Two Days of Rain and Madness

Wow, this last week has been a doozy! SO much happened, the highs the lows, the good, bad and the downright ugly. One week ago today, October 4th, I left the lovely Van Wingerden home in Oberlin, Ohio and set back on the road. Tonight I find myself in The Huntington House Inn located in quaint Rochester, Vermont drinking a nicely balanced Bombay Sapphire gin and Tonic with a lime. How did I end up in this little Inn in this little village in this relatively little state? Let me tell you a story... :)

Last Monday I had to arise fairly early to meet up with a truck driver for Green Circle Nursery, the business that the Van Wingerdens own. I said my good byes to Tim and Jan Ewing and David drove me over to the offices at 5:40. We met up with my driver, Paul and in no time we were on the road.

Paul was a great guy. For that morning, he wasn't on any time restraints so he had some flexibility in where he could take me. We talked about the route I was looking to take and figured out a good location for him to drop me off. We drove for about 2 hours and talked quite a bit in

between here and there. He was very interested in what I was doing. He said he could never do anything like this; he told me that he would never even think about even picking up a hitchhiker.

He has never been married and told me he never would be married. Curiously, I inquired. He explained to me that it just would never make sense for him. He had no desire to ever be married nor to have kids. He's a brother and an uncle and loves playing with and even having his nieces and nephews stay over with him, but he finds peace in knowing that they will go home eventually. He was a very generous man and was concerned enough for me to make sure he dropped me in a good location. He refused to drop me near the interstate and didn't stop until we reached a Wal-Mart east of Cleveland. It was about 8:30 when he drove away and I had a sense of readiness for anything unknown to come.

I took a few minutes to use the facilities in the 24-hour Wal-Mart and in time, made my thumb visible. I was in small town country now, no big city to aim for so I simply wrote, "East!" on my trusty white-board; and trust me, it's trusty. If it were metal, it would be very rusty by now, but, no, it's stayed resilient to the elements. It's a wee bit scratched up, but all in all, it's road

worthy.

It took about 90 minutes I think before Janice slowed down her life for me. She was just marvelous. She is a beautiful 72 years of age and wore it well. She is full blooded Hungarian as well as full hearted servant of the Lord. She had so many stories to tell. She was divorced years ago from a abusive husband of 16 years with whom she birthed 4 or 5 children (I can't remember exactly). She fervently volunteers at her church and the local elementary school whatever needs to be done. She is a devout Catholic, but understands that even us Protestants serve, love and worship the same God. I think the best word to describe her would be "servant". She told me stories of the days when she would work more hours than considered healthy by anyone's standards just to support her indignant husband and beloved children. Today she doesn't bear the burden of that man, but her children, who are all in their 50's, much off of what she has, which isn't much. She always pays their bills and lets them borrow money knowing that she will never see any return. Janice is a saint when compared to

many other church goers. She drove me over 20 miles out of her way. She dropped me off in front of a Perkin's in Conneaut, OH. She offered to shake my hand and of course I oblidged. She commended me on my strong hand shake and said it was an honor to meet me. She graciously

gave me a twenty dollar bill and she was on her way.

I didn't know it at the time, but I was very close to the Pennsylvania border! It was cloudy, but at least not raining when Janice dropped me off, but as I was putting one foot in front of the other, so the rain starting falling one drop after the other. I was on US 20 which streaks across this entire continent from west to east and back, but unfortunately, this part of this historical road had no shoulder. The shoulder of a road is key when hitchhiking. No shoulder, no where for drivers to pull over. Did I mention it was raining? It was. I was tromping through wet grass on the side of the road, through people's front yards when India passed me a few times and finally found a wee side road to pull into.

I had seen her drive past me once, twice and thrice, but driving a brand new Camaro, for some reason I just thought they were lost. I almost walked right past her until I saw the passenger window roll down. I was in a little bit of shock. She told me that she wasn't going very far, but just couldn't stand watching me walk about in the rain. Thank God for compassion! Camaros are sports cars and ergo have very small trunk space, especially when theres a stroller in the trunk. I had to disassemble my pack a little bit, but we shoved it in there. India was a young mom, like midish twenties and she was the first person to give me a ride that had their baby in the car! She

was a beautiful little red head named Kelsey, I think :/

Anyway, India asked where I was going and after learning about my Journey she offered to take me to Erie, PA. After I informed her that unfortunately it was illegal to hitch in PA, she decided to take me all the way to New York! She had gone into the Army, but never had to go over seas due to her new baby. She told me that she wasn't afraid to pick me up because she was pretty sure she could handle her self. I don't think she was going anywhere really. Looks like she had just gone to the store and had cold milk in the back seat, but that didn't stop her from driving me 50 miles! Totally bypassing the hitchhiker UNfriendly state of Pennsylvania! She dropped me of

in Ripley, NY right on US 20 and I was back into the unknown.

It was only 12:30 in the afternoon so I was pretty sure I could get at least another ride or two. I wrote Buffalo on my sign because I was only about 60 or 70 miles away. I figured somebody would be going up the 20 to Buffalo to avoid the tolls of 90. I was wrong. At least, no one picked me up. I took some time to scope out the area before I started thumbing and decided that if I

didn't get a ride out of there, I would shack up in the creepy abandoned motel near by. Yeah, it was still raining. A few cold and wet hours later I called it quits and nervously checked out the motel.

It is called the Colonial Squire Motel and the most recent news paper in the place I could find was from January of 2002. I located a potential entry point, but it took me a long time to muster up the courage to investigate the innards of this mysterious structure. There was a window that was slightly opened to allow a power cord to go into the building. Just barely enough room between the window and the frame to squeeze my arm in and unwind the handle to open the window. I was armed with my head lamp and fixed blade knife in hand and I made my way in.

Everything was really dusty. It seemed like there hadn't been anyone there for years. I had left

my stuff outside hidden by the overgrown landscaping so I took my time to see if I could make use of the place. Remember, it was raining so staying somewhere with a roof looked really appetizing. All I had access to was the lobby, so no bed, but it was dry in there. There were tables and chairs and it looked like whoever it was, left in a hurry. I have to admit, I was pretty freaked out. There was space on the floor where I could sleep and plenty of room to make myself right at home.

I found another window that I could use as a main entry and exit that was more hidden than the first. I took some time to nervously journal and cook some Quinoa for dinner and considering my early start, I hit the hay around eight o'clock.

I can't say I had the best sleep I've ever had, but I woke up alive and safe and ready for day two in New York. It was still raining; light enough for me to be out there, but nonetheless, it was still wet. I went out to the same corner I was at the day prior hoping to catch any traffic heading east on 20 or 90. They run parallel throughout New York and at this point they were only about a half mile apart.

I had been out there for a couple hours with no luck when I turned to my right to look behind me and noticed a fellow traveler coming up the road towards me. He had a backpack and his head was covered with his hood. I kept on doing what I was doing and he approached me with a humble hello. The initial conversation was short. We found out that we were both heading east and that we had both started on the Pacific side of the country. He started in Seattle. After some small talk and stories I introduced myself and found his name to be Kevin. I know you will read this Kevin, but I also know that you're not afraid to be real and I need you to know that I want to shed a little light on your hard fought story. We shared a little life together and it has become apparent to me that your story is one worth sharing. But first, let's return to that conrner of US 20 and Shortman Dr.

Kevin and I talked for a while trying to get a ride, but by 2 o'clock were soaked to the bone and ready for shelter. I had told him about the motel and we retreated the elements into the dryness of an old lobby. He explored the place more than I was willing to, including the deep, dark and mysterious basement. He found running water. Rain water. Remember the power cord that caused that window to be open so I could get in? Weill that cord was going to a pump to keep the place from flooding. The water was good and clear and I was able to use my water purifier to pump some good drinking and cooking water.

Kevin read his book for a while and cooked dinner before he retired for bed as early as 6 o'clock. I stayed up journaled for a while, cooked dinner and was getting ready for bed around 7. Around that time, I heard some banging somewhere around the building, like somebody was trying to open a door, but didn't think anything of it. Well, actually, I froze and listened for any other sign of life. I didn't hear anything for a few minutes so I stepped out the window I claimed as our main exit to relieve myself. As I was stepping back inside, across the room looking in through a back door was a man! I crouched right there by the window trying to helplessly hide behind an end table. The room couldn't have been more than 15x15 so I was sure he was going to see me, after all, I was wearing my bright neon green fleece.

