Day 37 / May 10, 2012

 
I woke up on day 37 well rested. I slept good. The sun was shining and had woke me up around 10. I got up and packed up quickly. I went to the front of the church but still never found an outlet there. I filled up my waters and headed to the next town to try and find a charge and hopefully a place with wireless Internet.
          I walked about 5 miles and reached the town of Lucedale MS. It was a very small town and I didn't find anywhere really to stop and for sure no wifi spots. I passed the town and there was a church there where I stopped and found an outlet. As I sat there charging my stuff a truck and trailer with a lawn mower pulled up. It was a man there to cut the church lawn. He got out and came over and I told him I was just using the outlets briefly. He asked where I was going and I told him about my journey. He was really interested in it. He picked my brain a little and then said he was the pastor of the church.
          He was a really cool guy and told me about himself too. He was a $2000 a week cocaine addict at one point and was a drug dealer that spanned 3 states (Alabama/Mississippi/Louisiana). He said he is lucky he's not in jail and God saved him. It was a powerful story. He took me inside the church to show me around. He had built the church with his family 10 years ago and was proud of it. I thought that was cool.
       He asked if I needed a shower or anything as there was a bathhouse out back. He offered for me to use the facility if I needed anything. I told him I was ok but thanks. A shower would have been cool but it's hard if I can't do laundry too.
             He told me to use the charger out front as long as I needed and if I needed anything else to let him know. He went and started cutting the lawn. I stayed there about 15 more minutes and then left. I checked my Internet again and still had no connection. I was upset about that.
        I walked another 7 miles or so when a truck pulled off and asked if I was hungry. It was an old man in a truck. I said ya a little, and he pulled a bag out of churches chicken and handed it to me with a soda also. I thanked him sincerely and he said "enjoy!". I sat down under a tree and ate a chicken breast and a biscuit and washed it down with a soda. It was my first meal all day and it was delicious.
        So after that I continued. I walked a couple more hours when another truck pulled off. It was a middle age man who asked where I was going. I told him and he was impressed. He said he wanted to take me to eat dinner at his house. I said I really appreciated it but I couldn't ride in a car and was only walking. He lived 8 miles in the wrong direction so there was no way I was going to walk it. He said he wished he could help me but he had nothing on him. I said a prayer means as much as anything. He said he could do that no problem.
        So I walked another 4 or 5 miles and it was nearing sunset. I didn't really have a destination that day since my Internet still wasn't working. So I was just winging it. As I was walking the same truck pulled off in front of me. It was the same guy and he had doubled back to bring me dinner. He handed me a bag of hot food. He said he was headed to a church prayer group but wanted to bring me dinner first. I was so thankful and couldn't believe how nice that was. He said he was going to send out prayers for me and then he left.
       So I looked for a place to sit down and about a half mile ahead I crossed a church. I walked up to it and sat down there. I ate the Dinner while it was still hot. It was some rice his wife made and it was good. He also gave me a salad too. So I enjoyed dinner relaxing there.
       When I was done it was about 7:30 and I figured I would just stay there to be safe and not get caught walking in the dark looking for a place to sleep. So I went behind the church and made my camp. I laid down and called it a night. There were some horses behind me whose fence came up close to me about 20 feet away. They were hanging out and eating by me for a while and I enjoyed listening to them stomp around and eat. I fell asleep early around 9:30.

Day 36 / May 9, 2012

 It started raining and I heard the drops on my sleeping bag. It was just light enough where I could tell the sun would rise soon. I was still tired so I sat up and grabbed my tarp out of my cart and unfolded it to throw it over the cart and myself to stay dry. I went back to sleep for a while. When the tarp is over me it gets really hot and the moisture makes everything wet too. It was pretty uncomfortable and I was really sweaty, but I was still tired so I was in and out of sleep a while longer.
       When I finally was ready to get up I opened my eyes and there was a spider right in front of my nose. I was a couple inches away from the dirt and he was there right in front of my face. I didn't really flinch but rather just sat up slowly and it crawled off and under the AC unit I slept next to.
