Days 150 & 151

Monday & Tuesday  03/26, 27/12  183 miles 4,651

I was going to stay an extra day in Damascus but Larry, the very nice mgr. of the hostel tells me that he didn't realize that I wasn't a hiker of the Appalachian Trail and this hostel is solely for them.  I tell him it isn't a problem and will move on. Larry has an amazing testimony.  Dennis shows up to bring me some food and check on me and when he finds out I need to move out of the hostel he tells me to pack my gear up and he is going to take me to their place.  Dennis taught school for 41 years and coached for 37.  Blanche taught for 38 years which also included being a principle for part of her career.  We go to their amazing country farm and then go to lunch with their friends, Don & Dixie.  After lunch we go back to the farm and spend the rest of the afternoon having a wonderful conversation.  Don & Dixie are cool people and I would have loved to got to know them better.  Tuesday Dennis and Blanche take me all the way to Hillsville, Tn. to get me through some pretty tough hill country.  You will have to read book 2 to find out how much I think of these very special people.  Odell gave me a 15 mile ride in the back of his pickup way out in the boonies, then I was blessed by a ride all the way to Danville by a wonderful young lady by the name of Jenifer.  She has to drop me off on the west side of Danville.  I walk about four miles to the east side and try till dark to get a ride to no avail.  Find a old shed to hide behind for the night.  Another great day.  First pic. is of a small part of Dennis & Blanche's dream farm, second is Dennis, Blanche, and Trail.  Third is Jenifer.

Day 149

Sunday  03/25/12  Day 149

Sometimes you pay for being to careful.  Last night I didn't set my tent up because I was in a city park. It started raining about midnight and by 4 AM I was one wet Jose.  Not much sleep this night.  I ring out as much water as possible and head out looking for a church service and a motel to dry everything out.  At 8:50 a nice man sees me walking down the street and invites me to his church's 9 o'clock service.  Damascus Presbyterian was small but the people were very nice and I enjoyed the service.  I walk on down the street and come to First Baptist Church of Damascus.  Phillip, the guy who gave me a ride the night before told me that this was a good church, so decided to go there also.  Real glad I did.  Pastor Wayne gave an excellent message on living dangerously for Jesus and I got to meet some more nice people.  The icing on the cake was getting to meet Dennis and Blanche.  They ended up taking me to a Laundromat to dry my bedroll and buy me a very nice lunch while everything is drying.  They then took me to a hostel that was only $6.00 and I have the whole place to myself.  First Baptist has a 6:30 service and pastor Wayne invites me to share about my journey for few minutes before he deliverers another really good teaching. This day started out cold and wet and ended up being a great day.  Pics. Virginia sunset and rolling hills.

Jenifer in Danville

Jenifer in Danville.... if you read this, please email me.  It is Wed. noon and I am bottle necked in Danville.  You mention that one of your co-workers might be going to Suffolk.  Thanks, Dave
walking4kids@gmail.com

Important

It is very important to me that when I blog I don't cause anyone any grief.  I just listened to a voice mail from my friend Jr. in Ky.  In my blog I probably left the impression that Marvin's wife was not cordial or nice to me.  That is not true at all.  She greeted me and excused herself to another room.  I had just invaded her home without notice and she was plenty kind to me.  If my wife had brought a stranger to our home, I would have excused myself, just like this nice lady did.  I like these people and they were kind to me and I hope to see them again someday.  I am truly sorry for any misunderstanding.

Day 148

Saturday  03/24/12  Day 148  110 miles   4,468 total

I had a interesting night last night.  The frogs, crickets, and birds joined together to be be one of the nosiest nights in the woods in recent history.  About 3AM the thunder and lighting show started followed by a real good rain.  About one hour after the sun came up I broke camp and found a good place to get a ride south.  After about an hour, Jerry picks me up.  We just started driving when my phone rings.  It is Marvin from the day before.  He is inviting me to breakfast and to stay a few days.  I thank him, but decline and tell him I am headed south with a man named Jerry.  Marvin asks me if his last names is Collins and when I find out it is,  Marvin tells me that Jerry is his brother-in-law that he hasn't seen him in a long time.  What are the chances of that happening? Jerry drops me off in Isom.  Lori, at store in Isom, gives me $20 for the kids when she finds out what I am doing.  What a neat lady.  Young couple give me ride in back of pickup to Whiteberg.  Taylor gives me ride up the hill a few miles and Sue gets me to the Va. state line.  A terrific couple by the name of Beau and Brittany give me a ride to Pound and Phillip gives me a ride all the way to Damascus.  I set up under the stars in the city park about 10 pm and thank God for getting me here and meeting all of these cool people in the process.  First pic. is of Marvin's brother-in-law, Jerry.  2nd is from Isom, Ky.   Correction from yesterdays blog.  I mis-understood Jr. and Marvin about their education.  I thought they never had the chance to go to school, they, however, made it to the 10th grade.  Sorry guys.