I watched him bring his hands up and cup his brow so he could see in better. I wasn't even breathing at this point. Just waiting for him to see me. Kevin was in the other room, in bed at this point and all of out stuff was all over the place. I could tell he was doing his best to make out whatever shapes he could see inside the room, but was having trouble. He had glasses and the prescription must have been way off because he failed to see me or any of our stuff! I was relieved, but didn't think this was over.

The man disappeared around the side of the building and I took the opportunity to alert Kevin. I was freaking out. We were straight up trespassing, which as you know, is punishable by law. Yeah, this got heavy, real fast. Kevin and I were peering out the windows to see if the old man was still around. He was. I had taken time to close our entry window and that's where he came next. Kevin was standing right in the middle of the room and I was sure he was going to be seen. The old guy was like only 7 feet away! Granted, it was getting dark, but still, this guy was really blind. He came around to the front window and we didn't move. He was staring in, looking straight at Kevin, but still not seeing him! For a second there, I saw I glimmer of hope that all this would blow over.

Kevin slightly and slowly turned his head left to look at me and that's when we heard him yell, "Hey! Private property! Get out!" We tried to console the man by assuring him we were leaving and to just give us a couple minutes, but no, within seconds, he was on his phone dialing the local sheriff. It was at this point was kicked it into high gear.

Remember, I had stuff all over the place. I figured the night before was so uneventful that everything would be fine. It took Kevin only a few minutes to pack up while he was ready I was still shoving items into my backpack, not really caring what it was or where it went.

It was still raining. I finally got all my stuff packed up, at least I thought so and we were out that window! The grumpy old man had gone back to big Dodge Ram on the road and we decided to go the opposite way up over 90 towards Route 5. The wind was whipping the rain at about a 45 degree in gusts so we took some shelter behind another abandoned building. Well, to avoid the rain as well as the 2 patrol cars roaming around! :)

We stayed put for a little while. Knowing that we were being searched for. At this point, I was really glad to have Kevin with me. Let's just say he's got more experience with the law than I.

We were taking some time to be out from the open when we saw headlights shine up on the bushes just 30 feet to our right. The sound of a door opening. Someone was shining a flashlight in the near by bushes. We could tell they were looking for a could hoodlums. We were frozen.

And, my time is up. I have to stop writing :) perfect timing though, right!?

A lot more happened this week like camping near Buffalo International Airport, staying at a frat house at Syracuse University and meeting up with new found family.

As of now, I'm only 189 miles from my goal and stoked! Tomorrow the people that I'm staying with, the son and daughter-in-law of a aunt and uncle of cousin-in-law are taking me out to Lebanon, NH and I will be that much closer!

Hopefully the next time I blog, I'll be in Portland!

Love you all! Cheers!

A difference in distance.

Mass was beautiful. I had little to no idea what was going on, but Jeremy tried to help me along in the Liturgy. I wish Ed Rybaczyk was there explaining all the different sacraments to me, but I did my best to just appreciate this form of worship. It was difficult for me to enter into worship itself instead of being an observer. For one, I think it was simply because I had never been to an Extraordinary Mass (done in Latin), but also I felt separated from what was going on even deeper than not really understanding it. A lot of me felt like the priest was up there doing all the things necessary to the Catholic Church while her congregation spoke, sang, stood, knelt and sat when qued. This is not judgement towards this beautiful tradition and something that I truly believe is glorifying to God on levels, this is simply what I was struggling with and still am. The picture here is Jeremy's family. Jeremy is holding Mauve, Candice is pregnant with their forth girl and Sage is next to her and then Trinity is on my lap. Gorgeous family, Jeremy. Thanks for the good times, a rekindled brotherhood and all the love!

After a delicious lunch and a few back flips on the trampoline, Jeremy drove me out on hwy 72 into Kalkaska, MI. We said our "see ya laters" and they were on their way back home and I was back on the road.

I set up shop right on the west side of town and not 30 minutes later an officer pulled up and said I couldn't hitch on any MI interstates or county roads. Not true, but I wasn't going to argue. I don't think reciting law back to an officer would go over very well, so I picked up and started walking towards town. He said I could be in town, but if someone called in on me, we could have issues. Good thing I'm not scary looking.

I got to the other end of town about 45 minutes later, only a couple miles, but that was long enough. I was pretty frustrated because I wasn't sure where I could be and where I couldn't, but at one point as I was crossing a street a guy trotted after me from his car at the gas station and handed me a twenty dollar bill. Out of no where. He said it was for my Journey and he was sorry he wasn't going my direction. It was perfect timing for a good encouragement. Not too much further down the sidewalk, I spotted a good place. I've learned that if there's a shoulder, the far side of the intersection at a stop light can produce a ride fairly well. People are stopped and almost forced to look at me for at least 30 seconds.


I was there for, mmm, maybe 2 hours and I could see the light fading. Before Rob came around, I had two other offers! Both of them cars full of girls! The first one was a couple girls near my age, but they weren't really sure what roads they were taking and they didn't even know where I75 was, so I passed. After consulting my trusty map, it was a good decision. about 20 minutes later a car of three high school girls, maybe 17 yrs., rolled up. They weren't going anywhere, but just wanted to give me a ride. I asked if they could just take me to I75, which was 26 miles away. "Oh! no, that's too far." the driver said. I chuckled a little bit and said ok, well, thanks for stopping. Kinda silly.

About maybe an hour after all that, Rob rolled up in his big GMC truck. No hesitation, he knew he was gunna pick me up before he even got to me. I think it's because he could see me from the stop light ;) He insisted I put my pack behind the passenger seat because he had a bike in the bed; I knew this was going to be a fun ride.

Turns out he's a tri-athlete and a dentist. We talked about travel, he asked about my trip and we talked about different adventures we'd been on. We stopped for ice cream; I ordered a small cone, but he told the girl to get me a medium. Later down the road he bought me some dinner. As we got closer to his destination, we began to figure out where he could drop me off for the night, but soon enough, his destination of home became my destination as well. I mention that both my upper front teeth are crowns and that it hurts to floss them more than any other tooth so he said he would have me come in the office the next day so he could take a look.

We arrived at his house and immediately Jill, his wife had food in front of me. It was a wonderful, super healthy chicken soup deal. Very tasty. She also was very curious about my trip and couldn't stop asking questions. I love talking about my trip with people and seeing their reactions. This family seemed very genuine even after just meeting them so "randomly".

The next morning we were off to the dentist office at 9:30. On the way I told Jill that I didn't even have dental insurance let alone enough money to pay for anything. She assured me that this was a gift. "He just does this sometimes and now he's chosen you" she said. We talked about how God's providence is simply undeniable when we pay attention to what goes on around us. He is so good.


I spent a total of 3 hours in the dentist chair and came out of it with a new mouth and a grateful heart. Not only did Dr. Rob fix two or three spot of decay, one of which was getting bad and he said it would have started hurting in the next couple weeks, but he also individually reshaped my teeth so that they line up and I can bite straight down without shifting my jaw! He also hooked me up with a retainer deal thing to wear at night so I don't clinch my teeth. It was an overwhelming experience and everyone in the office seemed so pleased to help and be apart of what Dr. Leach does. Thank you so much Dr. Leach for everything you did. For having the boldness to stop and pick me up and the compassion to fix my teeth at no cost to me.

After my mouth got an internal makeover, Jill drove back to the house to get my stuff and some lunch and then she drove me out to Davison to get me out on I69 East towards Port Huron and Canada. The plan was to shoot through out Northerly neighbors and into Niagara Falls and on through New York and so on. Jill traded numbers just in case I needed to get a hold of her and I, again, was back on the road. I walked straight down the on ramp and set up shop not too far away.

Eventually, Tracy stopped for me. I threw my bag in the back and we were on our way to Capac. Pronounced, Kay-pack. Don't ask me. Tracy grew up in the church but hasn't gone very much at all in the past 25 years and has recently been watching a lot of The History and The Science Channel. After we asked about what I studied in school he said, "hm, that's interesting..." like this was more than a coincidence that he picked me up. He said that his "faith had been rocked" by the different ideas presented on his television. He said they seem to have all the answers and all that contradicted his idea of Christianity. I told him that religion and science don't have to be and shouldn't be pitted against each other. There's room for science in religion and I think visa versa. I told him the one thing that hit me hardest when considering the creation story was to realize that the Bible is not a science book; it's a narrative. We didn't have much time, but I hope I utilized the little time we had effectively.

