about the Walk, and asked if we’d speak to their kids, who appeared to be around 10-12 years old. Shay and I spoke to a dozen of them and their parents, answered questions, and enjoyed the experience. We are both very enthusiastic about speaking to more groups of kids.

Speaking of kids, I spoke to Mrs. Shamhart again today. Mrs. Shamhart’s 5th grade class, just outside Phoenix, AZ, has been following the Walk for quite some time now. The students wrote to a local running store and lined up a new pair of shoes for me upon my arrival to Phoenix. I’ve written to them, they enjoy the letters, and I’ve begun writing to them more consistently now. I’ll be sjpeaking to them upon arriving to the Phoenix area, and they are in the process of contacting other schools, as close as in Indio, CA, to encourage them to invite me while passing through as well. Both Shay and I love talking to the kids, and we’re excited about what’s to come of this!

Taylor is the name of our Couchsurfing host in Claremont. He lives in a cozy apartment above a dry cleaning business in the populated college district of Claremont, city of trees and PhDs. Taylor is a fun 24-year-old engineer, and invited us in for two nights. We plan to continue walking east tomorrow, but will return here by bus at the end of the day.

Comfy couches translated to sound sleep for Shay and me, again…

I guess you can call it a sunny orange afternoon when walking through a cloudless environment in which you’re given fresh-picked oranges all along the way. Today turned out this way.

Carlos and Erin had a tall orange tree in the backyard, from which they invited us to take as many with us as we could carry. Of course, we knew we’d be receiving more oranges from George before leaving town, so can you imagine refusing the opportunity for an extra load of delicious fresh citrus gems..? (We did.)

Carlos dropped us off at the George L. Throop Construction Company, which was only about a mile from his home. Shay and I spent at least an hour there listening to George answer our questions about the history of the business, show us around the construction yard, explain to us the concrete focus of the business, and tell us about his pitching days with the Houston Astros. George and I then got some pics in front of the company signs– a fun post for the day to the website.

After about an hour with George, he dropped us off at the intersection of Colorado & Fair Oaks, where we’d last left off on foot, and it was on to Azusa from there– some 25km away.

We spent the rest of the day walking to Azusa, passing through the cities of Arcadia, Monrovia (HQ of TJ’s), and Duarte along the way– each only distinguishable by roadside signage.

Just after dark, our host Couchsurfing host Kyle met us in Azusa near Route 66, about a mile from his very musical domicile. I first shook Kyle’s hand while upside down, as Shay and I were spending a few minutes propped up against a wall with our feet in the air. The inversion state feels beneficial to our feet after so many miles of pounding the pavement.

We reached Kyle’s place, and ended up meeting over a half dozen friends and roommates, all in their early 20’s, each of whom were a band member or otherwise heavily involved in the arts. They were a fascinating bunch, and being around them definitely brought back those fun college crowd memories…

After having started the day with oranges, we ended it with pears, yogurt, and other goodies…

We began the morning by eating a fresh, tasty bagel & steel-cut oats breakfast compliments of Tom & Kristen. Kristen showed us some of the super-charming kitty-cat cards she’d designed with photos of felines + flowers, fixed and formed with nifty software. She gave us some for the road!

Shay and I enthusiastically took them up on their offer of attending Hollywood’s Farmers Market with them. We joined them to the many blocks of delicious fresh citrus (proof was in the samples), veggies, prepared foods, and jewelry. I walked away with some three pounds of tangerines, but later found myself questioning how quickly I’d be able to eat them, after having sampled from nearly every booth for blocks. (Oh well.)

We set out for our 20k walk to Pasadena just before noon– knowing we’d be able to make it there well before dark.

WILL THE REAL GEORGE THROOP PLEASE STAND UP?

I had entered into contact with George L. Throop III (I am George C. Throop IV),

Though I’ve never met another Throop who is not a family member, years ago my dad (George III) had met another George Throop III, President of the George L. Throop Construction Company in Pasadena, CA., after learning of him through their throop.com website. On my way to Mexico in February of 2007, Dad, my brother Ryan, and I all joined George for lunch before continuing through the area.