        I woke up and the rain had stopped. The sky was pretty clear. It was going to be my last morning in Alabama as the state line was ahead about 10 miles. I was exited to cross another state and felt good as I got through Alabama in such a short amount of time compared to Florida.
        I packed up and found an outlet to charge up a bit. I also filled up my water jugs. I munched on a cliff bar for breakfast that the Alabama crew I stayed with gave to me. When I had a good charge I headed out.
        As I left Semmes AL a car pulled over in front of me. It was a lady and her daughter. They said they had some snacks for me. They gave me 3 little bags of chips and 2 sodas. I was exited and it meant a lot as it would be perfect for lunch. I put the snacks in my cart and kept walking.
      I walked a good pace and covered some ground early. It was around 1 (I started from the church at 9:30) and I was close to the state line. I took a lunch break when I crossed over a lake.  I sat on a concrete barrier and relaxed while I ate all 3 of the chip bags and pounded both sodas. Sat there about 20 minutes then was ready for Mississippi.
      When I reached the state line I was happy. I really felt confident and it was a cool achievement. I was honestly the most pumped as my little cart that I haul my supplies in had lasted since Jacksonville. The thing is so flimsy looking but has proven to be pretty tough.
        When I passed the line I walked about 4 miles then took another break. I sat in the shade and when I tried using my Internet I had no service. So I ate more chips from the lady yesterday that gave me a bag of groceries. I killed those and drank some water. For some reason I was more hungry than normal today.
         I got back on the road and had about 5 more miles to get to the church I was headed to for the night. It was a tough walk up some rolling hills but I made it. It was just at sunset. When I got there it was Wednesday night, so there was a service going on. I walked past it and scoped it out. I didn't see anyone outside and I had a good angle to get behind the church without anyone seeing me from the front. So I went for it. I got behind and it was very hidden with basically bushes all around me. It was a good spot and I was pretty sure I wasn't seen. I tried using my Internet again and still no signal. I was hoping maybe it was just a dead zone. I always fear that my Internet device will break or that my iPod will. So I hoped it wasn't that. I didn't see a charger either and just figured I would check the front in the morning. I laid there and closed my eyes. I fell asleep a while and when the service was over I woke up hearing all the cars starting and leaving. I went back to bed after that.

Day 35 / May 8, 2012

On day 35 I was in Mobile, AL. I woke up in a bit of a rough area at a church. Surprisingly I slept pretty good and don't know how I have gotten used to sleeping on concrete, but I have. I woke up and packed up. My heel blisters were hurting a little and especially the right heel. So I walked across the street to a CVS to look for moleskin but they didn't have any.
       I headed up the highway on my route towards highway 98. I walked through town a while and it was a little ghetto. It was tough to walk along that route because there were no sidewalks and no shoulder. It was constantly changing and would go from grass to rocks and then to a ditch. It was a challenge to walk that road.
       Eventually I checked my GPS and I had actually missed my turn. So I ended up detouring and getting back to the 215. I had to walk maybe an extra mile to get back on track and was a little upset about it. When I was on the 215 a car pulled off in front of me. A lady got out and waved at me from maybe 100 yards ahead. I waved back. Then she sat a bag down and waved again. I gave an affirmitive wave and a thumbs up. She took off but left me something. When I got up there it was a grocery bag with a box of graham crackers, a bag of cheeto chips, and a peach fanta drink. That was pretty cool and made me happy. Very thankful for the good people out here.
       I took the 215 to the 98. When I hit the 98 it began raining and quickly turned to a down pour. I pulled off and sat under an overhang to stay dry at an old closed down store.
       When I sat there I checked my Internet and saw that my dad had sent me a message on my free texting app I have. It made me a little teary eyed and emotional. My dad is not a texter so I know he went out of his way to send that and I was really happy. I miss my family and know that will be tough as time passes.