Next came Chris. Tracy dropped me off at the top of an off ramp and I wasn't even to the bottom of the on ramp before Chris picked me up. He wasn't going very far, but closer is closer. It was quickly apparent to me that he was a believer and I could speak openly about my faith and even my previous conversation.

I told him that I hold the belief that the Creation Story is just that, a narrative given to Moses inspired by God to give an account of how we and all of this came to be. I believe God created the world, but the idea of seven days is how Moses could try and make any sense of what was being revealed to him. Chris on the other hand, holds to the belief that it is a literal seven day creation. I did my best to point out that even though we believe different things about how our God works, he is still both of our God. We are still brothers in Christ.

Chris took me more than he had planned and got me only about 10 miles from Canada and then along came the only man so far I forgot to ask a name of. :( He wasn't even going my direction, but he could see that it was about to rain and his daughter said he should give me a ride. So he did, straight to Port Huron! He dropped me right next to a Duty Free away they went.

I was at somewhat of a loss of what to do next. Do I try and walk across or try and get a ride right near the bottom of the bridge? I decided first that I would try and walk until I came to a sign that informed me I couldn't. I wrote "NO PED XING :(" on my sign and tried to play the sympathy card to get a ride. It wasn't working, night was falling and I was getting anxious to try and get across. So I packed up and found my way to the main entrance onto the bridge and walked up. I didn't even make it to the toll booths before a MI Transportation officer greeted me and informed me I couldn't walk across, but that he'd be "nice enough" to let me hitch where I was before, which means he saw me before! or down near the bottom of the ramp I walked up. I chose the route with more traffic and it wasn't long before Gina stopped for me.

Gina is a very nice lady. She works in Port Huron and lives in Sarnia. Neither she nor I had any idea what we were about to get ourselves into. Obviously paying the toll was fine, but trying to get into Canada was like Carlos trying to get through airport security, only he usually gets through. Yes, I had my passport, but due to the fact that I "couldn't demonstrate I had sufficient funds" and hitchhiking is illegal in Canada 400 series highways (the main vein to NY), I was denied entrance. I think it had to do with the fact I didn't have any money to spend in their casinos, so what was the point?

Anyway, Gina, being "responsible" for me had to drive me back to the good ol' U S of A. I felt so bad I had burdened her like this; she just wanted to go home. And after going through customs again on the US side, she made that clear that she wanted to go straight home. We got out to her car and I was hoping she would drive me down to the bottom of the bridge, but she said something like, "well Tom, sorry we couldn't get you into Canada, but I hope the rest of your trip is great." I took that as a polite get my stuff out so she could be on her way. I oblidged without question, gave her a blog card and she drove off.

There I was walking away from customs, in the rain on a bridge connecting two different countries. Like it was gunna be that easy. Before I knew it, I had one, then two then three guys running after me with their hands on the holsters. They were just doing their jobs, which is great, but I just wanted to get off that dang bridge and pitch my tent. They were asking me why I was on this bridge and what I was doing luckily I remembered half of the kid's name who ran our info inside and he eventually came out and have me the green light. I knew it was going to be fine, but it's really sad they have to think that everyone is a terrorist.

They showed me a safe way to get down to street level through a series of stairs, and elevator and a long ramp, but I finally was off that dreadful bridge and on solid ground, but still in the rain. I followed to bridge toward the river looking for a dark spot to pitch my tent. Finally I found one. The ground had been raised up about 4 feet around this pillar and that was the best I was gunna get. I set up quickly, journaled some and went to sleep. Frustrated.

It rained all night and all morning and all day. I woke up to puddles creeping on my tent and I tried to put off the inevitable of putting away my tent in the rain, but I knew what I had to do. I miserably packed up and found some shelter on the lee side of a building. I text Jill to see how serious she was about helping me out. I was not looking forward to standing out in the rain trying to get a ride. She said I could stay there tonight, but I should try and get as close as I could because she had to work all day.

Five hours. Five hours standing in the rain that day. I have water proof stuff, but things fail at a certain point and I was wet and cold. Finally at about 4:30, Dale comes up to the stop light waiting to turn right, in the direction I was needing. I looked at him, made eye contact, gave the

"man nod" and looked away. Out of my peripheral vision I saw him roll down his passenger window and lean towards it. I couldn't hear what he said, but I knew he was asking where I was going. "Towards Flint" I said. "Well, I'm not going very far, but it'll get you closer..." At that point I would have taken just about anything. I threw my pack in the bed of his truck and I said good riddens to Port Huron.

He is a carpenter. After learning about what I was doing, Dale was inspired to take me further than intended so he could take the back roads home. He was interestingly interested in what I was doing and seemed inspired. He got me to Imlay City and before he drove away he shouted back, "you gunna be ok, right?!" I assured him I would be fine and he was on his way home.

Jill was just finishing work at this point about would be there shortly! I hid out in a patch of woods near the off ramp, it was no longer raining, and called my parents to say hi.

Jill was there in no time and I couldn't have been more relieved to see her. I was wet, cold and tired. When we got back to their place, they let me set up my tent in the living room to dry out and fed me, of course. I took that night to dry out and warm up. My stuff needed the same treatment. Everything was soaked. I spent some time that night trying to help Rob set up stuff on his new Mac.

I spent the next morning packing up and reorganizing things in my pack. We left for lunch and afterwards Jill and her son Bruce drove me out to Fenton, MI onto US 23 South. This route diverted me away from Detroit and still got me into Ohio. We again, said our goodbyes, this time with a hug and that was that. They are such a warm caring family. Jill has texted me just about everyday since I left there just to see where I am. She said today that she doesn't think the Lord is done with the new friendship and I couldn't agree more. :)

Berny, a female was the first to pull of US 23 and pick me up. She is a professor at a university in Toledo, so that was easy enough. She is a very adventurous person so we talked about that adn she was extremely hungry so we stopped at a Bob Evan's along the way. She had lunch and bought me a piece of pie. Entertaining lady, fun to talk with.

She dropped me off where 184 meets US 23 and she was on here way. I walked up and around and found myself in Sylvania, OH. I found a good spot, on the far side of a stop light, but not 20 minutes in, an officer rolled up and said through his passenger window, "You know, it's illegal to solicit rides. I don't have time to deal with it right now, but I highly suggest to keep on walking." and he drove off. Again, incorrect, but I'm not going to argue. So I walked and hitched and walked and hitched. I walk 2 miles until I came to a sign that read, "Welcome to Toledo". New town, new cops. Time to set up shop.

I was there for maybe 45 minutes before Ray picked me up and little did I know, but I was about to get a full tour of down town Toledo! It was an interesting car ride. I had a good time with Ray. He knows a lot about that city and knows how to make it interesting. I could tell he was proud of it too. He didn't take me very far, comparatively, but he got me to the other side of Toledo, which was what I needed. It was about 5 so I decided to call it a day and find a place to pitch.

Pearson Metropark would be my home for to night. It basically was a big patch of woods with a running loop around it, but it's innards was all natural. I worked my way back and found a good spot for the night.

The next morning Sam picked me up and drove me to Port Clinton out Route 2, which was what I was looking for. He told me about his days hitchhiking and all the crazy stuff me used to do. Fun times.

HE dropped me on an off ramp from Route 2 and before long my thumb was out again. Except this time it attracted an Ohio State Highway Patrol Officer. I never got his name, but he was so curious about what I was doing. It was like he couldn't understand what anyone would do this just for the fun of it. After a thorough pat down, I got in his rig and he took me off Route 2 into the booming town on Sandusky.

I started walking from there on US 6 towards the other side of town and in about mile 2 Mike flipped around and picked me up. He said he wasn't going very far, but he could get me to the other side of town, near the turnpike. But not before he got me some food. He had a buy one entre get a another free coupon for the Chipotle-like place and I ate my quesadilla then and saved my burrito for later. Mike took me down near the turnpike, handed me twenty dollars(!) and wished me luck.

There I stood for 2 hours. No luck. I had a couple offers, but they weren't really going anywhere at all and I decided to wait for someone going the distance. Due to all the run-ins with cops and such, I was feeling defeated and treated my self to a room at Days Inn also in celebration of being on the road for over a month. Indoor pool. yum.