Funny coincidences: both George Throop IIIs were born in 1950; their George-Throop fathers were born in 1924; their sons Ryan were born in 1977. Unlike Dad, Pasadena’s George didn’t pass the name on to any George IV; apparently there was enough confusion within the family construction business, which has existed for over 80 years, over which office call was for which George. (As my paternal grandparents had lived with us for a while during my upbringing, I remember the triple-George confusion quite well.)

George is an incredibly nice guy. George and Marcia, his wife, invited us to dinner at Le Grande Orange, a classy restaurant in Old Town Pasadena.

After dinner, they showed us around town. We drove by Caltech, formerly Throop University, founded by Amos Throop in 1891. We stopped at the Throop Church, a Unitarian Universalist church, for a pic next to the sign.

They ultimately delivered us to the cute, cozy, fixed-up home of Carlos & Erin, our well-traveled, full-of-great conversation Couchsurfing hosts.

Parting with George truly did feel like parting with family. We promised to be in contact the following day– George was going to bring us a sack of oranges, and we’d stop by the business to visit him there and pick up the oranges.

Another great day complete; more to come…

George L Throop, pitcher for the 1979 Houston Astros.

George L Throop’s office displays the raw ingredients to the concrete off which his family thrives…

The evening we arrive to Pasadena, George L Throop & Marcia Throop, his wife, show us the variety of Throop fixtures around Pasadena, including the Throop Church!

We meet with George Throop the following morning, to say our final goodbyes before proceeding east from Pasadena.

Nothing like just meeting someone on the side of the road and then coming to spend the night at their house, eh..?

The “official” Santa Monica departure was from the pier this morning, and photographers from two local newspapers came to shoot us. We spent at least an hour and a half with Brandon then Margaret, the two fun photographers. To our great fortune, the 50% chance of rain and slight chance of thunderstorms in the morning had all passed the night before, when heavy rains seriously got underway at about 8 PM. As luck would have it, this was about the time that I stopped walking last night– at the corner of Santa Monica Blvd & Normandie St.

Santa Monica Couchsurfing host Dan accompanied Shay and me to the pier for the event, and after the photographers were finished with us, we went back to Dan’s to prepare for the rest of the day. It took a while to leave Dan’s, and after doing so, a bus was taken back to Santa Monica & Normandie, where the trail was picked up exactly where it was left off last night, and I moved on to Silver Lake.

Tom and Kristen Abraham, who had stopped in the storms of Big Sur to say hello and take our picture, had stayed in touch since then, and invited us in for the night. We took them up on their invitation, and Shay and I are spending the night here. Kristen walked the last mile with me to the house, which is in a very quaint neighborhood just a few blocks from Sunset Blvd. Tom & Kristen invited us both to dinner at one of their favorite local restaurants, and a lovely, energetic octagenarian neighbor of theirs joined us.

We stayed up into the night for hours chatting away, and I look forward to the Sunday morning Hollywood Farmers’ Market that Tom will be taking us to before we walk on out of here to Pasadena.

Yes, we’d spent not even a minute talking to Tom & Kristen in Big Sur– it was raining too hard for them to get out of the car. But Kristen added me on Facebook, seemed trustworthy enough both during and after that first minute, and we never thought twice about accepting their warm invitation on our way east to the Atlantic…

Great times!

Time to turn east. From the Santa Monica Pier, atop the Pacific Ocean, the end of Route 66 and beginning of I-10, Shay Emmons joins me as we team up for the first steps east.

“Having started in Washington State, a thousand miles have already been walked to arrive here. From here, I will continue on foot for thousands more miles till reaching Florida, then shifting north, up into Washington, DC.”

Shiny Happy People!

Daniel Hayes hosted us in Santa Monica, and joined us for a walk from the pier. Great guy!!

There are SO many signs and other external stimuli competing for anyone’s attention that we were barely noticed while walking. That said, among those that did notice us was a radio reporter from a small town in central Oregon, who wanted to record a quick interview on the spot.