         After the rain let up I continued. I made it to the town of Semmel which was about 10 miles from the Mississippi state line. I came to a church just passed the town where I decided to stay. I pulled off and walked around it. There wasn't really any ideal place to sleep so I ended up staying between an AC unit and the church to stay hidden. I made my bed and went to sleep around 10.

Day 34 / May 7, 2012

 On day 34 I woke up in the bathroom stall at a campground east of Mobile AL. When I woke up and finally decided to get up after waking up all through the night, I sat up and wiped probably hundreds of ants off of me. I was still very tired but I was ready to get out of this place. When I got up there were thousands of ants all over my stuff and all over the floor all around me. I found where they were going and it was the side pocket of my backpack where there were 2 lolly pops from a lady in Florida who gave me a bag of stuff. I pulled them out and threw them away. Then I used my hat to get as many of the ants off as possible.
       I brushed my teeth and got ready to go. When I opened the door to go outside of the bathroom I could tell it was early. The sun was just rising. So I headed down the road. It was nice because it was pretty cool and I figured if I could get my walking done early I could miss the heat. Even though I was tired I set a good pace.
       A couple miles into the walk I suddenly saw something in the weeds next to me a few feet off the shoulder of the road. Alligator!!!! It was about 7 foot long and thick too!!! I jumped back a bit! My goosebumps and hairs all were stiff! I looked at it and realized it was dead. Near it's tail the bones were exposed and it was dried out. Whew! But at a glance it looked alive! I looked at it a while and took a picture then continued.
       I walked over the small bridges along the 90 where all the rivers from the delta went into the bay. It was a nice walk. As I neared Mobile I had to head north a few miles as the main bridges (big bridges) to get to the city had no walking access. So I headed north as the 90 went up and then after a few miles crossed a large bridge into an industrial area in north Mobile. My iPod died just before the bridge and I couldn't remember the exact route directions. So I kept an eye out for outlets. But there were no stores of food places and it was all industrial stuff.
     So I had to wing it and just sort of kept heading west. I went through neighborhoods and weaved through small roads and worried I was going the wrong way and might end up having to walk extra to find my way to the original route once I found a charge. The area was rough also and some of the cars passing had me a little worried. Most the houses either had bars on them, or were abandoned. It was pretty sketchy.
      Finally a while passed and I hit a main road and there was a McDonald's. I went in and found an outlet to plug my things in. I also ordered 2 mcchickens as I was somewhat comfortable with it having more money now. I had gone about 15 miles and across the street was a big church that had a good spot to sleep so I figured that would be it for walking on that day.
       I hung out in there most of the day. Around 5 or so I went across to a dollar store and bought duct tape for $3. I took my time sitting outside the store and duct taped the soles of my shoes pretty thoroughly. I put a good layer over the entire soles and really stuck a bunch of pieces on there good. When I was doing that a homeless lady passed by me. She was a black lady with a few teeth and looked in pretty bad shape. She asked where I was going. We made small talk and she was pretty friendly. She never asked for anything but I sort of impulsively pulled $5 out and gave it to her. I was a little nervous to do that. But after a few minutes I realized paying it forward and sharing what I have been given is the right thing to do. This made me feel better and I was happy I helped her. She looked like she needed it more than I did at that moment.
       I went back to the McDonald's and hunout there a while longer. It was dark and the crowd inside was pretty wild and loud. Very entertaining. A man came in with raggedy clothes and held a nice electric guitar. He also had a backpack with an amp in it. He started playing and he was good! He was playing iron man, jimmy Hendricks, all kinds of good stuff. He was really good. I pulled another dollar out and handed it to him. He also looked rough and only had 1 tooth compared to the lady before who had 3. He played a while and everyone inside was loving it!
        At about 10 I decided to head to the church. When I came outside the McDonald's I noticed 2 guys standing behind a building in a shadow. I saw them earlier inside the McDonald's. As I walked towards the street I noticed they were behind me. So instead of going to the church I walked past it and they followed me. When I noticed that I turned around and walked towards them and was going to head back near the McDonald's where there was traffic. As I walked towards them they crossed to the other side of the street, opposite of me. And kept going. I stopped and watched and they never turned around and kept walking. At first I thought they were following me, then I thought maybe it was just a coincidence. Not sure.
