Day 44 / May 17, 2012

           On day 44 I woke up and something was wrong with me. When I woke up my left eye wouldn't open. I felt it with my hand and it was swollen about the size of a golf ball and I couldn't open it at all even if I tried as hard as I could to. I couldn't help but laugh and just think to myself that I knew something bizarre would happen sooner or later. I didn't freak out at all and just figured I would google to see what it might be before I become worried at all. So I got up and packed my things and walked to the car dealership to plug in and check out google about my eye.
          I checked into it and it looked like a spider bit my eyelid and it had become inflamed and full of fluid. So I took some anti-inflammatorys that a guy gave me in Florida to help the swelling. Also I used cortisone cream I had on my eyelid.
          I sat there a while when a lady pulled up. She said her son owns the car dealership and he would be there soon. I let her know I was just charging my GPS for the day and she said it was ok. She left and I packed up soon after that to leave before he got there. Before I left I brushed my teeth. It was a mission to try to get the toothpaste on the brush. My depth perception was way off and it took me 3 tries to get it on there.
         When I left walking it was a little sketchy only having one eye. And again, even as hard as I tried I could not open it at all. I would lose my balance slightly every once in a while. It was scary being on the shoulder close to cars like that but I wanted to get 20 miles in that day.
          A few miles up a car pulled over and honked behind me. It was the husband and wife from the day before who were on their way to McGee to pay bills. They were checking in on me. I showed them my eye and they were pretty shocked. It looked pretty wicked. They said be careful and asked if I needed anything. I told them prayers! They said they would stop to see me on the way back later.
         I kept walking and walked a good ways but at a little slower pace because of my eye. About an hour later the husband and wife returned to check on me and brought me a cold drink. They also had a niece who wanted to meet me, so they pulled off and I took a break with them waiting for their niece. They showed up and it was the niece, her boyfriend, and their 2 kids. They hung out a while and took some pictures. When they left I continued.
           As I approached McGee I was going to stop at McDonald's to take a break. There were friends of the kids I met from the day before who wanted to meet me, so I let them know (on twitter) that I was stopping at McDonald's if they wanted to meet me. So him and his friend and her baby met me there for lunch. We hung out and talked a while there about my trip so far. And of course I always let everyone know all the glory is God's. I am close to Him and He watches and guides me along my steps. They left after a while and eventually I got back on the road.
         About a mile out of town a man pulled over and gave me a instant dinner and some snack bars. Then right after that another guy pulled over to give me some pop tarts he had.
         I walked a little while longer and I was so loaded down that my knees really were bothering me. I decided it was a good idea to pull off and lighten my load. So I stopped at a church I passed on the north end of McGee to leave some food there that maybe the church could give to someone. I was getting so much now that I can't use it all. Which is a good problem to have out here.
         I continued to the town of Mendenhall ahead about 5 miles. My knees still hurt but the load was for sure lighter. The two guys I met the day before wanted to come out and bring their friends to meet me when I got to my destination for the night. I got to the church that I mapped out on the GPS, but again it was a house. But there was a church just back a few hundred yards that I walked back to. It was up a hill and it was actually a baptist donation center. But it was closed Friday and it was Thursday night, so I figured I was good.
         The guys came and met me there. There were 5 of them and they brought me a box of MRE military meals, 2 pairs of shorts, 2 shirts, 3 pair of socks, and some other small first aid items. And a cold Gatorade that hit the spot! They were all really cool and were very supportive of my trip. It was a really cool visit and they gave me inspiration just like everyone who stops for me does! They hungout for about 20 minutes and then took off. It was really cool.
        I couldn't find a faucet anywhere there and the outlet where I slept didn't work. So I made my bed and laid down. My feet and legs hurt, I was really sweaty and in fact took my shirt off and threw it away and put one of the shirts they gave me on right away. But my pours still were sweating.
        I laid down and it was a good day. I still only had one eye, but was happy I overcame that and still had a great day and moved with God's speed. I laid down on the concrete and looked up to thank God in a little prayer. It hit me in the middle of the prayer, even with my eye messed up, my legs riddled with scabs from bug bites, my feet and knees in agony, I was experiencing a moment of happiness during that prayer. I slept like a baby that night.

