April, 2004

April 1, 2004 - Thursday - Walking Day - 17.9 + 2910.5 = 2928.4 Total Miles to Date 81.2 Total MS Miles - Day 7

Total Miles for Week - 59.5

Today was a really fun day. We got just a bit of a late start for walking - 10 AM, but it will probably get later for the next few days since we have further to drive. Our walking began uneventfully on beautiful Hwy 6. The trees are all green now and the wild Wisteria is everywhere. There is still some red bud as well, and lots of dogwoods, and a few other blooming trees. Then there are fields of buttercups.

As we walked to our first meeting with Russ we came to some road work. We visited a bit with the flagman. He said they had seen us in Saltillo the other day. I got his picture and his name - Truman Lindsey, the flagman for some shoulder work on Hwy 6.

We went a bit further and met Candace from Planterville, MS - Union Community outside of her house. Her mother also came to the door, but didn't want her picture taken. They were delightful, and said they would be praying for us.

At our next meeting with Russ we took time to eat some lunch, then started our next part of the walk with a stop at the Nettleton sign with prayer and leaving our Memorial Stone #193. This is one of the few towns that gives the population in any Mississippi town -- 2,462 - and I think that was one the town just put up on their own. Just after we left the Nettleton sign a man called to us from the side of the road to see what we were doing. We went up and talked with him and gave him our card. He is Charlie Corzine from Nettleton, MS. He has a beautiful deep talking voice, and I asked him if he was a singer. He told me he is, but he is more of a guitar player. His day job, however, is being a carpenter. The home he and his wife live in is being remodeled by him, and he took us on a grand tour. He is doing a delightful job. We had juice at his place, and he gave us each a bottle of water. He also made a donation to GAJ. He was very nice, and we enjoyed our short visit with him.

Continuing through Nettleton we noticed paw prints on the highway - then we noticed they go different directions in various places. Finally we found someone to ask about them, and found out that they are tiger paws that all lead to the school where the Nettleton Tigers Team play.

We saw many beautiful dogwood trees today as well - one that was especially beautifully shaped and full of blooms. About that time we also saw a cute little statue in front of a house - a little boy sitting on a bench with stars and stripes around his hatband and holding a flag. I took a picture of that, then of the interestingly shaped home behind it. Then I noticed a man coming around the side and went to talk with him. He said his wife was out getting a little girl to go with the little boy. His name is Leonard Elliott from Nettleton, MS

Down the road a bit a man pulled into a street ahead of us and stopped to ask us what we are doing. He said he had seen us several times and decided he should stop and find out. We're always glad when people do stop to satisfy their curiosity. I took his picture -- Ricky Green is his name from Nettleton, MS.

After meeting Russ another time, we continued on. The road was busier now with commuters heading home. A man stopped to ask about our walk. I went across the highway to talk with him. He said he had seen us yesterday when we stopped at Ascents Outdoors Store in Tupelo. Then when he saw us today he had to find out more, so he went up and turned around to come back and ask. He was very interested, and very nice, and appreciative. I took his picture and got his name - Gary Scott from Tupelo, MS, and he said he'd be praying for us.

A bit later we met Russ again and called it a day. Then we went back to the castle with a stop at Logan's Roadhouse for dinner. Our waiter was Mitch. Mitch's dad is a youth minister in Amory where we'll be walking tomorrow. We'll try to look him up. Russ secretly went and told Mitch about us. This is one of those restaurants where they announce birthdays of guests. After doing a birthday intro at a table next to us, the waiters came to our table and introduced Joni and me and told everyone we were walking across the USA. The people behind us and across from us had to know more. So out came the cards. We enjoyed talking with them and with our waiter. The man across from us was Darrell Harp, and his wife was with him. There were four men at the table behind us. Russ talked more with them. It was a great meal, and a fun time.

Then time to get home and get Joni doctored up - she fell today and hurt her thumb. Russ did a great job of taking care of her. His Search and Rescue medical training is coming in handy here. We were all tired so we got to bed as soon as possible.

I called Dave and he told me we had a letter from President Bush. He read it to me, then said he'd bring a copy when he comes. He'll also send copies to Sam and Beth.

*GAJ BIT = Great American Journey Bible Inspiration Time

April 2, 2004 - Friday - Walking Day - 13.5 + 2928.4 = 2941.9 Total Miles to Date 94.7 Total MS Miles - Day 8

Total Miles for Week - 73.0

Today we headed out at about 9 AM. We had quite a distance to drive, and had to stop at Bigbee to leave Memorial Stone #194 before walking. Then we went into the Tenn-Tom Sports Shop (bait and fishing stuff) to use restrooms. We got to talking with the owners, Gene and Gail Conwill. They were real nice, and quite excited about what we were doing. (About mid-afternoon while we were in downtown Amory, Gail came and brought us some iced tea).

Finally we got to our start point and began walking. We soon crossed the bridge over the Tennessee Tombigbee Waterway and Locks - called the Tenn-Tom by all locals. We took lots of pictures, and even got to see the locks emptying out as a large boat was coming through, though we didn't wait for it to finish. As we crossed over to the other side we saw the welcome sign for Amory. There was a real nice sign, so we went across the street to see if we could find a stone to use. Then we noticed a cute store, The Sunshine Outlet, with lots of cute items out front. We decided to go inside to check it out. There we met the owners, Charlie and Billie Young. They were delightful. As we explained what we were doing Charlie went to grab the newspaper and opened it up and showed Billie our picture in the Tupelo Daily Journal. Then Billie wanted to know if their local paper had done anything on us. Since they hadn't she called them up and they came over. We talked with Chris Wilson of the Amory Advertiser. As we explained what we were about to do (leave a memorial stone for Amory when we could find one) Charlie & Billie talked, and then asked us to use the stone at the front of their property. It was a large, permanent rock. Russ came up looking for us at about that time. We went out to the rock they suggested and I began to write. Then I stopped after writing the date and Stone #195 and said we'd like to pray before we finish writing the stone. Joni and I were kneeling by the stone to write on it, so Charlie & Billie, Chris, and Russ all came over and joined us. We all knelt their by the stone as Joni and I prayed for Amory. Then Billie also prayed for us. It was truly a beautiful time.

Russ had picked out two options for us to go through Amory - downtown or residential. We chose residential and were so glad we did. It was beautiful. We walked past full blooming gardens - even saw the Yard of the Month with a sign proclaiming it so.

Then for awhile we had no interruptions to our walking. It was beautiful scenery and we enjoyed it very much. After awhile a man stopped to ask about what we were doing. He was Stan Mann of Nettleton, MS and had seen us in two towns, so just had to find out what we were up to. He was great.

As we came into the community of Quincy a car drove up and the people inside handed us each a bottle of water. They were Mario and Alice Ortiz of Greenwood Springs, MS - and one or both of them works at the Amory Advertiser. They brought us each a bottle of water.

Then a bit later a truck pulled into the driveway ahead of us, and at the same time a car pulled up across the street. The lady in the car across the street called over to say she had our picture from the newspaper and would we please autograph it. So we went across to do that and talk to her. I noticed that the other gal in the truck pulled out and around behind the first gal to wait her turn. The gal who wanted our autographs was Ann Johnson of Quincy Community of Amory, MS. When we finished with her the other gal drove up and asked what we were doing. She had felt like GOD was telling her to stop and talk with us. It was really neat. She gave us a couple of names (one was her husband serving in the military) to pray for.. We got her picture and her name - Karol Moreland.

After we met up with Russ we drove back to Quincy and left a Memorial Stone for that community. Ann Johnson pulled up right behind us to introduce her husband and say good bye again. The Stone # was 196.