I logged a few miles today without Shay. Shay has walked from Santa Monica to downtown L.A. in preparation for walking with me. So, as far as I’m concerned, I’m catching up to miles she has already walked. Therefore, as she caught up on personal+joint business, I went alone to the crosswalk we both left off at in West Hollywood, on Santa Monica Blvd., and walked a circuitous path through Sunset Blvd and Hollywood Blvd until ultimately dropping back down to Santa Monica Blvd and Normandie St., where the rain began pouring as I awaited the bus with a half dozen other locals. (Thank goodness for streetside awnings!)

I’d once been told by L.A. expats that, unlike Portland and Vancouver, locals here simply do not talk to each other on the bus. Well, boarding the bus with signs saying “WALKING ACROSS AMERICA” must drastically twist those social norms. Three separate conversations presented themselves to me as a result of people seeing the signs– despite the fact that I’d taken them off before boarding the bus back to Dan’s– tonight’s host in Santa Monica.

Without getting a phone number, an address, or even a last name, Zan and I gave Drew and Kelly almost all of our stuff just before leaving Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park, on Highway 1. We’d all camped there the night before, despite laws, regulations, and other useless obstacles.
Zan and I barely knew Drew and Kelly (we also barely knew each other), but we trusted them to advance nearly all our stuff forward a hundred miles to San Luis Obispo, where they’re both attending Cal Poly University. I knew we could make some serious jumps between invitations in at the Treebones Resort (25 miles south), and then at Moonstone Landing Inn (another 35 south), before resuming Couchsurfing with shorter walks of 20 & 15 miles to Morro Bay and SLO, respectively. I found a way to stuff everything I needed into the many pockets of my outdoor pants. Zan carried an old military cargo sack, circa 1964, which he’d picked up for five bucks at some surplus store.
Not only did Drew end up e-mailing me immediately upon his return to San Luis Obispo, but after we arrived to SLO, he and Kelly took us out to eat, showed us around, and totally went out of their way to be of assistance to us. I spent 2 nights at Drew’s place, and Zan spent three. What a great, fun crowd he and his friends are!
We sent the majority of our valuables forward with Drew, never really doubting for a second the safety of such a move. I’ve just done the same thing again, upon leaving SLO: I’ve sent my camping gear forward with Zan, who will be leaving the country back to his native Australia this Sunday, January 31st. He’ll be staying with Alexandra, the friend of a friend of a friend I briefly spent time with in Santa Cruz. I have yet to meet Alexandra, but she found me via Facebook, invited me to stay with her as I pass through Santa Monica, and without yet having met her, I’ve advanced many valuable possessions forward to her (in addition to Zan). Again, I have no doubt about the decision– just a fantastic feeling of faith in the great people that continue to cross paths along the way…

Kelly, Megan and Drew greet Zan & me over a meal they provide to us in a locally-owned, delicious, healthy-food San Luis Obispo restaurant.
Interestingly, Drew revealed to me here that as he was explaining my story on the phone to his mother, who lives in Southern California, that she somehow was already aware of my story, and finished it for him… (that’s quite the rarity– but the fact that amazing things always happen on the road isn’t at all rare )

Kelly obviously carries a better camera than I do!

Drew’s camera is better than mine too!

Drew & Friends take Zan & me on a rainy day beach excursion!

Drew, Kelly and Megan introduce Zan & me to SLO’s Bubblegum Alley.                Bubblegum Alley is a local tourist landmark in downtown San Luis Obispo, California, known for its accumulation of used bubble gum on the walls of an alley.[1] It is a 15-foot (4.6 m) high and 70-foot (21 m) long alley lined with chewed gum left by passers-by. The locally created, “most-talked-about landmark” covers a stretch of 20 meters between 733 and 734 Higuera Street in downtown San Luis Obispo.

Earlier this week, having rocketed across some sixty miles in three days, we soaked up some extended hotel invitations amid the Big Sur Storms these past three nights– walking only a handful of miles the past couple of days. Now, it’s back into the rains–worst series of storms in some ten years, as this local tells us on our 20+ mile day through Cayucos and into Morro Bay:

11:45 AM today on Hwy 1. Going to Morro Bay today.

We’ve discovered the secret of where to find it…

Thanks to Cheryl @ Skippers in Cayucos for a great lunch!