Day 43 / May 16, 2012

In day 43 I woke up at the church off the 49 just south of Collins MS. I woke up at around 9 and had slept pretty well. This was the first night I can remember not being bit by a mesquito since Alabama and staying with the family there. Even though I slept on concrete I was pretty rested and slept ok.
       When I got up I needed to put a new coat of duct tape on the soles of my shoes and also on my carts wheels as well. I spent about 30 minutes doing that. I charged my stuff again before I left while I ate 2 bananas given to me from the day before for breakfast. I filled up my waters and left around 10:30.
         I headed back to the highway 49 and headed north. Not even a mile into my walk and a man pulled over. He said he saw me and so he ran home and brought me leftover t bone steak, sausage, and potato scalps. He also brought me a water and 1 beer. He said a month before that he got out of rehab and was homeless for a month in Dallas and knew how much it would mean. He also let me know the rehab didn't work.
          I kept walking and another mile up a car pulled off ahead of me. A man got out, waved to me, set a bag down and took off. I walked about a hundred yards up and picked up the bag. It was chips, 2 bananas, a soda, and 2 waters. And already I had too much food. My cart was full and I could haul it all. So I took some of it and threw some out in the next houses garbage can out by the road.
           Another half mile up a lady pulled off and brought me a half sandwich from arbys and some fries that she had leftover. She gave me a soda too that she had in an ice chest in the back of her SUV.
            About 2 miles up a man and his son pulled off. They handed me some cracker snacks and bars. They gave me a lighter and a green tea too. And mind you, these were all complete strangers that are not twitter followers, all of the people that stopped this day are strangers I've never met. Also my food sign was covered after the second guy stopped.
         Another mile up a man and wife pulled off to make sure I was ok. They gave me $10. They also got my twitter name and follow me now.
        About another mile ahead a man pulled off pretty far ahead. He walked back to me pretty far. He gave me $5 and said there was a burger king in the next town, and to stop and get myself lunch.
        5 minutes after that a lady pulled off to give me 2 sandwiches and a Gatorade. She said she saw the last man helping me from her house across the street. So she made sandwiches real quick and brought them out to me. She said her daughter received a medical blessing recently and they wanted to share a blessing with me as they were thankful.
           A few miles ahead a truck pulled off. A young guy brought me back a whopper meal from burger king and a poweraid. He wanted to say a prayer for me also.
          I took a break in Collins where I ate some of the food. I was so overwhelmed from the help I was receiving that I don't even have words to describe it on here. But I was ecstatic all day and so thankful to God! Then I got back onto the road.
       Right as I left Collins a car briefly pulled over to offer me a box of leftovers. I said I was full but thanks and God bless.
          Another half mile up a guy, his wife, and his baby pulled off and offered me a ride. I told them I couldn't but thanks anyways.
           A mile up two young guys pulled off and offered me a ride. I told them I couldn't but they still ended up giving me $12. They got my twitter name and now follow me.
        Another half mile up a girl pulled off and offered me a ride to Jackson. I passed and told her thanks for the offer though.
        Right after that a lady pulled off and also offered me a ride. I said I was only walking but a prayer would be appreciated.
        Another couple miles up just before the dark one last lady pulled over and gave me a banana and an apple..
        This day was incredible! I had 14 people stop to offer me help! It was really amazing and it honestly felt fake and like they were hired to be there and to help me. It was pretty wild!
       I finally got to where the church was on my GPS. Except there was no church. It was a house and this has been the first time my GPS has failed me. Luckily across the street there was an auto broker lot where I found an outlet. I had charged up a little on my stop at a church in Collins but I was running low. So I plugged in for a while. I was still in the country and next to the dealership there was some bare land. There was a cement wall around a propane tank there and I slept behind it.
         The spot was a little rocky but I was tired and it was out of sight, so I just roughed it. I laid down and finally fell asleep around 11 or so. I woke up as I felt bites on my arms. When I got my iPod and light the ground up I was right in a red ant hill. So I got up and brushed the ants off me and my sleeping bag. The bites REALLY itched. I moved back a ways to get away from them. I woke up again in the middle of the night and my eyes felt tight like it had a bite or a bump on it. I felt it with my hand and it did have a bump on it and it was irritating. But I ended up falling back asleep.

