Columbus, OH. My whole Ohio visit was planned around spending time with friends of mine -- the warm-living couple (above), The Pethtels.

I originally met them along with their beautiful daughter, Alex, while working at my job in New York as a concierge.

Through my dedication working the front desk making sure their daughter was well taken care of we formed a strong bond. A bond that was made even stronger after I suffered from a gun shot in my left torso two and a half years ago.

With a bullet permanently lodged in my spine I was unable (for 2-weeks) to work, partake in physical activities I enjoyed, do anything for my son, or even stand for longer than 5-10 minutes.

The Pethtels helped me spiritually through that dark time with phone calls, text messages, letters, and even a care package -- and for those loving thoughts I am forever grateful.

In the past week I had a wonderful time with them in their home and around the Columbus area. They made sure I was not just fed but full after every meal and constantly gave me helpful suggestions about my journey, my son, and life in general. I'm really going to miss them!


1/5/13 thru 1/10/13

Mt. Gilead, OH. Along my journey I got the pleasure of meeting with and hanging out with a very charming reporter/traveler/motorcyclist/everything woman, Taylor.

She interviewed me for an article that will appear in the Morrow County newspaper, I believe this week. After telling her I was going to camp out in the state park, she later found someone that would put me up for the night -- how cool is that!

After spending time with Taylor, her plans for the future make me so excited for her! She has a lot to offer the world and I believe the world has a lot of positive, fun, and uplifting experiences to offer her.


Date of occurence: 1/4/13

Johnsville, OH. Can you spot the two unleashed canines? Judging from their behavior from a distance I could tell there was an invisible fence system put up to prevent them from running off the property. Something in the system causes them to get docile one they are near the fence, to the point they will stand there and won't even bark

I encounter tons of dogs on a daily basis, so its no biggie. I normally don't pay attention or even look in their direction unless I hear their bark getting louder which means they are approaching me and may possibly attack. In most cases they will not attack, they just want you away from the property.


Date of occurence: 1/3/13

Powell, OH. While preparing some food at my good friends' home I spotted these deer right outside the kitchen. I thought it was beautiful and watched them until I remembered I was hungry.


1/6/12

Mansfield, OH.  As I entered the city of Mansfield a gentleman starting walking alongside of me with a huge camera.  I curiously asked him what are you photographing, he said... you!  I agreed and that gentleman, Dave Polcyn, took some photos while walking to the center of town to be published in the local paper.  

That later lead to a very sweet newspaper's reporter, Lou Whitmire, wanting to do an interview over coffee at the local cafe.  The article was good overall, there are inaccuracies that may have been possibly my fault -- but the overall message was clear: I'm walking to raise money for the American Diabetes Association.

Click [ HERE ] to view the article.  


Date of occurrence: 1/2/2013

Johnsville, OH.

After stopping at The Apple Inn to eat a cheese burger and oatmeal (weird combo, but that's what I was craving at the time) I stopped by the local library, The Perry Cook Memorial Public Library, and met Nita (pictured above) and Debbie (who was sweet enough to walk a distance with me).

Needing to use the computer, they were both very accommodating, inquisitive about my journey which I enjoyed. I posed for photos which was the least I could do, since I haven't touched a computer since I was in Cleveland.

The facility was very modern, stocked with tons of great books, and was well kept. Johnsville is lucky to have such a great library available to the community in addition to an admirable staff.


1/3/13

Ashland, OH.

Today's beautiful view of the frozen marsh.


1/2/13

Ashland, OH.

Happy New Year! There is something about starting on a clean slate that motivates one to take on goals, tasks, & challenges with renewed rigor or a different approach. I myself didn't set any traditional resolutions, nothing against them, I'm still working on my multitude of goals previously set. Some will be completed soon, others later in the year, and some I'll be working on for a lifetime which I'm totally fine with. Whether your goal is to lose weight, get out of debt, make more money, etc. as long as made it clear in your mind and have made the first step toward the goal (regardless of the circumstances you may face), you are on the right track -- just don't give up!

My New Years was very low-key which I was fine with. I spent large portion of it planning my donation process from receiving contribution, to distributing donation gifts, to giving the proceeds to the American Diabetes Association.