As we drove back to Tupelo we talked and had a good time. In Tupelo we tried to get a picture of a sign that we all wanted, but the light didn't cooperate, so we didn't get to stop. The picture I ended up with looks like a Spaceship flying through Tupelo. Oh well.

It was really a fun day.

April 3, 2004 - Saturday - Walking Day - 11.9 + 2941.9 = 2953.8 Total Miles to Date 101.4 Total MS Miles - Day 9

5.2 Total AL Miles - Day 1

Total Miles for Week - 84.9

Today we made our usual stop at the Book Store for Russ' coffee and paper, then on out to Amory where we wanted to see if we could find Mitch's (our waiter from Logan's Roadhouse) dad at the Cason Baptist Church. We found the church, but no one knew Gary. However we did talk with a super neat couple. They had seen us yesterday and were really excited to find out about us and our walk. They have what looks like a small church, but for VBS every year they have over 400 children. They were getting ready for an Easter Egg hunt today and were expecting over 200 children for that. They do some top class puppet shows for kids, and they showed us their puppets. We were astounded at the number of professional looking puppets they have - and changes of clothes for them. The couple we talked with was Greg and Gail Lindsey of the Cason Baptist Church in Amory, MS.

When we finally got started walking at about 11 or 11:30 we walked a bit, then a car pulled up in front of us and four well-dressed adults got out with cameras at the ready. They had just had a family reunion (the first time in 6 or 7 years they had all gotten together), and one had gone home yesterday while a second one was leaving today. Their names were Janice Cunningham McCoy, Tupelo, MS - Tess Cunningham (the mother), Hamilton, MS - Greg Cunningham, Los Angeles, CA - Paula Cunningham, Phoenix, AZ. They were really sweet and fun to talk with.

Soon after they left we arrived at Greenwood Springs, MS, and while we were writing the Memorial Stone #197 a guy pulled up who had seen us in the paper and wanted to know more, and let us know he thought we were doing a great thing. Wow! His name is Rodney Pitts of Amory, MS. It just amazes us that people are so interested and so appreciative.

Continuing on we came to a town we didn't know was there (it's not on the map), Priestville, MS, and prayed and wrote Memorial Stone #198.

As we continued east on Hwy 278 a man was parked beside the road. As we approached he came over to us with a paper in hand and asked if we were the ones on his piece of paper. It was a copy of our card. He said a man had brought in the card and told him about us, but wanted to keep the card, so he had made a copy of it. We gave him a card of his own. His name is Keith Bryson of the Lamar Leader in Sulligent, AL - we were still in Mississippi. He was very nice - asked a few questions and took some pictures.

Our final town in Mississippi was Gattman, MS where we wrote Memorial Stone #199 and prayed for the town. Then we came to the state line and left Memorial Stone #200 as we left MS at about 2:45 PM. We then left Memorial Stone #201 as we entered AL at about 3:00 PM. Russ was waiting for us there and working on the computer while sitting in a folding chair in ravine by the creek below the van. We rested and ate a bit there before going on.

We enjoyed the 5 mile walk into Sulligent, AL seeing some very interesting cattle along the way with very long ears and humps on their backs - not sure if they are some sort of Brahmas or what - they are brown in color (aren't Brahmas usually a grayish color?).

Then we started seeing signs welcoming home the guardsmen of troop 877 of Sulligent, AL. We stopped at the sign for Sulligent and left Memorial Stone #202. Near the entrance to the town was Otts Funeral Home. I took pictures for Henrique and Vickie. They had a horse drawn hearse in the midst of their usual hearses.

At Sulligent we met Russ and called it a day at just about sunset. We drove back to Tupelo to eat at Tellinis (much like Ravioli's in San Jose). It was really good and just hit the spot. We all enjoyed it very much - our celebration for crossing the state line. Then home to our castle and to bed after journals, and phone calls, etc.

April 4, 2004 - Sunday - Rest Day - + 2953.8 = Total Miles to Date 5.2 Total AL Miles - Day 2

Total Miles for Last Week - 84.9

Today was Palm Sunday and Russ wanted to go to the First Christian Church of Baldwyn where we had been at their Senior Saints luncheon on Tuesday last. We arrived there about 15 minutes early as we generally try to do. Immediately we were greeted by people we had never met. When we told them what we were doing some of them commented they had seen us waving to people as we walked the other day. Then along came one of the men who had been at the luncheon. He was surprised to see us as we had figured we'd be long gone from this area. Many greeted us - including those who had seen us on Tuesday, and those who had seen us walking and waving, and those who had seen our story in the paper. Morris Norton, the pastor, was away as we had known he would be, but we had also met the retired pastor who was the one preaching this morning. It was a delightful morning, and we liked the service as well as all the wonderful people. Bro. Joe Caraway introduced us at the end of the service, and many more people greeted us after the service.

We headed for lunch at IHOP in Tupelo. After lunch we went back to the castle. Then Joni got laundry ready to do while I prepared to go shopping. I went to Wal-Mart and spent a lot of time looking for stuff. Finally I got everything and went over to McDonald's to get a coke and go sit in the shade while I talked with Dave on the phone, then I called Georgia and talked with her a bit.

Finally I got back to the castle and put things away, folded my laundry and put them away, then Joni popped me some popcorn which I ate while putting things into my new camera bag to go with the camelbak fanny pak that Errol got for me.

Finally I did my journaling and went to bed. - Russ spent much of the day working with the topographical map program on the computer figuring out the best and shortest routes for us to walk. He's really having fun with that program.

April 5, 2004 - Monday - Moving Day - + 2953.8 = Total Miles to Date 5.2 Total AL Miles - Day 3

Total Miles for Last Week - 84.9

Today we moved from Mississippi to Alabama. A few days ago we found out that these two states are called "twin states". The reason is quite clear if you look at them side by side on a map. They're basically the same shape in reverse so that if you flip one over onto the other they are a pretty good match.

On the way to our new camp we stopped for gas, and when I tried to start the RV up again it had a very hard time catching. After waiting awhile it did okay and we were finally able to take off again. I had some trouble with it when we started out this morning also.

Before we left the campground at Barnes Crossing Jeannine came over to give us some prayer requests and a card with instructions not to look at it until we had left Barnes Crossing. Jeannine was a really special camp host/manager. We gave her a big hug. I'd love to come back and see her sometime, but who knows.

The trip here to our new camp at Lurleen State Park was pretty uneventful except for the stall when we got gas. It seemed very long, but I don't think it was really any longer than a lot of times - it was just a tiring day. Russ arrived at the camp about two hours ahead of us, but they wouldn't let him register unless the RV itself was here. Oh well.

We got set up and I fixed another cheesy potato ham casserole and we proceeded to eat almost all of it along with some applesauce.

Russ has been cleaning up our computer files and had to deal with a crash on it tonight -- nothing too serious, but it looked like I would have to wait to journal until tomorrow. But the correction process (that probably has another name ) speeded up and I was able to go ahead and journal tonight.

I also got one thank you note written (I'll never get caught up on those). We all headed for bed around 9:30.

April 6, 2004 - Tuesday - Walking Day - 12.9 + 2953.8 = 2966.7 Total Miles to Date 18.1 Total AL Miles - Day 4

Total Miles for Week - 12.9

Today we headed out a bit late (that always happens our first day in a new place), but we still got to our start place before noon. Well, we started in from the church where we stopped on Saturday. Sulligent is full of yellow bows for the return of the engineering corp National Guardsmen last week. We also saw signs welcoming home specific people. It was really neat.

At the junction where we had to turn from 278 onto 17 we had a whole array of directional signs. Then just after our turn we came to the Historic Ogden House which we saw was in rather bad repair.