Day 42 / May 15, 2012

On day 42 I woke up next to the shop across the street from the laundromat in south Hattiesberg. I woke up at around 10 and was ready for the day. I got up and packed up right away. I went across the street to the laundromat to brush my teeth and charge my stuff a little more before leaving.
         I was there for 30 minutes and at 10:30 I headed to the 49 and started walking north through Hattiesberg. I walked through it and in northern Hattiesberg I didn't even know it but I came across Southern Miss. (the college). I walked past it and the football field was right there along the highway. I noticed a gate was open so I decided to try and get onto the field. I went through and got right out onto the turf. It was really cool and it was a beautiful stadium. I was the only person out there and I walked across the field a little. I wanted to continue on the highway to get along on my way so I took off.
        As I reached the north end of town I decided I would take an early break at a Wendy's and charge my devices again before leaving Hattiesberg. I sat there and ordered a couple things off of the dollar menu. I stayed there about an hour and then took off again.
          I hit the end of town and it was open road from there. I walked for maybe an hour when a man pulled over. He said he thought I could use some lunch so he went to get me sonic. He gave me a bag and a soda. I was really thankful. I was pretty full and so I stowed the bag in my cart to save it for dinner.
          Maybe 30 minutes later a man pulled off and brought me some bannanas and a water. He said to be safe walking on the highway. Told him thanks and he took off. I was very surprised with how people were pulling off that often and taking care of me. It was pretty awesome.
          I walked a few hours and was about an hour from my destination. I pulled off for a break as my feet were hurting and my knees were lightly throbbing. I pulled off and ate the food from sonic that the man brought me earlier. When I opened the bag there was also a $5 bill inside of it! That was a cool surprise.
         I headed north on 49 for my last mile. The church was off a little road just off the highway. As I approached it I got to see a really cool sunset. It was a nice night. I got to the church and it was a good place to stay. It was big and nothing was around it. Also it had plenty of chargers behind it and water faucets everywhere. I made my bed under an overhang in the back and plugged my things in. I laid there a while and used the Internet and eventually went to sleep around 11 or so.

Day 41 / May 14, 2012

 

I woke up in south Hattiesberg on day 41. I had slept well, for homeless standards, and was charged and ready for the day. I wasn't sure what time it was as all my electronics were dead. I had one bottle left of water and hoped to find an outlet soon to charge my stuff.
       Before I left I needed to get rid of some weight in my cart. My knees have been hurting lately and my cart is packed too full of stuff. So I picked through it and got rid of some things I could do without. When I left walking I already could feel how much better it felt.
       I had no clue really where I was headed and wanted to hit a McDonald's to use their wifi/outlet and get a gameplan ready for the week. I walked down to a stop sign where there was a storage property and saw a man outside of there in a truck. I asked him where there was a McDonald's north of there? He wasn't sure how to get to it but he guided me in the right direction.
         I headed up the way he said and eventually ran into a charge where there was an outlet out front. I plugged in there and charged for a bit while finding the right route on the GPS. After 15 minutes I headed out.
          On the way to the McDonald's I passed through a construction sight where they were doing roadwork. One of the crew members waved me down and ran after me to give me 2 MRE dinners. He said he had extra and I might be able to use them. That was pretty nice.
         I finally got to McDonald's. I ended up spending most of the day there resting my knees and setting up my weeks route to get to Jackson MS. I wanted to be there by Saturday as the people I met a couple days before we're gonna BBQ for me.
         As the day went by I also wanted to do my laundry. So at around 8 I walked about a half mile away and found a laundromat. I went in there and there was a restroom inside. So I went into the restroom and bathed in there. I stripped down and bathed using the sink and my jacket as a scrub. I put my other clothes on and came out. I took the clothes I was wearing and my sleeping bag and threw them in the wash.
        I sat there for about an hour and a half doing my laundry. After I was done I headed across the street to a church. The church was a little more open then I liked so I ended up sleeping next to a big shop across from it. The shop wasn't near a house and I wasn't sure if it was associated with the church or what? But either way I was pretty hidden  and wasn't too worried. I made my bed there and I felt good and clean and fell asleep comfortable on the grass that night and slept pretty good.