(If it seems like I'm burning through this, I'm sorry. I'm super tired and I'm leaving where I am now at 5:30 am, which is less than 4 hours from now, but I have to get this out becasue I have no idea when the next time I will be able to blog next. So please, bare with me)

The next moring I got out there, to that same spot at 10 am. Over 3 hours my sign went from reading, "East!" to "NY!" to Norwalk", which was the next town down to just simply being thrown on the ground out of frustration. I didn't know what I was doing wrong or what I could do differently, but behold, 15 minutes after ditching the sign, Ken rolled up in hid oversized, white Cadilac and took me to Norwalk. That at least got me down onto the US 20.

I got some Subway and then made my way over to the onramp and saw this sign. Awesome. Thank you Ohio. So I stood right there and didn't wait long before Kerry stopped for me. He wasn't goig very far either, but he got me to where US 20 was no longer freeway and I could actually hitch right on it. That was really helpful.

I set up shop and waited about an hour for Vince to drive by and he said he was only going up to Oberlin, about 20 miles, but I was down for that. He is an English professer who loves to drive on his time off.

Do you remember a few posts ago when I mentioned somebody has been texting me annonomisly; sending me Bible verses and encouragments and been praying for me daily? Well, earlier that day, this person told me that if I get to Oberlin to let them know because they had family there. So I did.

Not knowing how this would turn out, but pretty soon I got the text, "stay put". Vince had dropped me on the east side of Oberlin right on the 20 so that's where I stayed. It was this huge, drwan out thing. I got texts from this person that read, "Stay put and wait for a familar face" "A lil slice of Twain Harte is on its way my friend." "You'll know him when you see him" These plus others really got me excited about who was about to pick me up. It took us a while to connect, but eventually a bearded man drove up in front of me and low and behold it was Tim Ewing! A man that had wathced me grow up in Twain Harte E.V. Free from when I was 7 til I left for school! I was blown away. I had no idea he and his wife Jan were here and they had no idea I was in town. They are out here currently visiting one of their daughters who married an Ohioan and they live in Oberlin. In fact, Vince drove me right past their house!

I hadn't seen Tim and Jan for more than five years and it took me a while to put together all the pieces, but once I did, I was overwhelmed with the reality of who my little shoulder angle is.

Cameron McClean was my youth pastor through Jr. high and through some less than pleasent events, our lives became detached from one another's over the years. I had no idea it was him who was texting me this whole time, but I wouldn't have had it been anyone else. This is huge and I am so thankful for the body and of Christ and the redeeming work of the Lord. If you're wonderong about the family connection, Tim in Cameron's father-in-law.

So I have been here in Oberlin in this beautiful house with this amazing familiy trying to wait out the rain, but my time has come to move on. The man of this house, David is the son of a man who owns a huge greenhouse farm, flower/plant growing facility. They ship plants to Wal-Marts and Home Depots and places alike for us to buy plants to place in out gardens! I got a tour of some of the facilities and got to see the orchid rooms. Beautiful.

So, they have a delivery truck going out to Akron tomorrow, leaving at 6 and I figure that's a pretty good ride to get started early in the morning. But I need to get to bed in order to get up! I haven't made it very far in the last week, which is frustrating at levels, but I need to remember the life is a Journey not a destination.

I love you all and thanks for reading! I hope to be to Maine in about 7 to 10 days! Please pray for clear skies!

Three States. Three Days.

I left you sort of in the middle of my Iowan experience, so let's catch up on some of the latest happenings of Portland2Portland.

Being in Iowa was so good. I was able to see family that I hadn't been able to see in more than 2 years. Growing up, my mom and I, or all three of us would make a trip out at least once a year, even through high school, but once I got to college I was unable to go as often as I would have liked. Lots changes had happened since my last visit so it was important for me to take the time and see my roots again.

Last summer (09) one of my uncles, my mom's younger brother passed away and just this past July, my grandfather was taken into Glory. It's safe to say that the last few years for this side of my family has been traumatic to say the least. I had shortly arrived in Northern Ireland when I received news that my grandfather, Verne, had passed away and it became clear that I was not going to be able to be there for the funeral. This man was the man who brought Christ to this family. He was always talking about the Lord; read the Word until he close to death; he exemplified devotion. I was deeply sorrowed to not be at his funeral, but I knew and know now that he would have me do nothing other than stay in Northern Ireland and serve our Lord.

All that being said, while I was in IA, I had the opportunity to visit his grave site. I was there with my cousin Todd, his wife, Jodi and their brand new baby girl, Zoe. I didn't cry, I remembered, over and over, one time when he and I were downstairs and he started talking to me about the Bible. I think I had finished my freshman year at Vanguard and was just beginning to learn the depths of the Bible. It was the first time outside of VU that I had an actual exegetical conversation. Even right now, as I right this, I am cherishing that moment. I took a breath and looked around to see Jodi holding Zoe. This little 7 week-old baby girl who's name in the Greek means "Life". I was reminded that I was not visiting my grandfather's resting place, no he's rejoicing, he is experiencing ultimate peace and harmony. God bless you Grandpa; rejoice in peace.

ok, almost cried there. take breath. ...and on we go :)

While I was in Iowa I had the privilege of seeing 1 grandma, 2 aunts and uncles, 6 cousins and 7 second cousins. It was awesome. Last wednesday my Aunt Teri and my grandma, her name is Val, drove me out to Dubuque from Cedar Rapids to see my cousin Kyle and then leave me off somewhere east of Dubuque. After a headry lunch they drove me out to nowhere-ville Wisconsin, dropped me off and I was back on the road!

I decided to head toward Milwaukee after all...

After walking to a good location and waiting I think an hour, Alisha drove by. I was in a 65 mph zone so it was difficult for people to see me well enough and early enough to judge and be able to stop, but that's something I can't help. You're probably thinking, "just walk a little further..." You put on my backpack and we'll see how far you get, it's stupid heavy. Anyways... She flew by me, but at her first opportunity she came back around with full intention to pick me up. She only took me 22 miles, but it was further than where she was originally going, which she decided to do as we were underway! She was a younger gal, but had driven trucks before and if there's something I've learned out here, it's that truckers are not afraid to pick up hitchhikers. I've never been picked up in a semi, but probably close to a third of my rides have been truckers off duty of retired. By the way, just for update's sake, I'm up to a total of TWENTY-FIVE RIDES!

Alisha dropped me off at the top of an off ramp east of Belmont, WI and after having to battle an army of half-dollar-sized spiders (exaggeration) I made it back to US 151 and my sign read "Milwaukee". That's a long word by the way. It was a wee bit cramped on my white board, but it worked because not too much time had passed before Steve rolled up.

Another "btw" or "by the way", every place I get dropped, the first thing I do is scope out a place to camp for the night. Even when I'm riding with someone! Just gotta be ready, ya know?!

Ok, so here comes Steve... He too flies by and then comes back around. He however, I think, was less sure of picking me up. It seemed like he approached slowly and hesitantly, I offered a friendly and sincere wave and that, I think, convinced him. I laid my pack in the back seat, introduced myself and thanked him for stopping and then asked him how far he was going. "All the way to Milwaukee", he said with a smile on his face and his foot on the accelerator.

Steve is in his early sixties and fit. He was on his way home, concluding a road trip to St. Louis, up to Cedar Rapids and back to Milwaukee. His daughter goes in Coe College, which is where my mom went! We talked off and on, mostly about his college days and the bit of hitchhiking he's done, which is another commonality I'm finding in my ride givers. But the good stuff started happening as we got closer to the city.

Through the power of my do-anything and everything iPhone and with the assurance I would make it to Milwaukee that night, I made reservations to take the ferry to Muskegon (Mus-kee-ghin), MI the next morning at 6 am. I was informed that I would have to be there no later than 5:15. Although I was glad to have that set in stone, it made for a more difficult drop point. I would have to be within walking distance to the ferry, but that part of town, Steve's standards and anyone else's was not a good part of town.

Steve is a good man. For the past however-many-years he has brought day-old Bruegger's bagels in the Salvation Army downtown and was willing to try and pull that string for me to try and find me a bed for the night. Unfortunately, but understandably the gentlemen there were unable to help me out, one has to actually be enrolled in the program to stay there. But, they did tell Steve and I about a place that would be good for me to camp out in. In a park under "Home Bridge". Lakeshore State Park was it's name.