Many places we saw Cudzu (sp?) plants taking over the trees and other plants. We first saw these in Kentucky. One of the girls we had Sunday lunch with there told us what it was and where it came from, but we couldn't remember all the info. So today we asked about it again and were told the name again, which we promptly forgot. We're going to try again tomorrow. Another thing we are beginning to see a lot of are giant spider webs. They look sort of like the bag worms that I saw with Ernest in Virginia on the Appalachian Trail a few years ago. Only these are around the tree itself rather than hanging from the tree.

Eventually we arrived at the Welcome to Vernon sign. We prayed at the sign, but didn't have a stone to use, so we'll take one back there tomorrow. Russ was waiting just past the sign and we got into the van to eat some lunch. After lunch we headed out, but Russ walked with us saying he wanted us to meet some friends. Well he walked us into the radio station across the street and introduced us to one of the men who took us in back to one of the studios where he got us ready to talk on the air. Joni asked me to do the talking so I did. Sometimes she likes to talk and sometimes not. I try to honor whatever she says. It was a good interview with lots of opportunity for me to share what I wanted. Russ went out to the car to listen to it on the radio. Later he gave me a few pointers about a couple of things. I really appreciate the input, and try to take these suggestions into consideration for the next time.

As we walked on from the radio station - it was an FM station - we saw lots of blooming plants. Of course we had to take pictures of some of these. One thing we see so much of around here is the wild wisteria. It grows all over the place and is extremely fragrant. It climbs over trees and along other plants and up telephone poles, and anyplace else it can get a bit of a grip.

Our next stop was McDonald's where we were headed to get hot fudge and hot caramel sundaes. When we walked in the whole crew greeted us and seemed to know all about us already. I just assumed someone had heard us on the radio, but then found out that Russ had been in there already and told them all about us. It took forever to order because we kept answering their questions. They were really fun. We did enjoy our sundaes finally. And we took pictures of the whole McDonald's crew and got their names - Crystal from Vernon, Roberta from Vernon (she's the manager) Olivia from Sulligent, Maxine from Vernon, Kimberley, Heather, and Lynn - all from Vernon. They helped us learn how to talk with the right southern accent, y'all. As we left they all called, "Y'all come back now, ya hear?" They were so cute. As we got ready to leave the parking lot, Roberta came out to talk some more (she was off duty and heading home). Soon Kim joined us - she is a 17 year old sophomore in high school getting ready to get married in August. Maxine came and joined us too, and they told us she was pregnant. It was an interesting time. We really want to remember this crew in prayer.

Finally we actually began to walk out of the McD's lot and a lady in a car stopped to ask how long we had been walking. I gave her a card and she was amazed. She told us her name is Barbara McCurdy from Vernon and her husband is a pastor. That reminds me - we also gave cards to some of the McDonald's crew, and Roberta had us autograph one for her.

Then finally we walked on, but having spent that much time talking with the crew and eating sundaes (about 3 hours) we didn't have much time left to walk. We went about a mile and a half more, then called it a day. Russ was waiting for us, and we got some pictures of him and me together, then we drove back to our castle.

There we had a bite to eat, journaled, and got to bed as quickly as possible - still after 10 PM.

April 7, 2004 - Wednesday - Walking Day -15.2 + 2966.7 = 2981.9 Total Miles to Date 33.3 Total AL Miles - Day 5

Total Miles for Week - 28.1

This morning we went back to Vernon to take care of some things before we began walking. We also decided to eat breakfast at McDonalds so we could meet the morning crew. When we arrived we also met Ernie Stevens of the Department of Conservation. He was a game Warden in Fayettte Co. AL Then while we were eating our breakfast in walked Barbara McCurdy with her husband Norman. We met Barbara yesterday and today she brought her husband in with her. Norman is pastor of the Cody Church of GOD. They gave us a donation from their church.

Then Howard Reeves, Editor of the Lamar Democrat in Vernon, AL, came in to interview us for his paper. He was a neat guy. The McD's breakfast crew was delightful and included : Sadie Adams, Sherrie Brewer, Erin Sands (?) all of Vernon, AL and Shannon Dunnen (?) & Roberta of Vernon, AL (McD's)

When we left McD's we headed back to the radio station to get pictures of the guys that we met yesterday. They were Curt Smith of WJEC at 196.5 on the dial, and Eric Otts - delightful young men. We then went across the street to place our Memorial Stone #203 for Vernon, AL. We had already prayed, but didn't have a stone.

Then, as we walked past a house near Crossville, AL, we saw a big sign that read, "Welcome home, Jeff". We saw two women outside and went up to talk with them. They are Martha Bradford & Patricia Bradford - mother and wife of Jeff Bradford with the 877 Engineering Corp of the National Guard returning home very soon. We talked for a bit and wished them well. Then we continued on to place #204 Memorial Stone for Crossville, AL.

A bit later we arrived at the Crossville Fire Dept. where we met Hoyt Dubois, a brother to the fire chief of Crossville. And a bit further we saw a house that we had heard about earlier - it was a house covered with old license plates. The man uses it as siding for his house. I had to watch Joni to make sure she didn't steal any since she has quite a collection of license plates.

Now we entered Fayette County and soon came to Mt. Vernon where we placed #205 Memorial Stone for Mt. Vernon, AL. And a bit after that a man in a car was pulling out of a side road and wanted to know "where we was walking to". Now we've had a lesson or two in good ole southe'n talk, and we know we've come a fur piece already. Terry Estes from Lamar Co., AL enjoyed sharing with us.

Soon we came to a church and found Russ just pulling up. It seems he had been sitting further up when a young kid came out shooting at something and scared Loki so that Russ just up and moved. As we walked up another car pulled in - it was Roberta from McD's in Vernon. We talked for a bit and she took our pictures. Then Russ told us about another way to get to Fayette. We decided to take it, and were sure glad we did. It was a very quiet road where we could let Cassie run free most of the time, and it was very pretty. The clouds were coming in and we could see lightening in the distance and hear rolling thunder. It rained some, and the sun came out and we had a beautiful rainbow. Russ stayed with us pretty close on this road just in case the lightening got close - it never did. Soon we came to the little town of Coven and prayed and placed #206 Memorial Stone for Coven, AL.

We decided to go to pizza tonight before heading back to the castle. At Pizza Hut in Fayette, AL Stacy Rae was our waitress and was very nice -- even bringing Joni the kids puzzle to work on while we waited.

Now we headed back to our camp. It was after 9 PM, so we got to see if our code for the security gate worked - it did. We got in and ready for bed right away. Then I journaled and fell asleep. We were all very tired.

April 8, 2004 - Thursday - Walking Day - 15.5 + 2981.9 = 2997.4 Total Miles to Date 48.8 Total AL Miles - Day 6

Total Miles for Week - 43.6

Today we got going a bit late (who knows what late is) and went into Fayette to get a few things at Wal-Mart before we started walking. We also had to go to an auto store to get some parts for the RV so Russ can work on it while he is here. Then we drove on out to our start point on Hwy 96. One of the first things we saw was a house and front yard fully decorated for Easter - including an Easter Egg Tree.

We soon came to the Welcome to Fayette sign where we prayed and left #207 Memorial Stone for Fayette, AL From there we headed on looking for 1^st St. We got sidetracked though and missed it somehow. A bit later I was thinking that we must have missed the turn because it just didn't seem right. Just then my phone rang - it was Russ asking where we were. I told him and he confirmed that we had missed the turn. We agreed it would be better to just continue on Hwy 18 to Temple and on to Hwy 171. This took us past a really beautiful section with large homes and great gardens.

Eventually we came to the Fayette County Courthouse with its gold colored rotunda. It's really a beautiful courthouse, and we took several pictures. We also enjoyed the downtown part of Fayette around the square. We went into the pharmacy/gift shop to see if they had earrings or the Italian charms . They didn't really have either, but suggested the Treasury down the street. We went there and discovered that everything was VERY expensive, so we didn't buy anything.