Today’s mid-afternoon Cayucos sky

5:20 PM Morro Bay (3 more miles to go today)

Zan at sunset this evening Morro Bay beach

I wasn’t the only one camping illegally at the Julia Pfeiffer Burns campground last night; I was one of six doing so. Ted, Zan, and Ander had arrived before me, and Drew & Kelly arrived shortly after.
By a total coincidence, I’d met Ted at the gate to Chinatown, on the very day I arrived to San Francisco. Ted was a Couchsurfing host that I’d contacted, but ended up not needing to take up on his offer to host me. He’d recognized me there, waking my route through town with the signs. He recognized me for a second time yesterday.
Ted had brought Couchsurfing guests Zan (Australia) and Ander (Denmark) with him. Drew and Kelly, who are both studying in San Luis Obispo, walked down shortly after I did. None of us had made one of the impossible-to-book reservations on line, and were all risking getting booted anytime during the rainy night.
Thanks either to wet weather, budget cuts, or bureaucratic laziness, no officer ever hiked down the trail to bother us. My tent perched atop the high Pacific bluffs was treated to the strong sound of stormy waves throughout the night. The rain drops that made it through the tree tops complemented the crashing waves below quite well.
Before heading off to bed, Zan and I stayed up and chatted for a couple of hours. Age 23, Zan is nearing the end of six months in Canada and the U.S. He’s a very cool, very funny guy, who talks to you with a smile in his voice (we couldn’t see each others’ faces as the conversation continued well into the night.) By the end of the chat, he’d decided he’d wanted to come along with me for the next hundred miles, to San Luis Obispo.
I’ve had people talk of joining me before. Some have come along for a portion or for a short day (fun times!), but I’ve never had anyone join me for more than ten miles.
Zan broke the record today, as he joined me for over 25 miles, from the JPB campground to Treebones Resort, where we’re being hosted tonight in a cozy trailer.
Drew & Kelly graciously are advancing all of our heavy stuff forward to San Luis Obispo for us, and we’re headed there with the bare essentials.
Zan has definitely won my respect, as today was one of the three rainiest days of the whole walk, and Zan wasn’t very well materially prepared at all for it. Yet he made perfect proof of what I told him: “doing a walk like this is about 90% mental.”
Zan was wearing jeans, a leather jacket, sneakers, and an overcoat. All his layers had been soaked through, and his black leather jacket, one he’d owned for years, had even bled deeply through the lighter colors of his shirt and overcoat. At the end of the day, his arms were dark blue as well (from the jacket). A caretaker of the campground asked him if they were tattoos.
Zan has really proved his ability to move forward with a goal super well. In fact, as he was soaked within the first three miles or so of today’s walk, I was prepared for him to give up anytime.
“You’ll be breaking a record by walking more than 10 miles with me,” I informed him, “and if youjoin me for 30 miles tomorrow, you’ll break my previous one-day distance record with me!”
“I’m all about breaking records,” he replies, continuing with a cheery, dry smile in his voice, “especially breaking Rod Stewart records!” His delivery was perfect, and had me laughing off-and-on all day…
After we left the small, rip-off general store in Lucia, which was just over halfway to Treebones Resort, I was completely confident in Zan’s drive to finish the day with me. It had been a very wet, hours-long, challenging trek to Lucia, and the store allowed him a few minutes of warmth and comfort. If he were to quit, then would have been the perfect time. But wet jeans, shoes, and all, he emerged ready for more– perhaps not with 100% of the enthusiasm he began with, but enthusiastic nonetheless.
Zan’s efforts were well rewarded. We continued on through almost no more rain for the remainder of the day, a handful of conversations with curious motorists, and a spledid sunset show in the distance, which climaxed when the clouds emerged to give us shadows for about sixty seconds.
We didn’t arrive to Treebones till a couple of hours after dark. They knew we were coming, but a staff member who’d seen us on the road earlier had doubted we’d make it all this way.
Dave, who manages the property, arrived at the reception desk to show us to the clean and cozy trailer next to his house. He and his wonderful wife prepared the most delicious enchilada and stew dinner for us, and took a load of laundry to wash and dry for us. Breakfast in the morning is on them as well, and they offered to speak with the owners about hosting us for a second night. We’ll take them up on any such offer, but are prepared to continue 30 miles to Moonstone Beach (and the next offer) tomorrow, if need be.
I was prepared to walk somewhat more slowly down super scenic Highway 1, however, it’s funny the irony of how the greater the predictions of heavy rains, the more I find this water lighting a fire under my ass to speed forward!
From last night’s camping atop the bluffs to the end of a very wet day with great hospitality tonight, Zan fully understands now how each day of this Walk is a great adventure– only a small part of which may be predicted. I wonder what tomorrow will bring..?