Day 147

Friday  03/23/12   Day 147  20 miles  4,358 total

I walked about two miles to an intersection outside of Hazard.  Set up to try for a ride south on 15.  After about three hours Marvin and his brother Jr. offer me a ride south about 10 miles.  They tell me I will have better chance of catching a ride down there.  On the way they invite me to their home for lunch and to see there many collections.  Why not, I am in the hill country of E. Kentucky and I want to learn as much about this part of America as possible.  Marvin and his bro. turn out to be real interesting characters. Marvin is 50 and Jr. 49 and neither one of them have ever been to school.  Marvin's wife, who he calls "The Woman," is not interested in me and disappears when I show up.  These boys show me a lot of their hobby stuff and we take off as "The Women" is going to need the truck for bingo later.  I ended up buying them lunch and they drop me off at what looks like a good camping place.  Set up tent just as it starts raining and have a pretty good night.  First picture is of Jr. and Marvin.  Second is of a symbol of one of the many things plaguing America.  Although I usually don't make note of the bad and ugly things I see, after staring at that nasty needle,  while I was trying to get a ride, I decided to say that everywhere I go people say the same thing.....  drugs abuse is out of control.

Day 146

Thursday 03/22/12  Day 146    261 miles  4,338 total

Back in the saddle day.  Said goodbye to Bob and Linda this morning. Chrissy drove me all the way to Scottsville, Ky.  What a great time I had in Tenn. with a great bunch of people.  I am sure looking forward to seeing them again someday.  After Chrissy (my dear little sister, who mothered me all the time) dropped me off, I just set and thought how lucky I was for God to continue to allow me to meet these amazing people.  I smiled, got up off my duff and started walking ever eastward.  A lady stopped and gave me $5.  I still look homeless with my little cart.  After about an hour I got a ride from a man named Greg.  We had a great conversation and he takes me along way past his turn off to a good place to camp.   Greg loves the Lord and it shows.  I decided not to camp and walk on.  After about an hour a dude that goes by the name of Dude gives me a ride to Glasgow. Dude is also a nice guy with a 7" long goatee.  Find a place on the on ramp to I90E that also has a place I can hide for the night if I don't get a ride.  After about three hours, Bill from the hills of Eastern Kentucky gives me a ride.  We had a nice long ride and I got to learn a lot about the very interesting culture of Eastern Kentucky coal country.  Bill takes me all the way to Hazard, Ky.  Four great rides today.  Will try to get across the line into Virginia tomorrow.  Because of the generosity of Westview Baptist Church, Brian, Bill, and the lady in Scottsville I am able to send another $300 to the kids.  I had some good pictures of Linda and Chrissy, Kentucky mountains (hills by Oregon standards) and Bill, but  lost them all.  Every since the wind smashed my phone into the asphalt on the Natchez Trace it has been temperamental.  Must be a female phone:)   Sub pic. is of a herd of elk in Oregon.

Days 138 to 145

Wed. to Wed. 03/ 14 - 21/12  Days 138 to 145

I'm sorry for not keeping up on the blogging.  I have been enjoying the people of Tenn. to much I guess. A few high lights for the past week.  Sat. night I thought I was coming down with a rotten cold only to find out Monday that for the first time in my life I have allergies.  I have never sneezed so much in my life. My last blog I mentioned that I got to spend a whole day with Brian at his saw mill and then with his family.  Tuesday I got to speak for seven different classes in a Christian School founded and run by Brian's wife, Vicki.  What a blast and what a great bunch of kids and teachers.  Wed. I got to speak at Westview Baptist Church in Kingston Springs, Tn.  Pastor Mark and his whole congregation treated me so well I can't put it into words.  It was truly a great time.  God took such good care of me, I didn't sneeze or cough at all at Vicki's school or the service at Westview.  Headed for Ky. tomorrow.  Picture is of (L to R) Chris, Kevin, ugly, Chrissy and Bob.  Kevin is Chrissy's brother and he and Chris are members of Westview and got me the opportunity to speak there.  Chrissy and Pastor Bob are the wonderful,  considerate, kind, and patient people who let me stay at their home for three weeks.  I am truly going to miss them.  I had some pictures of the kids from Tues. but lost them some how.

Info request

Information Request
I am thinking of changing to a tablet such as ipad 2, Motorola Xoom, or Samsung Galaxy.  The more research I do on the internet, the more mixed reviews I get.  Would you happen to have any experiences with tablets?  Please drop me a note with any advice you can give me.  I would sure appreciate it.  Thanks, Dave   walking4kids@gmail.com