Steve drove me down there and it seemed like a fairly safe place. It's right on Lake Michigan, there were a number of people fishing, people running and biking. Seemed safe enough and it was right by the water; awesome. So I yanked my stuff out, gave him one of my cards with this website on it, said thank you and he turned around and started to go. But not before rolling down his window and giving me his home phone number just in case I get into any trouble. Wow. I was blown away. He could tell I was nervous and I could tell he was nervous about this whole thing and he was good enough to offer me lifeline. I saved him as "Steve in Milwaukee". I don't know if I'll ever call him, but I know that every time I scroll past his name in my phone I will be reminded of how a stranger cared for me.

I took a good while to scope the place out. I wasn't very big and as you can see, I had a good view of the city. I walked further into the park to look for a good place to set up camp, found it and went back towards the mini light house to cook some dinner. Rice. I bet it tastes amazing when it's done, but it never got there. This is no instant rice, quite the opposite really. While I was cooking on this miniature pier thing a couple dudes came out to the end and started fishing. I was talking on the phone when they first came up, but I heard one of them say, "I like what this guy's got goin' on..." So after my rice had "cooked" I took some time to chat with them. We swapped hitchhiking tales and other traveling stories and then they were on their way.

I packed up the kitchen and headed back to the spot that I had picked out earlier. By this time it was getting dark so before I did anything I went to find my head lamp. I looked right where I always put it. In the top pocket, leftish side. Not there. Frustrated, I got out my backup head lamp, yes I have a backup and was able to set up camp. I was off the path about 30 feet and the water was about another 30 feet on the other side of me. I got my tent all set up, sleeping pad laid out and as I was taking out my sleeping bag, I found my primary head lamp! Stoked.

It was still fairly early, like 9 or something so I lit up my pipe, whipped out my camera and set up my tripod. You might not have known this, but Jupiter right now is the closest and ergo brightest it's been since 1956 for the past few nights and that night it rested directly beneath a glowing full moon. I took a good share of photos of that as well as the city skyline. Night photography is SO COOL! I did that for about an hour and then hit the hay because I knew I had a super early morning coming my way...

I had calculated, again with the wonder that is the iPhone that it was a 4 mile hike to the ferry and it would take me 1 hour and 20 minutes. This means I would have to start walking no later than 4, preferably quarter to. This means that, in order to pack up camp and be ready to go by then, I would have to get up at the latest, 3. Yep, 3am. I slept just alright that night and woke up at 2:44 and decided that was close enough. That was a miserable morning. With my preposterous pack it took me 90 minutes to get to the port. I walked, quickly from 3:45 to 5:15 and barely made it. Not that I need to sat it, but I slept the whole 2 and a half hour ferry ride to Muskegon. They said there would be 5 ft. swells; I didn't feel a thing.

Oh, Michigan. It was kinda surreal to have finally arrived there. It felt like I had reached another leg of the Journey, even Jeremy (don't worry, you'll meet him later and you'll love him.) referred to it as the Northeast. I walked away from the dock really just wanting to find somewhere to cook some breakfast. I had two Cliffbars as I was hoofin it to the ferry, but that was like four hours ago and it was still only 9:30 eastern time. The time changed when we crossed the lake and yes, that's right, I'm now in the eastern time zone!!!

I walked for a wee bit and found a quaint park with one park bench, three large trees and a river. Perfect. I took the next hour to recalibrate my body and cook breakfast. Organic oatmeal and two different kinds of raisins (donated my the Treehouse Nursery in SE Portland, OR) and some "home made" granola given to me by Emily Marks from a bakery. Mix granola into oatmeal, I'd never done it before, but it's delicious and you should try it.

After fillin up, it was time to hit the road. I wrote "Ludington" on my sign, which is another long word, and started walking. I was still in town and was aiming to get to US 31 to head north towards Jeremy's home. The Lord blessed me with Mark who saw me while I was still in town, backpack on and walking. He was a character. He had cigarettes smashed into the ash tray from who knows how long ago and after weaving through town to avoid road construction he finally got some gas. To start up his old Ford Ranger, he had to turn the key, but then bend down and touch two exposed wires together. Welcome to Michigan. :) Back in his prime he hitchhiked from Florida to where is now in Michigan and loved to tell stories from it.

I could tell this man worked hard for what he had and was satisfied. And even though what he had didn't seem to amount to much, he was generous to stop and pick up a fellow vagabond. He took me up to Hart, MI which is about 20 miles south of Ludington. He dropped me off at his off ramp and I decided to walk past the on ramp ahead of me. It seemed about a half mile.

Not long after getting my pack on the ground, Bob and Toni roll up. Bob, the brother, was driving and Toni his sister was sitting shotgun. She jumped out and cleaned out the back seat for me while Bob helped me get my pack into the Ford Focus hatchback. They were going to Scottville, which is where I wanted to go. They talked between themselves mostly and then Toni turned back to me and asked, "You wanna go up to Manistee?" Manistee is 20 miles more north of where they were heading and I was more than pleased to accept. We dropped of Toni in Scottville and continued up to Manistee. Say it, it's kinda fun. And this is where the fun began.

I moved up front and from there on out, the floodgates lifted and Bob told me all about his life. His relationship with his sister, his job, his girlfriend of 3 weeks and about his relationship with the Lord Jesus.

We got to Manistee and he asked me if I'd eaten today and I told him I'd had breakfast. It was about 1 o'clock. He pulled into McDonald's, which isn't my favorite, but can't exactly be picky on this trip and he bought me lunch. And this was no drive thru run, this was go in, order and sit and eat together. It was awesome. We talked mostly about the church and how he isn't a big fan of going to church and doesn't think it necessary for him to be a Christian. This is not what I believe, but I could tell that he had been wounded. I don't believe that church attendance is required for salvation, but holistic Christianity includes the church and being apart of a group of believers comes with being Christian.

We finished our meal and got back in the car and I was thinking he was just going to take me to the edge of town, but he just kept on talking and in turn, kept on driving! I took out my map and began to try and figure out where we were and he just said, "eh, I figure I'll take ya up to Bear Lake..." Another 20 miles!

We talked the whole way. He took me to the other side of town, which wasn't far, but still, it would have been really far to walk. He pulled into a gas station and out I got. We shook hands, I thanked him, he got back into his car only to get back out and hand me a 5 dollar bill. Who is this guy?!?! He gave a little honk as he drove away and he left me edified. Feeling abnormally blessed for the day I stood there for a while and took it all in.

Considering how my day began and how far I'd managed to come and knowing that I was close enough for Jeremy to come get me in the morning, I decided to make camp. It was only 2 or so in the afternoon, but I was exhausted. I walked about a mile from where I got dropped off to get outside town and was able to find a lovely little spot under a big pine tree bedded with pine needles about 100 yards off the road.

After getting my tent set up, I built a fire, but everything was so wet that trying to keep it alive would take every second of my attention and honestly I was running out of usable fuel. I cooked dinner, again I didn't wait until it was fully cooked, but it was still filling. I was in my sleeping bag by 7 and asleep before 8.

13 hours later, I arose.

It was a very windy night and I woke up periodically, but for the most part I had a very restful night. I was awaken by a text from Jeremy saying that he was on his way! He had about a 45 mintues drive so I had to get up and get moving.

For those of you who don't know Jeremy Stringer, let me give you a little background. He was librarian through high school and talk about the coolest librarian ever. He was in his late twenties at that time and had always had a life-giving personality. By the time I was a senior, we were close friends. Through the second half of my senior year we would ride our bikes to school and back; eight miles one way, just about every day. Even if it was snowing. On the way home we had to climb a 3 mile grade and it was in those three miles and about 45 minutes of pumping that we would talk about life and God. He's married to Candice and I knew Sage and Trinity when the lived in Twain Harte, but I was able to meet Mave for the first time. Girl number four is due in December!

I hadn't seen him since he moved back here to Michigan, which was about four years ago so you can imagine the anticipation there was knowing we were so close to seeing each other again! He called me when he thought he was close and I was just rolling up my tent, so I hurried up and made my way to the road. I popped out of the woods about 100 yards behind him and he started honking and reversing as fast as he could. It was a reunion for the record books.