       I walked to the church and the front had a landing with bushes around it. I laid down there and it was hidden from the street. I just hoped nobody saw me walk up to it. If not I didn't think anyone would see me from walking down the sidewalk or driving by. I fell asleep there after laying a while and hearing some crazy people walking around and yelling and stuff. It was still a pretty rough areas to be in. I passed out eventually on the concrete

Day 33 / May 6, 2012

I woke up on day 33 again in Katherine's house on the air mattress. I laid there a while to enjoy my last bit of time laying on such a comfortable spot. I never know where I could end up that night being back on the move. So I soaked it in.
         Katherine's mom had laid a couple shirts out for me so that I had something decent to wear to church. There was a dress shirt and a polo. The only shoes I have are my duct taped nikes so I decided to go with the polo as I figured the dress shirt would look worse with my shoes. So I got up and hopped in the shower. I hoped I wasn't interrupting anyone's routine to get ready by using the bathroom.
        After I showered I got dressed and needed to pack my cart. I loaded my clothes into my backpack, and packed the other things they had given me to take(they gave me about 10 cliff bars to take). So after I packed it up it was time to go. Katherine came down and was ready to go and had asked if she could walk with me. I of course was happy to say yes. So I put my backpack on and we headed off.
       The church was really close, it was maybe a half mile down the road. As we were walking there we had to look funny walking together. I was hauling my hobo cart that says "food" on it, and my beard and hair are out of control, and she was in a white dress with a flower in her hair and looked beautiful. I think the cars passing were confused.
       We got to the church and I stashed my cart behind the bushes outside. I grabbed a dollar to give to the offering. I don't have much to spare but I want to pay forward at least a little of what I have received. We went inside and there were classes going on before the service. Katherine's dad was in a room with the high school kids and he wanted me and Katherine to join him. So we went in there and sat down. He wanted to share my story with the kids and give them a chance to ask me questions. So he shared what I was doing and I gave some input to them on how I have experienced God's presence in my journey. It feels good to share that with them as it is something real that I have lived through.
          The kids asked me some questions and I answered them the best I could. I also showed them the video of Corey Fuller (the football player I met) and told them the story. They enjoyed that and for the most part seemed interested in what I am doing.
        After the class we headed down to the service. It was a good message and it really made me think deep. I enjoyed being there with the whole family and getting to have our final morning together in the house of God.
       When the service ended it was time to say farewell to everyone except Katherine's parents. I would join them in the church lunch, but Katherine and the rest of the crew were leaving. I said goodbye to them and it was a little sad. They were such good hearted people and had given me such a warm stay in Spanish Fort, AL. I was so thankful for what they did for me and felt sad leaving them. But I gave them all hugs and bid farewell. Katherine handed me $20 also. I really was uncomfortable when she did that and didn't want to take it as they had done so much already. I told her I couldn't accept that after all they did, but she said take it. We said goodbye again and they were off.
         So I stayed behind and met a few more people. I met one of their aunts also. She had heard I was staying with them and she talked a bit with me and also handed me $20. I again, as I always do, said are you sure? And she said yes, and she wanted to help. It was so amazing how nice the people were. Even after all they did for me, which to me is worth much more than money at this point. They still insisted I accept this also.
         So we headed to the church lunch and I hadn't eaten yet so I was starved. I made my plate so big that it almost broke the plate. Everything looked so good and I wanted all of it. I sat down and devoured it. Everything on my plate was amazing. I'm not sure if it's because of the lifestyle out here, but usually at pot lucks there are things that are good, then things that are alright. But here, everything was good, equally. Even though I was stuffed I went for desert too and pigged out on cheesecake and another chocolate dish. Again it was great.
        I stuck around there and talked to some more people and it was a good time. A good social place to be after being alone for days. I was happy there.