Days 134 to 137

Sat. 3/10 to Tues. 3/13/12  Days 134 to 137  zero miles

Sat. Bob and I and about 20 others helped a family move.  Sunday another very good day at Calvary Bible Church.  Monday had dinner with the Ross and Frederico families.  This is a amazing story of how one  family of 5 reached out to a family of 11 when they were in need.  Two wonderful families living Christian lives they way it should be done.  Tuesday I was picked up at 6:30 AM by a new friend by the name of Brian. I got to hang out all day with Brian at his saw mill.  (I love saw mills)  Then I got to have dinner with Brian and his wife Vicki and  two of their four neat kids, Cooper and Calli.  In the last few days I also got to spend some great time with Miki.  A very kind and gentle man who is helping me a lot with my web page and several other things.  Miki has a amazing testimony and the story behind him, my host family, The Ross's and Frederico's, and Brian and Vicki are going to be the end of book 2.  I will be working on trying to finish book 2 for the next week.  Have a couple speaking engagements next week and then, tentatively, heading for Kentucky the 22nd. Pic #1 is of the Ross and Frederico families. #2 is of Brian picking up a unit of white oak. #3 is Miki in his studio.  #4 is of Brian's truck driver, Teressa.  #5 is of Karen Frederico and Kely Ross, two cools moms doing some amazing things.

Days 126 to 133

Friday 3/2/12 to Friday 3/09/12  Days 126 to 133 zero miles

A tornado went right through were I would have been camped if I hadn't got such a good ride to Pleasant View.  So much has happened this week it would be a very long blog to cover it all.  The high lights:  Went to Calvary Bible Church with my wonderful host family.  Really good Sunday school class taught by Jim and also an excellent service preached by Pastor Dave.  Sunday night, Ken a 30 year retired Army Chaplin gave a great testimony/sermon with pizza fellowship afterwards.  Met a lot of very nice people today.  Wed. night a dreaded tooth ache set in.  Thurs. morning started calling around to see if I could get some affordable help.  My angel was a lady named Debra at Vine Hill Clinic in Nashville.  She was able to get me in Friday morning and Dr. Bellamy and her assistant Gloria relieved me of a old wisdom tooth that I should have parted ways with many years ago. Friday night had dinner with Chrissy's brother Kevin and his wife Chris.  God has truly blessed me with some very special people.  Thank you Lord for Linda, Chrissy and Bob.  Pis. of Dr. Bellamy and Gloria and Bob and Chrissy very mellow shepard, Keesha.

Day 125

Thursday 03/01/12  Day 125  165 miles   4,075 total
Very big day for me. 

Had a tough night as everything got wet and then it dipped below freezing.  Broke camp and walked a few miles into Eastview.  After a couple hours, Joe gave me a short ride to a better location.  He was my first ride in Tenn.  An hour later a very nice man named Mike picked me up and was taking me to Henderson.  After he found out what I was doing and where I was going he made a few phone calls and lined up a ride for me all the way to the outskirts of Nashville. Amazing how God takes care of this getting around in strange places thing.  I am going to a place called Pleasant View because I met a lady by the name of Linda via the Internet who along with her pastor and his wife invite me to their place to get somethings done which I will write blog about later.  Linda has been a very encouraging supporter of the ministry and I have really been looking forward to meeting these people. Linda and Chrissy pick me up where my ride drops me off and we head for their home where I meet Pastor Bob and I am in total awe on how God lead me to these people.  We bonded right away and I am so excited about what lies ahead in this little Tenn. town.  I wasn't even planning to come to Tenn. First pic is of Joe and my first convertible ride. Second is of Stacey and Sam, who gave me a ride to Nashville, Casey, Stacey's twin sister, and Mike who went a long way out of his way to take care of me. Mike saved me from a lot of grief in getting to Pleasant View. Went over the 4,000 mark today.

Day 124

Wednesday 02/29/12  Day 124  57 miles  3,910 total

I needed to work my way back to hwy. 45 and got a ride from a young guy by the name of Tom.  Set up on a on ramp and waited for about an hour before Annette and her three kids (Sarah, Zach, & Eric) pick me up and take me up the road about 15 miles to Baldwin.  After a few hours (including a rain storm) two city policeman stopped to check me out.  After they found out what I was doing they ended up taking me all the way to the Tenn/Miss state line.  Thanks Tim and Kevin.  The law has sure been good me.  Walk for about three miles until about 5pm and find a place to camp for the night. First pic is my welcome sign to the volunteer state right after a down pour.  Second is from my camp site.  Weather sure moves fast through this country.

Days 122, 123

Monday & Tuesday 02/27, 28/12  Days 122, 123  125 miles 3,853 total
Mon.  Walked for several miles before Billy, a businessman picked me up and took me to Winona.  Wants me to go to work for him:)  An hour later Randy and his wife Aileen squeezed me into their car and give me a ride to Eupora.  What a neat couple, they bought me lunch/dinner and found me a great place to camp under a bridge. They were excited about the journey and were fun to be around.

Tuesday:  Under the bridge was nice and dry, but the rumble that trucks made when then went across sounded like an earthquake.  Randy brought me breakfast just as I was getting ready to hit the road.  Nice young man.  After a while I catch a ride with Dolly and Jerome to hwy 45 which will take me north.  Nice couple on their way to Columbus, Ms.  Just as the rain was starting to really come down, Shane gives me my second ride in a big rig to Tupelo, Ms.  Elvis's birth place, where I hold up for the night.  Hope to make it to Tenn. tomorrow.