I got in the car and it smelled like smoke, so not too far into the drive I asked him, "you don't smoke, do you?" "No" he says, "never, just pipe tobacco." I was blown away. After having so much in common years ago, now we have this too! He was ecstatic to learn that not only did I smoke pipe tobacco, but I had my pipe!

This was going to be a good weekend.

We got to his place and he made me some food, Quinoa to be exact. It's this weird grain thing that looks like pasta when you cook it. I'm trading my forever rice for some of this Quinoa. Not an hour later, we were in our board shorts and on our way to a giant sand dune! I wish I had pictures of this, but the wind was whipping up so much sand that it would have been the last picture my camera would have ever taken. But trust me, it was huge. It was in Sleeping Bear Dune Park and from the top to the water, which is Lake Michigan, it was probably about a 200 foot decent. After shielding our eyes with sunglasses, oh, and it was cold, we started our decent. Unfortunately, due to the wind, there were rocks exposed from the sand, but that didn't really slow us down. We were gallivanting down this steep sandy slope all the way to the bottom!

You can imagine the air and the speed we were catching. What a rush! We reached the bottom in less than 2 minutes and took out time and took in the view. We stacked some rocks down there and because of the storm the water was fairly treacherous. Having grown up near the ocean, I had seen a lot worse and been in a lot worse and was insistent on going in! Jeremy was hesitant, but after some peer pressure we ripped off our shirts and plunged into the choppy water. The swells were about 3 to 4 feet and close together. It was fresh water, which was weird for me. there was a strong northerly current and being the only people down there, we only spent a couple minutes in the water, but it was a action packed two minutes!

Then came the accent. oh. my. goodness. hated that. My legs were still wrecked from the hike that morning and less than half way up my calves felt like they were going to pop off the back of my leg. Don't forget there are torturous winds. It took us probably a good half hour to reach the top and the higher we got, the more pain my legs were in and the harder the wind blew and it felt like a thousand needles on every exposed part of skin. Good thing I was wearing short shorts. I had to sprint the last 25 yards up the dune because the wind blown sand was so unbearable. Jeremy was catching his breath waiting for me and we made made our way back to the car victoriously.

That night and last night and every night for Jeremy we took his dog, Texas for a run. This looks like us hopping in the car, loading up Texas, lighting up our pipes and going to an undisclosed dirt road where Jeremy lets Texas run while he drives. It is blissful. There's an old covered bridge built with an old rail car as it's base surrounded by miles of woods. Those are cherished moments riding and smoking with Jeremy watching Texas weave in and out between trees.

Yesterday was a lot of rest and Wii ping pong, which over time, I have become an admiral opponent for Jeremy. But that evening we were able to have some man time. The ladies went to some shopping down town and dropped us for to explore Traverse City. It wasn't far into our excursion before we found our way into a cigar lounge and I bought us a couple stogies for our stroll. Down town Traverse City is pretty cool, and we walked the whole strip as he showed me places along the way and at the other end we found ourselves in Kilkenny's Irish Pub drinking Bushmills whiskey and Shirley's Irish stout. They actually paired surprisingly well. That time in that pub was so good for us. We really have so much in common. This visit has solidified that this is a brotherhood that will last far into the future.

Then we came home, played Wii ping pong and I beat him. :)

I am finishing this post Sunday morning and we are about to go to Mass. Latin Mass. And I'm stoked. Jeremy and his family are strong practicing Catholics and it was has been awesome to see this side of Christianity up close and personal.

Sometime this after noon, after a big bbq lunch, Jeremy is going to haul me out to Kalkaska and get me underway for the next and final leg of my Journey! I don't personally know anyone east of here. I have a contact through a cousin in-law of mine that I think will work out nicely, but there's no guarantees in this game.

I plan to head across Michigan towards Sarnia, MI and through Canada on to see Niagra Falls. From there it's more or less a straight shot along Upstate New York, right through Vermont and New Hampshire right into Maine to reach Portland. It's gunna be a crazy last leg and I don't know when the next time I will be able to post will be, but keep me in your prayers. I have a Twitter, which will make it easy for short and sweet updates along the way if you'd like to do that. (LV2XPLR)

I can still feel the winter creeping in on me, so please pray for NO SNOW! or rain. Cold fine, but wet and cold, not so much.

Ok, time to get ready for Mass. I love you all and thank you so much for sticking with me throughout this whole Journey.

A Minnesotan Week

Parks, picnics, friends, caves, downtowns, unexpected reunions, guns, lakes, ATVs and woods. That pretty much sums up my week spent in Minnesota.

I left you off in Sterling and Emily's and my good friend Katie was on her way to pick me up. What a saint she is. She came and got me and we eventually made it down to Rochester where she lives, but not with out her parents three and a half pound dog with an attitude. If you know me, you know that small dogs aren't my forte and apparently strapping young lads like myself aren't hers. It took some time, but she eventually excepted me for who I am.

On Saturday the 11th we went to a picnic with the rest of Katie's class. She's studying physical therapy at Mayo. It was a fun time. Got to share Costa Rica adventures and play some sand volleyball. Again, not my forte, but I lived at the beach long enough to not look like a fool out there. Well, apparently, it had been a while. I looked like a fool. It took my about 30 minutes to warm up and then I spiked it once and a guy said, "wow, didn't see that coming!" Ugh, I need to work out.

Sunday we went to church in Rochester. It was a Minnesota-sized "mega church". It was large, but, it wasn't "mega" for So Cal. I always look through the bulletins to see what goes on out side of Sunday morning. Their bulletin was like a small book. Folded and staple-bound. I was really impressed with all the different events and regularly planned meetings for all stages of life. I mostly scan, but I actually read through their men's ministry programs and I was really impressed. A good men's ministry is somewhat of a rarity in the American church and I love it when I see it.

I struggled with the music worship. It was great musically and I could tell that much preparation and concern had gone into this part of the service, but I felt like the leaders were separated from the congregation and visa versa. If I had to choose though, I would take a great community with different venues for people to get connected over great worship on Sunday morning.

After lunch we met up with Katie's parents and we went to a cave! Niagara Cave to be exact, near Harmony, MN. it was pretty dang cool. At one point we were like 300 feet below the surface of the Earth. There was a 75 foot underground waterfall at one point. Fossils from when those creatures were last alive! And we experienced total darkness. it was sweet.

Monday Katie had to go to class and I took the bus down to downtown Rochester and got off at St. Mary's hospital to check out the chapel. I was impressed they had such a decorated chapel inside of a hospital, but they did. Complete with stain glass windows, high ceilings and a beautiful alter. I took plenty of photos and even took time to read a piece of Confessions. I found it fitting. Towards the back they had a table of trinkets and things for sale on the honor system. Find what you want and put your money in the little slot in the table. There was a little box with Catholic charms in it. I'm not Catholic, and I don't pray to the saints, but I have been looking for a charm of St. Christopher because he's the saint of travel. I searched and searched and finally found one. They were 35 cents so I bought it. I wear it now around my neck along with my two "blessing rings" that read, "protection" and "Life is a Journey, Not a Destination". I don't think these have any special power, but they help me remember that the Lord is with me and I have people praying for me everyday.

12 days ago, I received a text message from a number I don't know asking if I was, "hitching across the us?" I responded with yes and asked who they were, but they didn't tell me, and they still haven't. They just said that they were the little angle on my shoulder and that they would be praying for my everyday and sending me encouraging thoughts and Bible verses here and there. I really have no idea who this person is, they have given me a couple obtuse clues I think, but I'd almost rather not know. This person has been diligent to send me a good word every day or so and it has been more than welcome; such a blessing. I know you read my blog because you've asked about it, so I want to publicly thank you for blessing me with your thoughts and prayers.

It wasn't planned and we didn't even know until just a few days before we met up, but I got to see my close friend Ben Sprenger! We lived together for a while, but he moved up to Alaska this past summer and I did not think I was going to get to see him while I was here, but he came in town for a family event and it was so good to see him and spend time with him. One night we went downtown to uptown, yeah I know, for food and drinks. We met up with Sterling and Emily and it was so good to see them again.

Thursday was man-day. Ben, his dad and I went up to "the farm" and played around in the woods. We drove around an ATV and set up deer stands for the oncoming deer season. I'm not much of a hunter, at all, like, I don't think I could do it, but it was fun mucking about in the woods. Before we went back to town we got out the guns and shot at a piece of plywood. I had never shot a shotgun before and they really do kick as much as they say they do. I shot a 12 gage slug. boom.