As we were leaving the square a young lady came rushing across the street asking if we were walking across America. When we told her what we were doing she told us that she and her co-workers saw us from upstairs in the building across the street. Then wondered what we were doing and she told them we must be walking across America. Then she asked them if she should run down and find out. So we took her picture and got her name, Beth Ballinger O'Dell who grew up right there in Fayette, AL.

Soon we came to Palestine in our walk - this is actually a street named Palestine. Then we saw a big bunch of Cudzu. This is the vine that came over from China and ended up being a nuisance vine rather than a good erosion control. The picture actually turned out quite beautiful.

Joni and I had a good time walking today with much laughter and good conversation. One time when we met up with Russ a car pulled out of a small road and the driver asked if we were having trouble. I went over and talked to him and his girlfriend. They were really interested in what we were doing. Such a cute couple. I got their picture and their names - George B. from Tuscaloosa, AL and Abby Gunner from Tuscaloosa also. I really had fun talking with them.

Then we came to some tiny horses and stopped to take pictures of them. One was a black and white with blue eyes. The others were brown with dark eyes. Then just before meeting Russ to return to the castle we heard quite a symphony of evening sounds. Joni and I both had to take some pictures so we could try and capture the sounds. I think it came through pretty good. When we came to Russ we got in the van and headed back to camp. He's picked out some side roads for us for tomorrow that will give us some peace and quiet and add just a tiny bit.

At the castle we fixed dinner, Joni went to take a shower, we did journaling and that was about all, then to bed.

Just 2.6 miles to go until we reach 3000 miles of walking on this Great American Journey! We reach it tomorrow morning at mile marker 21 on Hwy 171.

April 9, 2004 - Friday - Walking Day - 15.1 + 2997.4 = 3012.5 Total Miles to Date 63.9 Total AL Miles - Day 7

Total Miles for Week - 58.7

Today was a really special day - a day of threes. It is April 9 - (3x3), Day 333 of GAJ, and the 3000 mile mark came today. With all this in mind Russ told me late in the day that he had calculated out some more three's for me. With a thousand miles left to walk it will take 333 1/3 hours walking at 3 miles per hour. These were just a bunch of fun facts for us today as a team. And Russ was able to update his Verizon roaming today, Dave. He's no longer roaming - he has finally settled down!

With a few delays and such (going first to the post office in Coker to get our mail) we finally got to our start point this morning after 11 AM. Our walk began in an area where men were working on clearing the sides of the road with what looked like a giant weed whacker, and that's essentially what it was. They literally ripped the trees apart alongside the road.

Soon we came to Toby's with a sign proclaiming it was Now Open, but when we looked it was obviously closed - in fact it looked like it had been closed for some time and was now for sale.

Soon we came to our first side road of the day - Moore's Crossing. This was mostly a gravel road and very nice. We could let Cassie run loose - so nice for her - and us. As we walked along here we met a man heading out in his truck with his dog. He stopped and talked with us for awhile and we got his picture. His name is Stanley Moore of Tuscaloosa Co., AL. Stanley told us that he is a part of the Moore people for which the road was named. He wished us well and said, "GOD bless America." We also took a picture of his dog, Miss Alabama (Miss Allie).

All along we found many beautiful homes and lovely gardens. We took pictures of some of them. Then we came to the corner of Hwy 171 and Moore's Crossing and prepared and set out a special Memorial Stone for the 3000 mile mark of our GAJ. We took time to pray for the communities and the military and the firefighters (we left the stone by the fire hydrant). We prayed for the community, the military, the firefighters, and all in this area. Then we had a time of celebration with pictures, hugs, and the others gave me a couple of candy bars since I am the one who has actually walked 3000 miles. However, I prefer to say that the team has walked 3000 miles since none of us could have really done it without the team effort.

Our route then continued on the west side of Hwy 171 (we had been on the east side) on Old Moore's Bridge Rd. Walking along here we saw an old storm shelter standing open by the road. We each took a turn looking in and I got a picture of Joni at the door of the storm shelter.

Further on down the road we saw a small truck coming with a load of hay. The people stopped to ask if we were from California. I assumed they had talked with Russ, but it turned out they hadn't. Instead they had been very suspicious, taken the license number and called the police. We later found out that the police never did come to check on Russ though. The couple was Alfred and Judy Strickland with grandson, Todd Graham. I got a picture of their load of hay from the back. They are from Moore's Bridge, AL. After they left Cassie ran down to play in a stream under the bridge. She turned around in the shallow water and laid down. Then she stood up and dug in the water like she would in dirt, and laid down again.

We didn't take pictures a lot today, but when we came to an old car we had seen in the bushes day after day as we drove past to our walk point we did stop to take pictures. Then we noticed that there was a second car, so we got pictures of both. They were both totally overgrown with trees and bushes growing up through them.

We still had a bit further to walk to meet Russ, then we got in the car and headed back to our camp via Preacher Lee Rd. and Prewitt Loop. The sun was just starting to set, so we got a picture of it with a tree framing it. It was a beautiful sunset over a wide expanse of hills and forests.

At camp I went over to Billy's (our camp host) to ask about churches for Sunday. He invited us to the truckers church where he is one of the pastors. That was what I was hoping he would do. We got directions and the start time from him. Later Russ went over to talk with Billy and came back with Mike Storm, the Ranger at Lake Lurleen State Park of Tuscaloosa, AL where we are staying. He wished us well on our walk across America - He had just returned with his division 266 from Kuwait in February. It was really nice to talk with him.

Finally we had our dinner, downloaded pictures, did journals and went to bed.

April 10, 2004 - Saturday - Walking Day - 12.5 + 3012.5 = 3025 Total Miles to Date 76.4 Total AL Miles - Day 8

Total Miles for Week - 71.2

Today I got up at 6 AM, did my *GAJ BIT and then began getting everyone else up. Russ and I were up until midnight last night because we were working on downloading pictures and burning CD's. He's teaching me how to do these things in an easy way.

Well, we finally all got up and ready and headed out. Our start point wasn't far away today. Our walking day began with rain, so we put on our rain gear. It rained for about 20 minutes - maybe. Then the sun came out and it got very warm. That was easy since we already had shorts on under our rain gear.

The first mile or so of today's walk was on Hwy 171, then we turned off onto Preacher Lee Rd. It was right after we turned onto Preacher Lee Rd. that we took off our rain gear. Now this road had virtually no traffic so we could walk anywhere on the road, and Cassie could run without her leash. That was great. The views were beautiful from a long distance view over a valley to forests of a large variety of trees - some blooming and some just a variety of greens.

We had good phone service along here, as well as when we were on Prewitt Loop. I called Dave first and talked with him for a long while, then I called Marilyn Roberts to wish her a belated happy birthday. We had a good talk, and I was so glad I had called her. She wasn't feeling good and wasn't going to answer the phone, but when she heard me on the message machine she grabbed it real quick. Then I was going to call Susan King to wish her a happy belated birthday, but soon realized I hadn't brought her phone number with me. Well, Susan, if you're reading this I do hope you had a happy birthday. I'll try to phone you again someday when I remember to put your phone number into my bag.

Eventually we went from Prewitt Loop to John Wheat Rd. where we turned right. John Wheat is one of the roads we always take to our campground, so that is as close to our campground as we get walking. It really is such a pretty walk through all of this. All this time Joni and I were walking Russ was driving to various points ahead to check it out for us. He told us that a route he had picked out for us was impossible since there is now no road there and they are doing construction. Throughout the rest of the day he checked out various sections for us then came back and told us where to walk - how many sons get to tell their moms where to go?