Day 40 / May 13, 2012

I woke up drenched in sweat and had the cold wet tent pressing on me. I didn't sleep well at all and woke up with a headache. I was dead tired and it was hard to wake up, but at the same time I was so uncomfortable that getting up and out of that tent was nice. It was like I had mixed feelings and was just drained from the night.
        I got up and sat there just staring at the ground a while. It was partly just blank thought and just a tired state before I even stood up off the ground. I sat on my tent a while and it was a tough few minutes mentally. Eventually I grabbed another cliff bar to eat for breakfast and somehow found the energy to get up and going. I wasn't looking forward to packing all my stuff up. It seemed like so much work for how drained I was. But again, I found the energy and finally got with it.
       After I packed up I went down to the highway and started walking. My feet hurt, I was sore all over, and I was not feeling in a good mental place. But I just kept stepping. This trek would be much easier if I had accommodations along the way, but the homeless and poor challenge added to walking all day is a challenge. Being drained all the time and keeping myself going physically and mentally is very challenging. But I am proud that I can find my way through it. I feel strong and that I am much tougher than I ever gave myself credit for. And in being strong I have to give the credit to God for helping me have what I need to continue each day.
        I walked a few miles when I noticed the wheels on my cart were starting to crack pretty badly. They were getting to the point where I didn't think they would last much longer. So I pulled off and decided to take some time and do a good duct tape job on them to keep them together. And let me just say, duct tape is awesome! Fixed them up and they were good to go! I also patched the bottoms of my shoe soles with some of it as well and after my break I felt much better with my equipment. I also tried using my Internet before I left and it finally worked! Very happy to see that.
           I walked after that at a good pace and wanted to get up to Hattiesberg MS by the end of the day. It was 22 miles up so I walked a long ways! When I got close to Hattiesberg I took a short walk into the town by taking the old highway 49 road for a shortcut. It was a very nice road and there were hardly any cars. It was shaded from trees growing over it and was very quiet. Nice to take the road less traveled for a change to have a more peaceful walk.
         I walked down that road a few miles and it was maybe 5 or so. Just around then a big red truck pulled up behind me and pulled off the other side of the road and a man said "hi nick". I just smiled as I knew they were there to see me. They got out and dropped the tailgate down. I thought maybe he was a friend of the couple from the day before but he said they didn't know them. They were other twitter followers that have also been tracking and following my journey.
          They had all kinds off stuff for me! They brought me dinner and Gatorade. Also snicker marathon bars (2 packs). And a first aid kit. They had more also but I could only carry so much. I hadn't eaten besides in the morning and was really hungry. I was also just about out of my water bottles (besides the gallons I store). And was pretty thirsty. So we hungout and talked for a while. They were very nice people and we hit it off well. The man was a safety rep for job sites and traveled a lot, and his wife was a kindergarten teacher.
         We stayed there talking about an hour and a half and I ate some chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn they brought me. It was so good! And it worked out since I was hungry when they brought it. It's getting hard to accept things when I can't really carry extra stuff.
         So we stayed there a while then it began raining and getting close to sunset. It was awesome to have their support and I was so thankful! So they left and I continued down the road. It was still very quiet and no cars hardly at all. I was coming to a church ahead where my destination was.
        When I got to the church, it wasn't a very good spot and there were houses all around it. I was still hungry and decided to finish my dinner there though. And also I needed an outlet as my stuff was almost dead. So I went behind the church and sat down on a step to eat. I was sitting there about 10 minutes when I heard a truck pull up and shut off.
          I was hidden behind the corner so he still didn't see me. But I heard footsteps walking back. Then there was an older man and he was obviously looking for me. He asked if I was ok. I told him yes and why I was traveling. He was interested and had many questions. So we talked for 5 minutes or so. He then told me he didn't want to scare me but the old lady that lived next door to the church saw me walk back there and was freaked out, so she pulled her 9mm pistol out and loaded it up and was ready to fire on me if I roamed near her house!
        I was pretty startled by this and just thinking of a scared lady impulsively firing at me if I walked by her house made me think. It was funny, but at the same time a bit freaky.
      The man went to tell her it was on and then brought her back to meet me. When I met her I said thanks for not blowing me away. She laughed. After telling her my story she coincidentally had met a man walking America when she was a little girl. He wrote a book apparently too called "walking America" or something. That was cool to hear about.
       So I chatted with them a while and they said they would pray for me along the way. That was cool. But I didn't want to stay there as they didn't really offer it and it would have been awkward at this point to camp there. So I headed down the road again.
      Right when I left my iPod died and had no GPS and didn't know where the next church was. So I walked a ways and into the dark. I was in Hattiesberg now for a while and it was starting to turn into a rough area. Finally I came across a little church in the country there. It had no outlets or water spickets which sucked. I was almost out of water and had no battery.
          It was a good hidden place to sleep though. I laid behind some trees on the soft grass and made my bed. It was comfortable and I fell asleep much rosier that night. I still was hot and sweaty, but compared to the last night it was far better. I was beat tired and I was out.