At first, I was planning on walking the valley of Hwy 101, through towns such as Greenville, King City, Paso Robles and Atascadero. However, Portland-residing California friend Sonya Duffin sounded off loudly to me as I was approaching Silicon Valley: “Walk the Big Sur Coast!”
Just as that ragtag band of bikers had ultimately inspired me to shift my miles toward the coastal highways of northern Cali, Sonya’s words ultimately shifted me to the Big Sur Coast.
As I was planning for my coming miles down CA Hwy 1, I found that very few people lived there; and I would not be receiving any Couchsurfing invitations, so I sought out any sort of hotels, motels, inns, whatever. To my surprise, I found a couple dozen inns via my digital map search of Big Sur. I wrote to them all. Between the 97 miles of Carmel & Cambria, I received one response, from the Post Ranch Inn.
I’d never heard of the Post Ranch Inn, but when I took a closer look at them online, I found that the average room here rents for over a thousand dollars per night(!!!)
Upon my arrival, the kind lady at the front gate knew my name and my story. The people in the front office did as well. Manager Dan Priano appeared to personally introduce himself, warmly shaking my hand, greeting me to the Post Ranch, and telling me “dinner’s on me tonight.”
A member of the staff ushered me to my room, the top story of what I believe was a Butterfly Room (I’m not sure; only the individual room name, Dolan, was clearly marked).  From the top of the three stories, a great view of the east hills was visible through the trees, and I had a partial view of the coast from up there as well.  The air was among the cleanest and crispest I’ve breathed, with the perfect subtle mix of sea salt smells and emanating pine trees.
Pools, spas, a sauna, a workout gym, morning yoga, and other amenities were all available– a few of them 24/7.  The staff was very professional and friendly, and I had to wonder at times if they outnumbered the amount of guests, who also seemed to be present in adequate numbers over the MLK holiday weekend.
At a flat rate of $105 per plate, dinner at the Post Ranch Inn’s Sierra Mar Restaurant isn’t cheap, but the food is fantastic.  (And I certainly had no problem with it being totally provided to me compliments of Dan– they wouldn’t even allow me to tip.)
Admittedly, as I was settling in to bed at night, I was on one hand thoroughly enjoying the ultra-luxurious experience they were providing to me, yet at the same time, just as I’d camped at a deserted campground after arriving to Andrew Molera State Park hours into the dark of night after the previous long day on the road, I also knew that enjoying the Post Ranch too much would make it that much harder to return to the tiny bivy tent the following night– and I knew that this is exactly what was about to come for me.  So, I kept everything in balance, and I felt that all went perfectly well.  I slept and enjoyed everything– but not too much. I left with having enjoyed one of the best nights of the walk.  (Of course, by now, almost every night on the road seems to be one of the best nights.)
Upon checking out the next day, Lauren, the reception desk supervisor, gave me a small list of family contacts in New Mexico and Texas– a part of the country she’s originally from.  She told me they’d surely host me as I pass through.  As I’ll be experiencing few populated places over the course of a thousand miles or so of the Southwest, I’m sure I’ll definitely be making use of her contacts. 
The Post Ranch was an excellent experience.  I do recommend it to anyone who (unlike me) can actually afford it.  My only caveat is to remember that the fantasy experience enjoyed there will be followed by the inevitable return to daily life.  Keep this in mind, in the right way, and it will make the return to daily life much more palatable.

Outdoors last night & tomorrow night; Post Ranch Inn tonight.