        It was afternoon and about time to hit the road. I went outside with Katherine's parents and gave them the shirt back. I said goodbye and gave them each about 3 hugs. I was so thankful that they gave my such amazing hospitality. Again I was sad to leave them. They invited me back anytime and I really hope I can make a trip back there sometime in the future.
        So I went and grabbed my cart. I sat down and put some duct tape on the heel part of the inside of my shoes as they had holes in them that we're irritating my heels. Finally, I packed up and was off. I walked down the highway towards Mobile. I only got about a mile when Katherine's cousin Gair pulled over in front of me. He hopped out of his car and had a box full of cliff bars. He handed me that and also gave me a small pack size Bible. He said he hoped it would help and he wished me luck on my journey. That was rad and I was really happy with the things he gave me. He also said to stay in touch and he thought what I am doing is really cool. We said goodbye and I headed down the road.
         I got maybe 5 miles down and my heels were staring to blister, FAST! I pulled off at a campground to let them rest. I was worried they might get worse and cause me to stop for sometime so I wanted to rest them to be safe. I sat on a bench under an overhang for a while. Within about 20 minutes it went from clear skies and mid 80's, to a huge dark cloud covering the whole sky and cold and windy. It was something I normally don't see in California.
       So I sat there and the cold wind turned into rain. The rain was really heavy and the clouds were very dark. It didn't look like it would stop and I was starting to worry about where I would stay. When I walked into the camp ground I noticed it was $30 to camp for a night. There was no way I was spending that much of what little I had. I was drawing a blank.
       The rain got heavier and the wind picked up. Now even under the overhang was getting rain as the wind carried it sideways right under the cover. I grabbed my things and ran to a bathroom about 50 yards away. When I got there I knew even to set up my tent wasn't an option as I would get soaked just putting it up. Plus there was nowhere out of sight. As I got into the bathroom it went from loud as hell, to silent. It was a new bathroom and there was a heater on in there and it was warm. Right away I knew.....this is where I'm gonna have to stay tonight.
        I went back to the back stall and it was just big enough to fit my cart and me inside it. Thank God it was clean too. I went in and pushed my cart up against the wall. I just kept looking at it like "am I really going to do this?" and would realize it was about my only option. So finally I pulled my sleeping bag out and layed it down.
       The space I had to lay down was small and I wouldn't be able to stretch out all the way. So I folded my sleeping bag in half and laid on it. I could only lay in a fetal position so that my legs didn't stick out under the stall door. Luckily nobody was coming in to use it. That made it easier. So I laid there switching laying on one side to the next over and over til I fell asleep. My iPod was also dead and there was no charger in the bathroom.
       I woke up at least every 20 minutes all night. There were ants in there too and I would constantly feel them crawling on me. At one point I woke up in the middle of the night and saw that there were ants all over my cart. I sat up and saw a trail crawling right next to where I was laying of thousands of ants. I couldn't do anything and if I disturbed them they would have ended up all over me even more. I couldn't think of what they were after in my cart? I was dead tired and just fell back asleep as they continued to crawl on me.
       Then later I herd the door open. I had no clue what time it was as my iPod was dead and there was no way of seeing outside. But judging on how tired I was I figured it was still night. The footsteps walked in and I bundled up quietly closer to the wall so he wouldn't see me underneath the stall door. I had locked it and just hoped nobody would come to this stall. Luckily he stayed near the urinals and never got close. I went back to sleep when he left. I slept very badly, and when I did sleep it was with ants crawling on me which felt like I was always somewhat conscious. It was a very rough night.

Day 32 / May 5, 2012

I woke up on day 32 pretty early. Right when I woke up I still was pretty shocked that I was in a nice house and was clean and comfortable. It was pretty wild to me after being homeless and smelly so much in the last month.
       As I opened my eyes I was wondering if anyone was awake yet. I honestly wanted to go back to sleep and sleep in, but if they were up I would feel guilty and would have got up. I heard nothing and it didn't sound like anyone had gotten out of bed yet. So I took a deep breath and stretched then rolled over onto my side and closed my eyes dozing off again and feeling very comfortable. It was really nice to have my entire body comfortable with no aches or pain.