Day 39 / May 12, 2012

On day 39 I woke up out back of a church north of Beaumont MS. I was in my sleeping bag and had half my tarp under me with the other half folded and over the top of me incase it would have rained. I woke up and there were a good amount of ants crawling on me so I brushed them off. Not in any hurry but sort of lackadaisically.
        There were some cows in front of me in a pasture and when I sat up they were a little startled and walked away from from me. I got up and took my time packing my stuff. My heel was irritating me a bit and I ended up throwing some more duct tape on the inside of my shoes on the heel part. I ate a cliff bar for breakfast and filled my water jugs also. There was no outlet outside of the church as I walked around it so I didn't get a charge. I packed up and headed out.
         I walked on the highway that went from Beaumont back to the 98. When I got to the 98 about a mile ahead I headed north towards Hattiesberg. There were those little bumps on the shoulder of the highway. I forget what they are called but they are a bit of a hassle to pull my cart through. Either I have to walk in the oncoming lane until a car comes and then go onto the shoulder, walk on the shoulder with one wheel rolling through the bumps (annoying/bouncy/wearing out the wheel), or straddle the cart with a wheel on each side and walk through the bumps which hurt my feet. So either way I'm always having to somewhat be uncomfortable.
        I walked about 5 miles up the 98 when I pulled off for a break. At this point my iPod and wifi devise we're now dead. I knew I wouldn't have to get off the 98 for a while and knew there was a town up ahead where I would get a charge. So I drank some water and continued north.
          I walked a good ways up and there was really nothing along the highway. I was keeping my eye out incase I passed a church where I could charge up but never saw one. I was really hoping the town ahead would have a place I could sit where there was an outlet and wireless Internet. But it looked like the town might be pretty bare.
         As I approached New Agusta I didn't see anywhere I would find Internet. I Kept walking through and I saw some restaurant or something ahead but didn't recognize the logo of the sign out front and figured it was a local place that wouldn't have Internet. But as I walked closer it actually turned out to look more like a fast food place and I figured I would check it out. It was a Wards, which I have never seen or heard of. As I walked up saw on the window that they had wifi! I was pretty surprised! I went in and found a charger and was relieved!
        I ordered a chicken sandwich and a drink there and connected to the Internet. Man that was some good food and having a connection to my friends and family was nice! As I sat there charging up and eating I let people know my location on twitter and that I had no service for the last few days.
      After a while relaxing there I heard a voice say "nick!". I looked up very confused and surprised. It was a couple and they had a shoe box. I couldn't believe it! They said they were from Jackson (2 hours away) and were down in the area and wanted to help out. They brought me a brand new pair of asex shoes! At first I was thinking it would be hard to pack and any extra weight was tough to haul. And I was planning and hoping for the nikes I started with to last at least half way. But once I felt how light the shoes they brought were I would have no problem packing them. And after all if I need them badly at some point that would be very nice to have! I was very thankful they found me and helped me out!
         They sat with me and we talked for a while. It was pretty cool to have company and especially people who don't think I'm insane. Usually people I talk to along the way seem a little unsure of me. So it was nice to have someone who follows the blog and my journey who knows and has more of a sense of who I am.  Even though I never met them or knew them before this day it was nice to have them there. We talked for maybe an hour and then they were headed out back to their home in Jackson. They also invited me to stay with them when I arrive in Jackson for a night to shower and get me and my stuff cleaned up and relax and have a bed for a night. So I told them I definitely would when I arrived up there. We said goodbye and they left.