We ate lunch in the parking lot of a Baptist Church. Just as we were finishing a lady came out of the church to go home, saw us, and came to ask if we needed anything. Russ went over and explained what we were doing and she got quite excited. Her name is Kathy White and she had her granddaughter with her - Courtney. Kathy talked with us for quite awhile, then she left and so did we. It was time to get on with our walking. Russ had picked out some really beautiful back roads for us to walk on.

As the day went on the clouds began moving in and we heard distant thunder. The rain began as just a sprinkle, then as we got to the van where Russ was waiting for us in a funeral home parking lot, the wind began to blow. We got into the car and headed out to find a place to eat. The rain began to pour down, and we decided on Applebee's. By the time we got there it was a regular "gully washer". We soon decided to just get back to the campground and eat leftovers.

On our way to camp JoAn called from Canada, so we stopped and talked for a while. She is thinking about coming out for our last month or so to drive for us. I told her that Ronnie was coming, and while we may not need her to drive we'd love to have her to walk with us. JoAn can always walk and/or ride when she comes. Well finally we got back to camp where Joni fixed dinner while I did some RV work, and got started on the computer. Then we ate and journaled, and got ready for tomorrow, then got to bed.

April 11, 2004 - Sunday - Rest Day - + 3025.0 = Total Miles to Date 76.4 Total AL Miles - Day 9

Total Miles for Week - 71.2

Today we got up and headed out for church at the Trucker's Chapel in Cottondale, AL just outside of Tuscaloosa. This was a really special Easter service for us. We were asked to share a bit in the service about who we are and what we are doing. It was neat. Billy, our host at the campground, was in charge today. His wife was in charge of the music. Billy preached the sermon, and a very good sermon. When I shared in church I asked the truckers to share with us afterward for a bit. I had told them how much we appreciate the truck drivers, and how we wave to them and so often they honk and wave to us. So I was a bit disappointed when all the truckers left right after the service without a word. One man stayed around a bit to talk with Billy and the other chaplain. I did talk with him a bit, but I had to approach him.

The chapel at the Truck Stop had beautiful stained glass windows. They had a truck in the center of a cross with cross roads going out in various directions.

After church we went to the Cracker Barrel for lunch. It was very good and we had a good time. Then we drove home via part of the route we will be walking tomorrow. Once at the castle we got to work on the castle. Russ was doing a partial tune-up to help the RV start better. I helped him by getting stuff for him as he needed it. It took much of the afternoon, but well worth it. It starts very nicely now. Thanks, Russ. You're great!

Sometime during the afternoon Joni had gone to the ladies restroom and came back to tell me about a huge moth over there. She took a dish over to capture it and bring it back to show me. It was fascinating. We took several pictures of it. While we were looking at it Lori Sims, the camp host's daughter, came over. We got a picture of her. She is so cute! Lori sang a couple of duets with her mother this morning. Lori has a very good voice - I hope she follows through and cultivates it.

After awhile Mike Storm came by and introduced me to a gal in a car behind him. Her name was Markesha Ricks of the Tuscaloosa News. She did a great interview then told us that her photographer would be out later today. Michael Palmer, the photographer for Tuscaloosa News, came a bit later. Joni and I walked the road in the campground for him for awhile, and he stood and talked with us for awhile as he snapped away. He got some good pictures. A bit later he mentioned he was supposed to get some of our feet in our walking shoes. I put mine on and he spent several minutes taking just my feet walking along the roadside. He showed them to me, and they were way cool. It was really fun.

After he left it was time to download our pictures and then burn some CD's. We also did some slide shows, but then it was getting too late, so I did my journal, and we all headed for bed.

April 12, 2004 - Monday - Walking Day - 14.7 + 3025.0 = 3039.7 Total Miles to Date 91.1 Total AL Miles - Day 10

Total Miles for Week - 14.7

Today is the eleventh month of the GAJ

Today we got out at about 9:30, then stopped to get gas and to leave Memorial Stone #208 at Northport, AL. It was a very nice sign with lots of pansies growing around it. Then on to our start point. We started today at the Magnolia ------ Funeral Home and our first stop was at Applebee's Restaurant where Russ waited for us. He told me there were some phone stores in the area and I went around to each one to see if they had a headset for my phone. No one did. I also went to Hibbett's Sports Store to see about shoes, but they had no hiking sandals.

After we left Russ this time we continued on Hwy82 for quite a bit until some people stopped and came over to meet us. They had read about us in the newspaper (we are in the Tuscaloosa News today) and were so excited to meet us. They are Jim & Dottie Presley and grandson, Jake Presley (5). Jake was so cute. They wanted one picture of them with us, but they didn't have their camera with them, so we had a gal take a picture of all of us with our cameras and said we'd send them one.

After we left them we had a good walk up over a bridge that crossed the Black Warrior River. This is a good sized river. The bridge was high with a low railing along a very busy highway. It was difficult to walk on, but we managed it. The bridge was actually in two sections. In between sections a man pulled off by us to give us some water and talk to us. He told us he had been out to the RV and left us some AL State pins and a copy of today's newspaper. We later found out he had also left us a note and his phone number. His name is Jim Allen Randell.

Russ told us to be sure to stop in at the Hampton Inn when we arrived and talk with Tonya. We did and she had a newspaper all ready for us to autograph. Then the rest of the staff came out and greeted us. The manager told us it was an honor to have us visit them. They were so sweet. We got all their pictures in front of the Hampton Inn sign. Their names are Joey Mitchell, Jana Smith, Tonya Collins from Memphis, TN, Toby Wilson - all of Hampton Inns of Tuscaloosa, AL They told us to pick up a donut on our way out (Krispy Kreme), so I got a custard filled chocolate covered one while Joni got an old fashioned glazed. Ummmmmmm

When we left we walked around to the back of the Inn to leave on the road behind. As we did a car pulled up and Elizabeth Hayes of Cottondale, AL talked to us. She said she had just read about us in the paper 5 minutes before. She was quite overwhelmed with what we are doing. Joni and I still are so shocked to see people so moved by what GOD has called us to do. But we do SO appreciate them stopping to talk with us.

Now we were walking on Helen Keller Rd. named for Helen Keller who was born in this area. A little bit later we stopped in a convenience store and one of the clerks asked us to sign our autographs for her. She asked us if we knew we were in the paper today. Further on we went into another store. When we came out two women followed us out and we got to talking with them. They are Patricia and Erika Turner of Tuscaloosa, AL They gave us the name of a cousin who just returned from Iraq.

Outside this store was a sign with an eagle picture and a flag over the face. It was really a neat picture. Soon after this we stopped for lunch. Part of the time Cassie and Joni got out of the car and were playing on the lawn. I got a couple of good pictures. After lunch we placed Memorial Stone #210 for Cottondale, AL, though we still need to write a stone for Tuscaloosa, AL when we find one that will work. Our lunch stop was at the Primitive Baptist Church of Tuscaloosa.

Soon after lunch a van pulled up and we talked with the six people inside. They are Shirley Smith, and Pat Wilson from Tuscaloosa with "Baby Girl", a long haired Dachsund. In the back were Gertrude Wilson and Kristin Nicole Beard, Amanda Beard, Crystal ?, They had seen us earlier and just wondered what we were doing. They were all real nice, and we got pictures of all.

Katey and Alex Toxey stopped next - Alex was born with Spina-Bifida and will always be crippled - she is 2 ½ years old. We took pictures and prayed with her. They are from Vance, AL

Then we saw a sign for Struggle Hill - this sign came up when we were discussing some of the struggles we've been through and how GOD has worked through them. We also talked of the struggles of others who come to talk with us. This sign, Struggle Hill will make a good Trail Meditation along with one we talked about a few days ago about Wisteria and Road Kill. Stay tuned to find out what these are.