        I woke up again about an hour later. It was maybe 10:30 and I heard someone in the kitchen. I got up and had a great night of rest. I walked around into the dining room and kitchen area and it was Katherine's dad. He was making some coffee and tinkering around in the kitchen.
       I hung out with him and talked as we just kind of took in the morning. I was looking out the window and I realized I hadn't really done that this whole trip. Waking up and looking out to see what the outside looked like. Usually I am the outside. It was interesting. Weird how things like that cross my mind as it is something you would never think about when you are just accustomed to it.
          He asked me if I liked bacon eggs and grits. And I said "oh yeah!". Honestly at this point anything thats hot sounds good living like this. Just heated food is also something that is nice to have. Another one of those weird things I never thought about before. What is so good about hot food? I'm not really sure but when I eat something hot lately it seems to feed the soul.
         We hung out and talked about general stuff for a while as everyone sort of stumbled out of their rooms in the next hour. When breakfast was done we sat down and ate some Grits, scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. It was a real treat to have a breakfast like that. It was the first time I think I have had actual breakfast food (besides one McDonald breakfast) on the trip. I really enjoyed it and not only was the taste good, but the mental feeling of hot breakfast that was home cooked with good company really hit close to home.
        We all sat around and just kind of had a lazy morning/afternoon. Katherine's friends showed up a little later and the crew from last night were all there. They were planning to go to a craw fish boil at around 5 or so and were baking and making desserts to take to that. Katherine's mom told me some of their family history and I shared a little about my family with all of them. Made me miss home even more but I still felt at home being with them here also, and that feeling was great.
         So after a while they were all getting ready to leave to the boil, and they insisted I stay another night there. They said I could stay there while they were gone no problem and they would be back later. I was a little hesitant to stay just because I wasn't sure if they were sincerely wanting me to stay, or if they felt guilty kicking me out. I shared that thought with them and they were very insistent that I stay and that I could walk to their church (which was on my route out) in the morning and join the service with them. I was very happy that they enjoyed my company as I really loved being there. So I decided to stay.
        After they all left I was there alone. It was a pretty good feeling that a person who looks pretty rugged and homeless (me) that their family knew not even a full 24 hours trusted me to stay there alone in their house for hours. It was reassuring and really made me feel good about myself and that they felt comfortable with that. Plus hauling a big screen away on my cart would have been a slow getaway. Jk. So I watched a couple movies while they were gone and I actually missed them and couldn't wait til they were home.
        A little later they came back. They brought me some crawfish and I tried it for the first time. It was really good but was quite a bit of work for such a small amount of food. I think the boil is more of a social gathering with other foods and not just eating a lot of actual crawfish. It would take me hours to fill up on it. But it was cool to try and was tasty.
          When they got back it was dark and everyone was pretty tired, including myself. Everyone kind of left to do their things and study for school, ect. So me and Katherine and her friend Andrew ended up watching a movie. We watched Legends of the Fall, my favorite. I have never enjoyed it as much as I did watching it there. Maybe it's because I hadn't watched TV or anything in a month, but it has so much more of an effect on me. I really enjoyed watching a movie.
      After the movie everyone was dead tired. Katherine told me that whatever I needed to make myself at home and asked if I was ok. I told her I was great and everything was good. Andrew left and everyone went to bed. I laid on the air mattress and dozed off. It was the last night I would stay as I needed to keep moving west. I started to think about where I might stay the next night. I caught myself stressing about it and then told myself, enjoy tonight and what God has given you. And tomorrow just trust He will give you the strength to get through whatever trials you face. That thought put me at ease. I fell asleep and was very comfortable.

Day 31 / May 4, 2012

On day 31 I woke up at about 9 and was ready to go. I was really ready to get out of there and moving west again. I woke up very rested and ready to go. I hopped up and got ready, packing my things quickly.