The next day Ben drove me out to Hwy 52 and dropped me off and I headed south to Iowa. I wasn't there very long and Mark stopped to give me a lift. He drove me from Hampton, MN to just south of Rochester, about an hour's drive. He was curious about what I was doing and why I was doing it. East conversation. As we were entering into Rochester he offered to buy me lunch and I was not going to pass that up. We hit up the Culver's drive thru and were on out way again. He drove me all the way onto Hwy 63 which reaches all the way down to Cedar Falls where I have some family. It wasn't the best location to hitch from, but I had to make do.

I was there about an hour when Katie got in contact with me and offered to drive me as for as she could get me in the next couple hours. Heck yes. A for sure ride and more time with a good friend. Before she came and got me though, I was warned by the lady who lived up the dirt drive way that "for safety, you might wanna move down that way some. I have a 130 pound dog that patrols this area." I wasn't sure if she was serious or just wanted me to move, but I just said thank you and wished her a good day. I didn't move. She came back a little later and offered to take me down the road some cause she was serious, but by that time Katie was in her way.

Katie got me all the way to Waverly, IA where my cousin, Melanie and her three boys came and got me. I was about 20 minutes from their house so I took some time to journal sitting in a park bench.

I've been staying with Bob and Melanie and Jacob, Joshua and Johnathon for the last couple nights and tomorrow will be on my way to see family in Cedar Rapids. I don't know for sure, but I am thinking of hitting the road again on Wednesday to reach Jeremy in Michigan for the weekend. He's just over 450 miles away to I think I can get there in two days hopefully. I was thinking about heading toward Milwaukee and taking the ferry over to avoid Chigago, but the ferry is $85 one way, so I think I'll stick to the road. I am going to make my way up to near Traverse City, MI and see my friend Jeremy and his family. I'll spend a few days there and be on my way to Maine! Pray for a late winter!

"Ya Gotta Have a Soul t' Travel"

Made it the Twin Cities! But not with out 1,274 miles behind me!!! Whoa. I honestly thought it would be another few days at least until I made it here, but I have been blessed with some long rides, that being said, let's backtrack to Polson...

Just 3 days ago I woke up in the beautiful Klein house at 2am, got ready to go and Jim rolled up at 2:30 and we were off for a 3 hour drive. You would think that I would sleep on the way. nope. We talked the whole way and it was great. He's a good man; other than guns and hunting, we have quite a bit in common and that made it easy to keep the conversation going. He drove me 60 miles out of his way to avoid dropping me off in Browning, which every white Montanan would say is a dangerous place. It's on a Indian Reservation and is known to the whites to be a no-go-zone. Jim told me that the only other place in MT I might want to not spend any time in was Wolf Point, MT, but that was on the other side of the state and probably wouldn't have to worry about it.

Jim dropped me off at a truck stop on the west side of Shelby. It was 5:30am and still dark out so I took the opportunity to get some hot food at the country diner. I felt out of place without work boots, overalls and a beer belly, but I was hungry enough to sit it out. I bought a fairly large bag of pipe tobacco, which will last me like 15 years, but it's all they had.

At about 6:15 I made my way out to the corner across the street and set up shop. It was freezing cold. Like, literally, 32-degrees Fahrenheit freezing. On the dot. I had 4 layers on so my core was ok, but my hands. Oh, so cold. I have some black full-fingered bicycling gloves, but I thought wearing those might decrease my chance of a ride, so I manned up. sup.

Around 7 a police officer rolled up, he was real polite and just wanted to check my ID. "We just wanna know who's around. You know how these small towns are..." I was happy to oblige with passport and driver's license. He checked for warrants, none of course and after he knew I was good to go, he gave me advice to move to the east side of town. It was only about a mile or so, but it was the first time I had had to walk any considerable distance with my approximately 70 lb. pack. Longest. mile. of. my. life. There was a nice wee park and a bench to hold my stuff and me when no cars were coming down. Oh, and it was still cold.

About 90 minutes passed before two men pulled over for me. (Ok, by the way, I;m finding that when I'm waiting for rides, I talk a lot. To myself; I think I'm pretty funny. To people driving by; especially the ones that wave and one's that have personal license plates; I talk to them like I know them. It's pretty fun. ok, side note done.) 90 minutes. Two men stop for me. In Montana, if you're not white, you're tribal. (I learned that the word "tribal" is the most PC way to talk about the Native Americans there) These guys were not white. No headdresses, long flowing hair and peace pipes, but they weren't white. I was a little hesitant at first, but they were older, 50s-60s and seemed like really great guys; after all, they stopped for a hitchhiker. I threw my stuff in back and they said they could get me to Havre. Just over 100 miles away. Couldn't pass that up.

Their names are Don and Jack and they asked about what I was doing and why and all that and I eventually asked them if they grew up in the area. "Oh yeah, were from Browning." I froze for a second at the irony of this moment. I had so many white people blow right pass my thumb, but these two men from a town that terrifies the whites stopped, and offered me "a cup of cold water". We got to Havre and had to stopped for "some coffee and to take a piss". I was getting mentally ready to be back out on the road when Don, the one driving, said they were going further on down the road and said I was welcome to join. Turns out they were driving all the way to Bismark, but if I wanted to stay on Hwy 2, they could drop me at Wolf Point. Yep, the "other town" I was warned of, but it was 200 miles from Havre; had to risk it. My presuppositions had already been overturned, so I decided to take them up on the offer.

They told me much about their tribe and the surrounding ones and what it's like to live on the Reservation. I have never been a fan of how we treated these people, but hearing it from them created a whole new level of disgust. They dropped me on the far side of Wolf Point and I started walking because even Don and Jack said I wouldn't want to spend the night there.

Within 15 minutes, Ronda pulled over with her brother Jarred in the passenger seat. They said they could take me to Polar, about 20 miles. "Eh, it's not far, but it's not here" I thought. Jarred offered me some a joint, he seemed like he had smoked his share of who knows what, but he wasn't driving and everything he said was backed with a smile. I couldn't understand/hear a word he said to me in those 20 miles, but I nodded and smiled back. Ronda dropped him off and took me outside town. She said, "go right over there, put your sign up; you'll get picked up in no time". I could tell she had a soft heart. I offered God's blessing, she smiled and pulled away.

Not 15 minutes passed until Chris flew by gesturing both his hands in the air as in to say, "I've got no room!" But his face read, "What the hell are you doing out here?!" I watched him go by, whip around and come to a dust-lifted stop. He comes out of his 1990-something Ford Ranger and yells, "I'm chalked full a' shit, man!" I could see his passenger seat was full of work clothes and whatever else. I said if he didn't have room it was all good, but he insisted. Threw some stuff in the bed, some behind the seat. I crammed my pack on top and in between some stuff in the bed and we were on our way.

"Chris" he said as he offered a hand shake. I could tell he was a tough and hard worked by his hand. He said he could take me to Williston, ND, about 75 miles. In the end he took me to Stanley, a total of 147 miles. As the conversations usually go, my studies eventually came up and into the topic of religion we dove. I was reservedly stoked. One thing he said that stuck with me was, "Ya know, I smoke, I drink, I cuss, but I try to glorify Him somehow in everything I do." This man worked in the oil fields in ND and was away from home of 5 kids and a wife for 3 weeks a month. I'm guessing going to church is a rarity considering his work load, but he knows what it is to live the Christian life. This is the church people need to see, real people with reall issues that still try to glorify him. Chris, in picking me up, helping out a starnger, yet a brother, you glorified God. Blessings to you and your family.

Chris was good enough to drive me into town, buy me a little gas-station pizza and take me to a real campsite. As I was setting up camp I got a text from I number I don't know. They asked if I was hitching across the U.S.. I responded yes and asked who they were. They responded that they were my little angle on my shoulder and that they'd be praying for me everyday and sending me Bible verses and encouraging words. They have kept their word for the last three days and it has been a real blessing, so thank you my little shoulder angle. I read some Confessions and was asleep by about 9. I had only 2 hours sleep going into that day and I made up for it with 11. Minus waking up to the train like 40 yards from my head.