It was a pretty good day and we talked with a lot of people that we believe GOD puts in our path. On the way home we stopped at the Hampton Inn again. Joni and Russ got out with the dogs while I talked with Dave. Loki and Cassie got into a fight and Cassie hurt her eye. We were going to take her to a vet, but couldn't find one close that had someone available at that time. We went back to the castle and put cold cloths on it. She seems to be doing okay.

Finally we journaled and went to bed - very tired.

April 13, 2004 - Tuesday - Vet/TV/Touring Day - + 3039.7 = Total Miles to Date 91.1 Total AL Miles - Day 11

Total Miles for Week - 14.7

Today was certainly no ordinary day. Joni and Russ were up with Cassie quite a bit during the night. In fact Joni didn't sleep through the wee hours of the morning. I was able to sleep fairly well, tho' I did wake up a couple of times with Cassie being cared for. I certainly couldn't do anymore with both of them being up anyway, and I hadn't slept good the night before.

Cassie's eye looked pretty bad this morning so we got ready for hiking and loaded everything into the car including the dogs, and headed out for a vet. I had two messages on my phone - one was from Jim Randall and the other from Dave. Dave called me as we were on our way out of the campground and passed on Jim's message since Jim had also called him. Jim wanted to know if it would work out for us to meet with him at the McFarlin Mall at noon for a Talk Show. I called Jim to let him know it should work out okay. We arranged to meet at the mall at 11:30.

We arrived at the vet's office and dropped off Joni and Cassie. Russ took me on to the Verizon store to see if I could get a new headset for my cell phone. Well they had us go to the customer service department where a young gal, Kira, checked it out. She was able to find out that the problem was not in the headset, but the phone. She opened the phone up and did several things inside of it, but to no avail. Kira finally deduced that the problem was not an easy fix. With a phone call or two she was able to find that we were covered under warranty so she could exchange the phone for me. That would take a few minutes, so Russ went to find a good coffee place while I waited there. While Kira worked on my phone the waiting line began to get longer - but everyone seemed very patient. For some parts of it she could wait on other customers while the phone was getting things transferred to a new phone. Russ came back, and we decided he should go get Joni. 11:30 came and I called Russ to see if he could find my phone number for Jim Randall. He did and I called Jim to let him know we were running late, and find out just what the situation was. Russ had also told me that Cassie was getting stitches in her eyelid. When I talked to Jim we agreed that he would come get me and we would meet the others at the McFarlin Mall. I called Russ back and he told me they were just loading Cassie into the van, and they would then go directly to the mall.

Jim came and took me over to the mall where he dropped me off in front while he parked the car. When he came in Michelle (the TV hostess - up to then I had thought it was a radio talk show) came over and talked with us. Just then I noticed Russ and Joni coming in. It was really neat timing. Michelle talked with us and gave us some things to think about - she especially wanted us to tell about the most unusual time and the most inspirational time of the walk. Joni told about the wild animal preserve for the most unusual, and I told about the Crow Indian Reservation for the most inspirational. We weren't on for awhile, so we talked about what we wanted to tell people on the show. Soon enough they called us up, put microphones on us and then it was time. Michelle was great - Joni and I had lots of fun and could certainly have talked with her for a lot more than the 5 minutes allotted us. She later told us that they often only have 3 or 4 guests for the whole show so they can spend more time with each one, but today they had a number of guests lined up - and besides we knew that we were a last minute one they stuck in because they felt it was newsworthy. In that 5 minutes we really got quite a lot in.

While Joni and I were on Russ and Jim were using our cameras to take pictures of us. They each got several and did a good job. Afterward we talked some more with Michelle off camera and the guys took some pictures of us with her. What a fun experience.

Jim then wanted to take us to lunch so we all piled into our cars and went to a Chinese buffet. It was a very nice buffet with quite a variety of foods (not just Chinese). It was very good. We visited for quite awhile. Then Jim wanted to take us to the University of Alabama Arboretum and to see the University of Alabama. Since it was already after 2 PM and a cold rainy day we figured we might as well forget about walking and enjoy the day.

We went to the Arboretum first where we got out and walked the trails (not all of them) and found some interesting plants and trees. We hiked one trail that led up to the "treehouse" and gave us a beautiful view of the area. It was very pretty. We then walked down the other side and found some pretty flowers. Then on to the University where we drove around rather than walking around it. It is a beautiful university. Finally we needed to get back to our castle and Jim needed to get going also. We said good byes and headed out.

Back at the castle I got our forwarding cards ready, then journaled, downloaded pictures and burned CD's.

April 14, 2004 - Wednesday - Moving Day - + 3039.7 = Total Miles to Date 91.1 Total AL Miles - Day 12

Total Miles for Week - 14.7

Today was moving day - ugh! I have mixed feelings about moving days anymore. Lately we've had problems every time we start the motor home. And sure enough today was no exception. It wouldn't start again. Thank goodness, Russ was still with us. He set right to work. Joni and I were packing up for the move, but stopped and ran errands - the post office, Wal-Mart, the auto store, etc. Joni and I ate lunch at Arby's while we were out.

It was a tiring day with trying to get packed, run errands, and the concern of whether or not we would be able to fix the RV or not. Russ is VERY GOOD! He kept at it ever so patiently. Whenever he tried something and it didn't work he would just sit back and think and have me try different ways of starting it, or turn the ignition to listen to the sound so he knew where to go from there. I was really impressed.

Finally at a quarter to 4 PM it started and we were able to move it out. We stopped at the office to say good bye to Mike, but he wasn't there. So we asked the man in the kiosk to say good bye to him for us. Then we got gas in Northport and drove on down Hwy 82 to Hwy 22 to Hwy 191 to Hwy 42 East. It was about 7:45 or 8 PM when we finally arrived at the Peach Queen RV Park just outside of Jemison, AL. We got set up, and as we were doing this we discovered we had brought a cupboard full of ants with us. This morning when Joni went to fix something in the microwave she opened the door to it and screamed. It was full of ants. Now tonight we found them in one of our food cupboards. Several things had to be tossed - if in doubt, we tossed. Finally we fixed dinner, ate, and did journals. I called Dave just to let him know where we were and how things had gone. Dave is just finishing up tax stuff for the last ones. After talking with him and finishing my journaling, I headed for bed.

April 15, 2004 - Thursday - Walking Day - 15.0 + 3039.7 = 3054.7 Total Miles to Date 106.1 Total AL Miles - Day 13

Total Miles for Week - 29.7

Today we drove out to our start following the route we would be walking for the next few days. Russ had me on the computer with the topo map, and I navigated our route to the start. Then in the evening I also navigated us home to the castle on the computer. This is way cool!

As Joni and I began walking (it was already 12 noon) we did the first two miles on Hwy 11, then turned onto Lower Coaling Road. Along there we were taking pictures of some horses with a bad hair day, and some donkeys when a car pulled up and stopped and a man asked us how we were doing. He told us he had read about us in the paper (Tuscaloosa News) and that they were praying for us. It's people like this that are just overwhelming. Joni and I both find it so encouraging to know that people everywhere are praying for us. Wow! The man is the pastor of the Coaling and Duncanville United Methodist Church and his name is Rock Stone - I kid you not.

Soon we came to the United Methodist Church and decided to leave our Memorial Stone #211 for Coaling, AL at the church sign. We had been trying to find a good spot for it. Soon a trucker stopped beside us and opened his passenger door to talk with us. He told us his name is Jeff West and the 122^nd Corp Support Group that he is a part of is leaving for Iraq within the next 90 days. We told him we would be praying for him and his group.

A bit later we met a lady working in her garden. She asked us if we were out for a little walk. That's all the opening we need. We gave her our card and talked with her for a bit, and took her picture, of course. Her name is Mary Miller and she is 82 years old. Her husband is 83 I think she said. For being 82 she is really quite a spry little lady.