        I was pretty happy they stopped and it was pretty cool going from no connection to anyone even on Internet, to having internet then having visitors know where to find me also.
       A little later I was starting to figure the rest of my day out. I found a church ahead a ways and figured I could leave soon and make it up the highway before dark. Just as I considered getting ready to leave it began to downpour! There was lightning and thunder and extremely heavy rain! It poured a while then all off a sudden, boom! Lightening struck hard again and right when I heard the roaring thunder the power inside the wards shut off. It was pretty weird and it was just me and the workers inside there in dead silence and a gloomy dark. About 5 minutes later it came back on. The rain kept falling.
         So it stormed for a while and the power was on and off through the next few hours. It was about 5 now and I was starting to worry where I would stay. I looked out the windows and there wasn't much around the area. I was going to have to wing it and hoped the rain would stop.
         At around 7 the rain had stopped and I wanted to get somewhere to stay before dark or before the rain came back. So I walked north up the highway and found a little road that pulled off and went over the railroad tracks. I tried to find a place to be hidden to maybe pitch my tent. But no luck. It was too swampy and thick and there literally was nowhere out of sight. And usually I'm pretty good and finding hideouts.
      So I got back on the 98 and went north again. I went up the highway and it was getting dark. Even along side the highway I couldn't even find a clearing to get behind trees or anything. It is so thick that you can't even walk into the trees. It was now dark and I was more worried. I was desperate for a spot to stay and it wasn't looking any better.
       Finally I spotted a driveway. I looked around and there was no mail box. The driveway went into the trees the sort of faded away. There was a little clearing and I made a decision that this would be my spot. The only spot I had room to lay down was in some bushes that were a couple feet tall and were visible from the road. I could get behind them but I couldn't pitch my tent or the top half would stick out over the bushes and easily be seen by traffic. I knew it was possibly going to storm so I made a game time call to lay my tent out but not pitch it. So my tent laid out and I crawled into it. I had my sleeping bag inside and crawled in that as well. Then to keep dry I laid my tarp over my tent also. I put my cart on the end of the yard so it wouldn't fly away either. Then my cart had a garbage bag over it to keep it dry.
       So I zipped my tent and it literally was pressing down on my face with the tarp on top of it too. It quickly was very hot inside there and condensation made the tent wet also. So I was dripping sweat off my arms and face, and my tent was also wet on my arms and face. It was pretty miserable. It took me a couple hours to fall asleep as I tossed and turned.
        I woke up in the middle of the night and I needed air. I was hot and it was so stuffy it was almost unbearable. I started feeling around for the tent door and I couldn't find it. I was twisting around feeling for it but the tent had so much slack that it had twisted around me as I tossed and turned earlier. I was bonded up inside of it and it felt like there was no air! I thought for a brief moment about ripping it open with full force, but realized not to freak out. I paused, then started feeling again. I finally found the door and opened it to breath some fresh air. It was a very hard night and my rest was very limited.