(09/08)Made some delicious oatmeal for breakfast and added some of Alyssa's (a Klein sister) homemade granola to make it divine. I had to walk a a good distance to get back out onto the 2 while town folk watched me go by. They always stared with confusion as a offered a smile and a wave. Once I got out to Hwy 2 at about 11am, it wasn't five minutes until Pete stopped and picked me up. He smoked more than he talked, but I was thankful for the ride. There was a younger guy in the passenger seat; never said a word. Barely acknowledged my presence. They took me to Minot. In ND it's pronounced, "Mie-nit", not like it looks. Noted.

They let me off at a truck stop and I bought some chicken strips and a Vitamin Water: Dragonfruit. Favorite. I walked about a mile and a half passed an intersecting highway to get the most traffic possible, but it was a grueling walk. I think I'm more of a whimp than I thought, whatevs. I made it to a god hitching spot and didn't wait long for Wade to stop for me. This man; he is a generous servant of God. He was only on his way back home Towner, but said he'd "do one better" and take me to the other side of Rubgy, an extra 20some miles. He loves his family. We talked a lot. We started talking about the afterlife and he said to me a few times in his NoDak accent, "ya gotta have a soul t' travel..." That phrase will stick with me for a long time I think.

He made sure I had food to eat, said he could stop and pick up some food from his house for me, I would have accepted if my pack wasn't over packed already. I tugged out 15 bucks from his pocket and handed it to me, which was very unexpected. Then! he turned into the town of Rugby and stopped at his mother-in-laws to borrow another 20 to give to me. As I was yanking my pack out from his back seat he offered to blanket that lay under my pack. He was such a blessing. I won't forget you Wade, thank you so much for your glory-filled generosity.

I was east of Rugby for 3 hours. Longest I've had to wait for a ride. The traffic was so minimal I had time to set up my tripod and take a photo and get out my camp stool and sit. I got really board. The shadows were getting long and I had already scoped out my campsite for the night; next to a soy bean field, about 20 feet from the highway. I was pretty discouraged. I almost gave up more than a few times, but I just kept telling myself, "it only takes one ride..." Enter Ace, stage left.

I had, "MN" as big as possible on my sign and my thumb up high. I watched him drive by as he glared and sized me up. I was on to the next car, but low and behold Ace had flipped around and come back for me! I figured, "Hell, I'm going to Minnesota, why the hell wouldn't I?" I could tell he had been working hard all his life and knew what it was to work for what you have. We talked a little bit about a lot, but never got to the "Jesus" subject, but that's ok. He taught me a little bit about what real life is like. He has over 300 military jumps with the paratroopers. 13 years in the Army. He is a man that lives within his means and lives well. We could all learn somethin from Ace.

Side note: um, there's an oil boom happening in ND right now. People from all over the place travel hundreds of miles to work there. Apparently the amount of oil there is more than all of the middle east combined. And it's good oil too, "comes up green". Somebody should tell Obama. Just a thought.

He dropped me near a gas station 5 miles west of Bemidji, MN (I still don't know how to say that) and pointed to a patch of woods I could find a place to pitch my tent and that I did. I could still see the lights from the building, but no one could see me. My tent is so small that it's easy to find a good spot.

I slept until about 8:30, took a wipe-shower with disposable shower wipes, so fresh and so clean, clean. Made breakfast and started to tear down camp. I got a call from my brother Noah who just got back from being over seas for like 3 months and got to talk with him for a while. So encouraging. I got back on the road by 10:30, Thursday September 9.

Two cold hours blew by before Leeroy stopped his rig for me. One thing I remember about him is that he loves his wife. He caught his first wife cheating on him and left her. He said, "that's ok; found a better one!" I would say he's in his fifties or so, and still calls her "babe". That made me smile. He took me down to Brainerd, right on the way to the Cities, as they call them here.

I had my thumb out for about an hour just outside Brainerd on Hwy 371 when Jim saw my sign that read, "TWIN CITIES". "I thought, ya know, if the guy shoots me, I'll die happy; I'm happy" he said with an affirming head nod. He was on his way back from a fishing trip. "The fishing was bad, but the beer was good!" and then proceeded offer me one. I declined with a smile and told him I've got three rules for this trip, "No drinking with strangers, no doing drug with strangers and no sleeping with strangers!" We both laughed. I could tell this was going to be a good ride. St. Paul was two and half hours away and he could take me the whole way.

He loves his family, he is on number 2 as well. 5 kids, 2 of his blood and his wife "brought 3 to the table". He is a man who knows how to work to live and not live to work. I took him more than half the ride to tell me what he did for work, didn't matter to him. He probably wouldn't have told me if I didn't ask. "You can't take your work too seriously. Hell, I sell pens and shit for a living, ya know. So what?" He is 48 and has learned how to live well.

So now I'm here sitting in the lovely living room of Sterling and Emily Marks, Desiraé's brother and his wife. They had a big blow up bed ready for me and have been wonderful hosts. Katie Kremer is on her way to get me as I type. It will be so good to see her! She's been studying at MAYO! WHAT! yeah, I know.

So, I made it to St. Paul, MN. I'm over half way to Maine. I'll be here in MN for a week or so and then down into Iowa to see family, but I can feel the winter coming and am getting anxious. I can deal with cold, it's when it gets wet and cold that it sucks.

Thanks to all to have been praying for me. It's working. The Lord is good and faithful to fulfill his providence in our lives.

On Montana Time

Eight days ago I was reunited with Brother Carlos and it has been aglorious week. There has been a lot of simply relaxing around the house and playing with the kids. When all of the family comes over, it gets crazy. One pair of 1.5 year old twins, one 16 month old, a 3 and a 4 year old. Some of Kris' family were in town and a few times it was all the kids and like 15+ adults. ...and breathe... it was a ton of fun.

Last Thursday we trekked up to Glacier National Park. I feel there are few, if any words in any

of today's languages to describe the vast beauty that is contained within these 1,600 square miles. Most of our day consisted of driving the one main road through the park; starting low and climbing and climbing until we reached Logan Pass at 6,646 ft looking up at snow dusted peaks scratching 10,000 ft.

We took a wee hike from the visitor center to a vista of Hidden Lake. It really was hidden until you got there. It was only a 3 mile round trip trail, but nothing but uneventful. The views even as we were en route were spectacular and worth stopping for, but the most exciting part was toward the top when we, along with 50 other humans, encountered a mountain goat with her kid. They were pure white plus a tanish mohawk growing down the kid's back. They were less

than 30 ft away and at one point mamma goat decided to cross the tail directly in front of me. Literally could have jumped on her back, but i didn't I just took the picture pictured.

We saw some big horn sheep from across a large valley, but with my zoom lens and some wicked binoculars we could see them pretty well. But the best animal sighting was a wee grizzly cub! We came to a stop thinking it was part of the constant road construction, but alas! it was a bear! He (or she?) was in a bush hanging straight out over the road about ten feet up chowin' down on some berries or something. It was pretty cute and considering there are just over 800 grizzlies in all of the expansive state of Montana, it was a rare sight.

Friday was lake day. One boat, two pairs of water skis (old skool), one kneeboard and a sweet-A cabin right on the lake; it made for a real good day. I water-skied for the first time since

getting my water-skiing merit badge in Boy Scouts way back in the day like 10 years ago and stood up on the knee board 'cause that's way cooler. :) The water is so clear, it seems like you could see 20 feet down! Probably the best of the day was when Carlos overcame hesitation and tried water skiing! Whether he actually got up or not is irrelevant; he got out there!!!

We have had some incredible sunsets just about every night. This sky really

is big. Like, real big. Huge. And this valley is completely surrounded by mountains. It has been colder than anticipated, but we've made the best of it.

I started Augustine's Confessions...

2:30 tomorrow morning, Jim, Carlos' brother-in-law, is picking me up on his way to work and giving me a ride all the way up to Shelby, MT where Hwy 2 meets I15. He'll drop me at about 5:30/6 am. At least I'll get an early start :)

This next leg of the journey is intimidating. I could make it easier and head across the 90, but I would rather see more of the country of MT and ND and into MN. Hwy 2 eventually stretches all the way to Maine so I could be seeing a lot of that sign, but that is yet to be experienced.

My next stop will be MN to see a couple friends, but that's over 1,000(!) miles away so I don't know when next I'll be able to post here or even be able to Twote or FB or even call anyone, but when I get the chance I won't pass it up.

Blessings to you all and thanks for reading :)