The rest of the day we didn't really go through any towns, just police jurisdiction areas, so we left a Memorial Stone #212 for Bibb County to include all these areas. And yes, we prayed for the county and the area. Then a lady called to us from her porch. She had seen us in the news and was quite excited to see us walking past. We went over and talked with her a bit. She gave us a donation and told us how much she appreciated us for what we are doing. Wow! Her name is Elaine Mathews of Bibb County, and she asked that we not take her picture - so we didn't.

Of course we saw lots of Cudzu today - the plant brought over from China many years ago to help prevent erosion, but got carried away instead, and is now growing over everything from telephone poles to trees, bushes, and anything else in its way. We're afraid to stand still too long for fear it will grow over us. Sometimes when we go into the trees and bushes to answer nature's call the cudzu grabs at us and tries to hold us, but we beat it off. So far we always win!

We came to the JohnTown Missionary Baptist Church and took pictures, then continued on our county road. Finally we met Russ at Hill Creek and called it a day since it was past sunset a bit.

Today is April 15 - the end of tax season for Dave! In honor of this Joni and I wrote a song to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas. It is typed in below. Enjoy.

        On the first day of April my tax man gave to me a long form prepared for me

        On the second day of April my tax man gave to me two calculators

        On the third day of April my tax man gave to me three sheafs of papers

        On the fourth day of April my tax man gave to me four staplers stapling

        On the fifth day of April my tax man gave to me five golden pens

        On the sixth day of April my tax man gave to me six clips a clippin'

        On the seventh day of April my tax man gave to me seven secretaries typin'

        On the eighth day of April my tax man gave to me eight tax men leaping

        On the ninth day of April my tax man gave to me nine computers 'puting

        On the tenth day of April my tax man gave to me ten mouses scrolling

        On the eleventh day of April my tax man gave to me eleven phones a ringin'

        On the twelfth day of April my tax man gave to me twelve audits pending

        On the thirteenth day of April my tax man gave to me thirteen post clerks stamping

        On the fourteenth day of April my tax man gave to me fourteen clocks a tickin'

        On the fifteenth day of April my tax man gave to me fifteen extensions filed

Well, it s after midnight so I better get to bed. Oh, yes, I called Dave while the others (Joni and Russ) were still awake to hear me sing the above song to Dave. He thought it was pretty cute too.

I also talked with Brenda a bit to wish her a happy 18^th birthday! It's hard to believe our first grandchild will be getting married in just a few months.

April 16, 2004 - Friday - Walking Day - 15.0 + 3054.7 = 3069.7 Total Miles to Date 121.1 Total AL Miles - Day 14

Total Miles for Week - 44.7

I woke up at 6 AM today and got up and dressed and had my *GAJ BIT. After we were all ready we headed out for our start point. Our first stop was for gas, then the post office. We tried to drive the route without looking at the computer maps this time, but we made one wrong turn and ended up a few miles off. So we opened the computer and brought up the map and found our way back. Finally we were ready to start.

Our route soon brought us past what looked like it had been a beautiful brick home that had burnt down. We took a closer look and came to the conclusion that there were a lot of what looked like paint cans in the basement with a furnace - not a good combination - and it had exploded.

Throughout the day we saw lots of red clover - one huge field of it under the power lines, and some pretty purple flowers (2 or 3 kinds), and also some bright golden yellow flowers - beautiful.

We entered West Blocton and had prayed for the town and were writing our Memorial Stone #213 when a police car pulled in to where we were writing and out jumped two policemen. They asked if I was Lyn. It seems they had met Russ where he was parked and had stopped to talk with him. When he told them what we were doing they got quite excited, Russ told them he thought we'd be at the Welcome to West Blocton sign, and we were. After we talked with them some we took their pictures and got their names - Officer Burnell and Assistant Chief of Police, Burnell - they are brothers. We later found out their first names are Ralph and Cliff.

Then they asked if they could take us to lunch (we said "Yes") and they wanted us to come and share at their church this Sunday. So they called their pastor to have him meet us for lunch. We finished writing the Memorial Stone and placed it. The two policemen took our pictures with the sign for us, then we got in the back of the patrol car and they drove to the spot where Russ was parked and told him to follow them. So with a police escort Russ followed us in the patrol car to, first the mayor's office, then to the restaurant.

There we were introduced to Danny Glover, the pastor of their church. He asked a lot of questions, and reaffirmed that he would like us to share at their church (Mt. Carmel Baptist Church). Our waitress at the restaurant was Kristi and Lisa was the cook and owner. They took pictures of us to hang up in the restaurant (my hair was awful). The restaurant was called the Whitfield Café in West Blocton

We saw several historical markers today, along with golden yellow flowers, purple flowers, and several creeks and rivers. The Cahaba River was quite a large one and very pretty. At this river we met E.B. Paris and Edward Kimball who had stopped to check out the river.

Our next to the last road was small, and we enjoyed a nice late evening walk on it. We saw several signs that said "Alligator Creek Hunting Club." When we got to the car our mileage was 14.2, so we decided to walk another 8/10 of a mile and get 15. We figure we'll be making Jemison on Monday.

We headed back to the castle, stopped at Jacks' to get some dinner, then to the castle to eat, phone Dave, journal and get to bed.

Finally we were ready to get to bed and got cleaned up and headed to bed.

April 17, 2004 - Saturday - Walking Day - 16.6 + 3069.7 = 3086.3 Total Miles to Date 137.7 Total AL Miles - Day 15

Total Miles for Week - 61.3

Today was a great day - warm, but with a nice breeze all day. It was a great walking day with very few stops since we were not going through towns today. There were a lot of small communities that really don't seem like more than just a home here and there. This seems to be unique to Alabama.

Our day began on County Road 10. Shortly we came to a small home by the side of the road where two men were sitting on the porch. They called to us and asked if we were taking a little walk - I always love that question. So I took a card up to them and told them what we were doing. Then Joe just kept repeating over and over something like - "You're really walking all that way?" He was so cute. I'm really not sure of his name- I had him say it in my camera when I took his picture, but his deep south accent was too much. He and his brother (I believe) both came out for us to take pictures of them. Their names sounded like Joe-Gibbity and Terry Bradfield.

We left there and continued on. Cassie was walking with us at this point so we had a few incidents with dogs along the way. Nothing serious. Soon we met up with Russ and put Cassie in the van. Soon we came to the sign for Bibb County as we were exiting it. There we prayed for Eastern Bibb County communities and left Memorial Stone #214 there.

On one road there are signs proclaiming that the road is closed in 1000 feet, then 500 feet, but this whole time of driving back and forth and now walking it we never found where it was closed. The bridge that was supposed to be out looked new. Well, we've made it through there now and it's still okay, so I guess we're okay.

Near the end of the day we came to Mars Hill, AL and placed Memorial Stone #215 at Mars Hill Baptist Church. This was one of the little communities that doesn't have any marker, but the church seemed the perfect place to leave it.

Our route today took us on county road 10 to state highway 25 and on to county road 62 then county road 2. From there we were on 139/2 which was also W. Ashby Rd, then on county road 73 by the quarry. Our next county road was 107 which is also East Ashby Rd.. Then finally we turned onto county road 42 and into Mars Hill. County road 42 will take us right into Jemison on Monday. Our day finished when we met Russ in the Mars Hill area near the ATV trail. It really was a great day of walking.

We drove on back to the castle, then I began my journal and printing out CD's for backups. Joni heated up our dinner and we ate, then did our evening chores, etc. and went to bed.