It is a lot of work and still have more work to complete. I'm not complaining because it is something I whole heartedly believe in. I'm not afraid of the word "no" so I will be contacting everyone I know, people I meet, asking for referrals, and asking individuals I don't know via phone, email, text, Facebook, this website, mailings, and face-to-face -- can't stop, won't stop.

I ordered a large quantity of business card to hand to people I meet. It will help getting the word out so people will remember me and most importantly remember to donate. Business cards will make the bond between myself and the person I'm interacting with that much stronger so even when I'm gone down the road to the next town that card is still in their presence.

Above are the boots I just ordered, from a recommendation from Brother John. My current shoes could not stand 16-hours of marching through the deep snow. That issue lead to me marching over 5 miles one night, so I have to keep my socks covered in shopping bags (McDonalds plastic bags work the best) until I get my boots. I just hope the height of the shoe doesn't restrict my ankles.

I've been truly blessed to receive free food along the journey. I don't look for it, it just happens out of the blue. Subway is my favorite restaurant because they are the friendliest so I know they will continue to hook a brother up, on the other hand McDonalds workers seem very programmed and scared. Sometimes I know they want to start a dialog about where Im going or doing but something always holds them back.

This week I'm headed to Lexington, Mt. Gilead, Delaware (the city), and then Powell/Colombus. This is my home stretch before I spend some time in Powell and Columbus, and then I pick up pace and work my way south to start walking the American Discovery Trail. The ADT is the longest non-motorized trail that stretchest from coast to coast.

Day 39 was a tough day. It was the coldest, windiest day I have experienced and was so cold I took no breaks unless I had to eat or go to the bathroom. The only way to make it through was to focus on my breathing, turn my thoughts off, go into a slight walking trance, and focus on the snowy & icey 5 feet in front of me.

It worked perfectly until another police officer pulled me over. He told me it was too cold to be walking the highway and offered me a ride, I declined and told him why I walking and that I was on a mission. He didn't like the sound of that, they never do, and proceeded to ask me for ID. How does it go from offering me a ride to running my record? Anyway, I went through the regular "yes'm boss" motions, he gave me my ID, and wishes me a good trip.


[Just deleted a whole rant.]

While walking the last leg of that day's walk, a couple pulled over and offered me a ride (which happens often) and I graciously declined. They respected that request and told me if I was hungry the house was a mile down the road, so I thanked them. That mile was the longest mile in the world. I was cold, tired, and hungry.

I finally made it, almost walking past the house. Jeff greeted me at the door and welcomed me in and introduced me to his beautiful wife Stephanie, his two children Samantha (whose going off to college in Venezuela) & Steven (who works doing construction) and their very energetic dog, Terrapin.

Their family lifted my spirits and fed my belly with both German stew and Spanish soup along with grapefruit juice, one of my
my favorite beverages. The way their family interacted wasn't anything extraordinarily, but I was in awe because it was just something I had and then lost after my mother passed away 17 years ago. Anyway, I talked with them for a bit, thanked them, said my good-byes, and then departed as I finished my day's journey near the heart of town.

A big part of life is loving and helping others, I try to practice this daily, and if an individual is not... they're truly missing out.

Lafayette, OH.

12/28/12

Burbank, OH.

-Woke up it was snowing.
-Lost shades in snow, will replace soon
-Met some great people at the Stop n Go gas station, one of the guys told me I inspired him (which I very hear often).
-Got a handful of car horns for encouragement which keeps me motivated.
-Walked through so much snow today. 
-Encountered a lot of snow plows. 
-Endurance was good today, no pain. 
-Wrapped feet in shopping bags (over socks) to prevent walking half the day with wet feet again. 
-Distance today was about 10 miles I believe, so I took it easy. 
-Once I reached the Lodi Hotel they had no vacancies unfortunately.  
-Visited the local Subway restaurant and had a great sandwich made by Malissa who's a college student studying accounting.  
-Then proceeded to walk 3 miles to the closet hotel, The Plaza Motel (shown in the photo). 
-In bed now listening to some Fela inspired music on Pandora. 

12/29/12