       I went up to the church to get a full charge and fill my waters before I would leave. Everything was ready so I gave myself a few minutes to use the Internet before taking off. As I laid there a lady in a car pulled in and slowly drove by me then stopped. She rolled her window down and asked if I was Nick? I was really confused but answered yeaahhh...? She asked if I was done and needed a ride? I was so lost and confused. I told her I was about to leave and I was going to walk. I was thinking maybe someone called her about my journey or something, but thought that was improbable and if so, why did she ask if I needed a ride?...then she asked where I was going? And I told her towards California. Then she said "oh. Your traveling through?" and I said yes. Then she told me I had to leave because there was nobody at the church. I told her no problem and got up to leave. I was still confused but figured maybe another nick was supposed to do work or something at the church? I don't know. But either way it was good timing for someone to say I had to leave in my 3 day stay there as I was about to anyways. I put my backpack on and started down the road.
      My feet felt good and I was excited to be moving again. I also decided that if I could find a Mexican restaurant I would go in and order a side and fill up on chips and salsa. So I googled one and it was two towns away in Loxley. Perfect as I would be there around dinner time.
       I got to Robertsdale and came to a dollar general store. I was also planning to buy some Dr Scholls inserts for my feet. So I stopped there and they had them. They were $12! I wasn't happy spending that much but it was a necessity for the health of my feet. So I picked them up and inserted those bad boys into my shoes. It felt like I was walking on a cloud. Felt wayyyy better. I also munched on some more crackers there while I was stopped.
         I left there and headed through Robertsdale. I passed a house where there was a girl and a guy maybe in their mid 20's on the porch. They had a few dogs that were barking at me like crazy too. I waved to them and passed by. About a half mile later a car passed me then made a u turn and pulled off next to me. It was the girl from the porch. She said she saw my sign and since her dogs barked so much at me she figured she would bring me food. She said they didn't have much but she brought me 6 cans of Vienna sausages. I was so thankful and told her it meant a lot. Those things are good to pack and are a decent meal for how small they are.
        I got into the middle of town and suddenly it started raining. The clouds looked nasty so I pulled off at the next church I came to and sat under the overhang. As soon as I had cover it really started coming down. I sat there and watched the down pour for about 45 minutes. When it stopped the sun was out again instantly, so I continued.
        I passed the edge of town and took the 90 north towards Loxley AL. It was about 5 or 6 miles up and I finally came to the town. I walked through along the sidewalk. At a stop light a car pulled along side of me and a lady called me over and handed me $5 and said she didn't have food but to use that and buy dinner. It was about 5 now and I was close to the Mexican restaurant so that was perfect! I said thanks and God bless and was happy. I would pig out thanks to her $5.
         Right before I came to the restaurant a van pulled next to me and it was an older lady. She said she was a teacher and had left over snacks from her class. She handed me a bag that had 3 little bags of sun chips and $5. She said God bless and drove off. It feels so good when I get multiple people in short amounts of time to help me. It's funny because we are all raised not to talk to strangers. And the only reason I'm able to survive is by talking to strangers.
            So I arrived at the Mexican restaurant. I stashed my cart behind the building inside some bushes and went in. I asked if they had a table with a plug in and they did. It was in the back corner and I was happy there as I like to be hidden so I dont scare kids. I sat there and ordered a side and ate 2 baskets of chips with salsa. I'm liking this cheap trick and will be able to use it most of the way as there will only be more and more Mexican food places the closer I am to California.
          I left there very full and just as the sun was starting to set. I was in a really good mood for some reason and headed towards Spanish Fort where the church I would stay at was nearby. I had my headphones in and was singing Jason Alden as I watched a beautiful sunset. It was really nice and I had a strong appreciation for its beauty.