Day 38 / May 11, 2012

 I woke up on day 38 and had slept pretty good. I was pretty comfortable when I got up and it was about 8:30. I packed up quickly and got ready. I wanted to look at a blister on my heel that was hurting pretty badly. When I pulled off my socks it was pretty nasty. It was about a quarter sized hole that went deep into the layers of skin on the back of my heel. I didn't have much to patch it with. So I ended up folding toilet paper I had into a square shape big enough to cover it, and then threw a bandaid over it. It was sort of like an oakie band aid. I put my shoes on and it actually felt ok.
         I still had no Internet signal for the 3rd day now and knew my family might be worried. I also had no way of planning a route except just taking the highway northwest on 98 and winging it. So I ate some wheat thins from the man who brought me dinner the day before, and left walking around 9.
       I was going at a good pace and just took little 10 minute breaks here and there. Beaumont was about 20 miles up and was the next town. I wanted to get there and see if they had Internet wifi somewhere. So I walked a good pace.
         At around 11 a lady in a van pulled over and gave me some left over catfish and a coke. She also gave me $10. It was really cool and when she left I was hungry so I ate some of the catfish.
         About 3 hours later I was making good time and covering ground. A guy pulled over in a jeep and gave me a bunch of fresh fruit. Sliced kiwi, strawberry, and cantelope. I was hungry again at that point so I ate that up too.
          I walked a long ways and was tired. My feet hurt but I was almost to Beaumont. As I approached the town I took another road off the highway that went to the town. When I got into that road it began to rain. It was a steady rain so I covered my cart with my jacket and threw my trash bag over myself.
      Right as I got into the town of Beaumont there was a cop parked on the side of the road and I decided to see if he would let me use a phone to call my mom. He got out as I walked up and looked at me suspiciously. I told him my situation and he was a little rude about it. He kept asking repetitive questions and said it was weird that I was traveling with no source of communication. I told him many times I have Internet but just hit a dead zone with no service but he still kept saying I looked suspicious and asked why I was in the middle of nowhere? He checked my ID and afterwards seemed very hesitant to let me use the phone but he finally let me.
        I called my mom and told here I was ok and to tweet to anyone that was worried and let them know the Internet situation. I made the call short since the cop still was weirded out. After the call I asked the cop if there were any wifi places there and he said no. He seemed like he wanted me out of there. He said I wouldn't have Internet signal until Hattiesberg and that was a bummer as it was still a few days away.
       So I walked through the little town of Baumont. There really wasn't anything there. It was tiny and I was on the end of town right away. I didn't know where I would stay and the sun was setting. So I passed though the town and kept going. I hoped to find a church but it didn't look promising. There were thick trees and swamp. Not even a place to pull off.
     So I walked a ways and could barely go on. I was so sore and hurting and didn't have much left in me. I said a prayer that I would find a church or somewhere to stay soon, or to have the strength to carry me on until there was one. About 10 minutes later, in the middle of nowhere, there was a church.
        I walked behind it and made my bed. I was very relieved and extremely tired. I fell asleep right away and slept like a baby.