         As it got dark I still had about 3 miles to go. I was walking down the highway when a black Tahoe passes me and stopped ahead of me. It pulled into a driveway then turned around facing the road and stopped. As I walked up I wasn't sure if they had stopped for me or not so I figured I would just walk by unless they say something. As I walked by I heard a girls voice say "hey, where are you going?" I sort of turned back and headed up to the car. It was dark and I couldn't really see well. When I walked up closer it was a young girl likely around my age. I told her I was headed towards California and am trying to walk there from Florida. She said she had some left overs and handed them to me. We talked for a minute or so and then she asked if I needed a place to stay? I was excited she asked but knew I would only do it if it was along the way as I didn't want to veer far off my path and add extra miles. Just then she picked up her phone and said "mom he's not a weirdo, just an adventurer". That was funny, and smart of her. She had called her mom before I approached and set the phone on the console so her mom could hear her. If she was my daughter that would have made me proud. A good idea to be safe, especially since I look like a predator.
       So she showed me where she lived and it was on the way. It was a different route than I had planned but was only maybe a mile or so more and a hot shower and laundry alone was worth a mile. So I got her address and punched it in. It was 5 miles away and I would get there walking at around 10:30. So I let her know and we planned to meet there.
        When she took off I thought to myself, a beautiful girl pulls over in a nice Tahoe and offers me food and a place to stay that's ahead on my route, no way this is real. I honestly thought when I would walk up to the door at her house I would wake up on concrete somewhere with bugs all over me and be pissed!
       So I started walking at a good pace. I was so excited and thankful that I felt like a kid waking up for Christmas. I couldn't believe I would have shelter for the first time on this journey, and after the last few nights it made me appreciate it even more.
        As I pulled up to the house I was anxious to meet her family but nervous too. And since I walked so fast I was really sweaty and nasty. I got to their door and knocked. She answered it and said her family and friends were there. I was very nervous now. I pulled my cart and backpack off and put it aside by the front door. I walked into the dining room and there was a table of her friends. I met them all and shook their hands. I warned them I smell bad and apologized for my nasty beard. After I shook their hands as I back stepped from the table I tripped on a small table and almost ate it pretty bad. That was pretty embarrassing.
         Katherine (girl who was in the Tahoe) asked if I wanted to hop in the shower. I was so excited to feel hot water on my skin again and have missed that. I said yeah. And told her I was excited. She showed me where the bathroom was and I went in to take a shower. It was AWESOME! Best shower of my life, hands down. After the last 30 days only having 3 showers under water hoses or faucets outside, this was a treat.
         When I got out of the shower I came out and was wearing my extra shirt and jeans. The jeans I havn't worn since I started and they were falling off. And my shirt stunk as it was only washed with some conditioner under a hose too. I met Katherine's parents and her brother and his girlfriend as they had just got there. Katherine said she would do my laundry and her brother gave me shorts and a shirt to wear so I could wash the clothes I had on too. So I changed and she took all my clothes and threw them into the wash.
       So after a month of only talking briefly to a few people, there I was in front of 9 people sitting at the table with me. I was so happy and excited, but also very socially uncomfortable and it was pretty overwhelming. In a good way, just a little weird to be around that many people talking with me. We sat there and talked and they were all very kind. They were genuinely good hearted people. It was very refreshing. They spoiled me and kept asking if I needed anything and made sure I was as comfortable as possible. They really made me feel at home right away and it was a great feeling to have. I couldn't have imagined I would be here when 2 days ago I was wet all night and couldn't sleep. What a pleasant unexpected gift from God.
        We talked a whole lot and then Katherine brought an air mattress down and made a bed for me in the living room. Everyone was happy I was there and excited to spend time with me the next day.
         I climbed into the air mattress around 12:30 or so and it felt like a cloud it was so comfortable. Such a relief. They all said goodnight and said if I was up before them to make myself a bowl of cereal or eat whatever I wanted. I was very thankful to them for being such welcoming people. I laid there in silence for a few minutes and just took it all in. Before I closed my eyes I glanced over to my cart that was by the front door. Me and that thing had been in sone pretty grimy places where we have camped. It looked so out of place in that nice house. And it was so unexpected that me and all my stuff would have this break from the tough homeless outside world. I stared at it and just laughed a little before I went to sleep.