April 18, 2004 - Sunday - Rest Day - 3086.3 Total Miles to Date 137.7 Total AL Miles - Day 16

Total Miles for Last Week - 61.3

Happy Anniversary, Dave! Today we left camp at about 9:45 AM to go to Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in West Blocton, AL where we had been invited to attend by both the policemen who met us at the Welcome sign and by the pastor. What a delightful church - good music, good preaching, and wonderful people. We met quite a few people before the service. Then after the choir sang their opening song, the leader gave some announcements, welcomed guests and had me come up and share about our Journey. I introduced both Russ and Joni, then told about what we were doing, how we worked the praying and so forth. They were a very receptive audience. After I sat down the leader announced that they were going to take a love offering for us right then. They really treated us wonderfully. After the service a few people gave us prayer requests, and many more talked with us. It was really overwhelming - in a good way.

Happy Anniversary, Dave! From the church we drove back to Jemison via our walk route with one exception. There was one road we noticed yesterday that we were curious about so we drove that when we saw it today. It would have been a fun road to walk if we had known what it did. Oh, well, we had fun anyway. Then when we turned onto what we call Plant Road we parked by the plant to pick up rocks alongside the street that we had seen yesterday as we walked. Plant Road, by the way, is what we call it because we never saw a name or number on it, but as soon as we got onto it we saw a sign that says, "Plant entrance 500 feet". The side of the road around here was a virtual goldmine for us of rocks that are perfect for the memorial stones that we leave for towns. We were able to collect quite a few of these, plus some small ones for our own collections and I found a large one for my collection.

Happy Anniversary, Dave! Then we finally continued to Jemison where we ate at Sleepy Hollow Restaurant. The candied yams were superb! We order candied yams almost everywhere we go these days when we eat out. This is definitely the area to get them. They know how to do it just right!

Happy Anniversary, Dave! Back at the castle we first had to take care of the ants that had invaded another spot in the castle. We've been plagued with them since Lurleen Lake. We do have a good strong spray, but trying to find out where they are coming from has not been easy. Then we got laundry ready for Joni to do, and a grocery list ready for me to do. I went to Piggly Wiggly to do the shopping. It's always hard at different stores finding where each one puts stuff.

Happy Anniversary, Dave! Back at the castle I unloaded stuff with Joni's help. Russ was working on the engine of the RV trying to finish up all the things he was able to do for us. What a blessing he has been in so many ways. Then I went out to one of the picnic tables to call Dave. We talked for quite awhile. He comes in another couple of weeks! I can hardly wait! After talking with Dave I called Georgia and talked with her. She's doing well and we had a nice talk.

Happy Anniversary, Dave! Then I worked on my journal, downloaded pictures and burned some CD's. I think I'm getting all the computer stuff down pretty good, but will be happy when it becomes more automatic. I also helped fold laundry, and packed up a box of stuff for Russ to take to Sam, and eventually went to bed.

In case any of you who read this are wondering about the Happy Anniversary, Dave! In every paragraph of today's Journal - it was 45 years ago today that Dave and I got engaged - we've been married 44 years as of last February 6.

April 19, 2004 - Monday - Walking Day - 13.5 + 3086.3 = 3099.8 Total Miles to Date 151.2 Total AL Miles - Day 17

Total Miles for Week - 13.5

Today our walk brought us up to 308.7 miles for the time while Russ was here -- plus tomorrow's mileage. We began out near Mars Hill and continued into the Jemison city limits and placed our Memorial Stone #216 at the sign downtown at the City Hall.

We met Nathaniel Short as we came into town -- he is 72 years - born April 3, 1932. He was a delightful man who had experienced much tragedy in his life. Many years ago his house had burned down taking his wife and three of his children. Now he has sort of been adopted by the town and does odd jobs around town.

Just past where we met Nathaniel we saw a pair of giant "chocolate" Easter bunnies in the back of a small truck. I noted that the ears were still on. (If you're not familiar with the cartoon called "Sally Forth" you'll miss that point.)

We went into the antique store on the corner where we met the owner, Betty Oldroyd, and her "friend", Roxanne. Roxanne is a manakin that they put outside with seasonal clothes on. We met Russ at McD's where we bought hot fudge sundaes - or whatever we wanted. We used our coins to pay for it.

Then we continued on to the town of Thorsby where we placed Memorial Stone #217. This stone doubled as a memorial for Russ' dog, Thor, who died on July 7, 2001, as well as our memorial for the town. Thor was a very special dog to Russ and we thought it fitting to have a memorial for him at a town with his name.

We went into a store to look around and met Debbie, Jerame (pronounced Jeremy), and Terry Martin of Chilton Co., AL They were delightful - gave us ice water and asked lots of questions. A little later a young man pulled up in a car and got out to come ask what we were doing. He was Tony Parker and he said he was from AL and GOD bless the United States. He was very nice.

We came to a stretch of road construction and enjoyed taking pictures of the construction crew as we went through Thorsby. Two men were on the back of a truck riding to the next part of their work. I held the camera up and pointed to them and the camera. They smiled and grabbed their hard hats and slapped them on their heads and sat up real cute. I got pictures of several of the crew doing different jobs. I also got a picture of the Engineering firm inspector for the road work. He came over and talked with us quite a bit.

As we got to the sign at the far end of Thorsby we met Scott Mims, a reporter with the Clanton Advertiser. He wanted to know if he could interview us and do a story on us. He was very nice. He didn't say who had called him - just said that someone called to alert him that we were coming his way.

Then we came to a community of Lomax where Russ was waiting for us at the Assembly of GOD Church. He had been there long enough to meet several people coming and going. He introduced us to Donna from Clanton, AL who was the pastor's wife at Lomax Assembly of God Church. She was getting ready to leave so we got her picture real quick. Then there were three young people there getting ready to do some filming - their names were Aaron Price, Tonya Patterson, and Matt Littlejohn - all from Lomax Assembly of GOD in Clanton AL. They even did a film clip of us to show their young people. Then they invited us inside for a bit. In the foyer was a beautiful painting of a harvest with people working in the fields and the hand of Christ in the corner. They told us that the theme of the church was Harvest Time - thus the picture. They had pictures up of a lot of missionaries. All three of these young people are going out to the Canary Islands to do short term missions work. Finally we had to go, so we said good bye and headed out.

We met Angie Taylor from Clanton, AL who had seen us in Jemison earlier. She was curious and asked us what we were doing. We talked briefly with her and took her picture, then she had to go.

A bit later we were stopped with Russ when Hazel Brown (73 years old) drove up to see what we were doing. She had a van FULL of all she owned and told me that she had just been kicked out of her home. I listened to her for quite awhile, then gave her some money to either get a motel room for the night or to buy food or whatever. She really didn't want to take it, but I told her that GOD had blessed us a lot and now it was our turn to share with her. I also told her the money was from GOD, not me. She agreed to take it then. I prayed with her and gave her a couple of suggestions - get a motel tonight and then check with some of the churches. I hope she does it.

Finally we walked another mile then got in the van and went back to the castle to eat our lasagna, do our computer work and get to bed. We're all really dragging tonight - both with just being tired and with the humidity.

Thank you GOD for a great day!

April 20, 2004 - Tuesday - Walking Day - 9.4 + 3099.8 = 3109.2 Total Miles to Date 160.6 Total AL Miles - Day 18

Total Miles for Week - 22.9

Today is Russ' last full day with us. And it is Ronni's first part day with us. We began our day with a microwaved bacon/egg and cheese dish. Then we got some things ready for tonight (the cot out for me, and sleeping bag out for Ronni to use). Finally we headed out to our start point in Clanton We stopped first at the Welcome to Clanton sign where we left Memorial Stone #218. We had prayed for Clanton yesterday when we entered it, but wanted to place the stone today rather than take up our evening walking time.

Next we went to the parking lot at Food Fair where we were starting. There is a Jack's there so we had restrooms available to start out. As I came out of Jack's I passed a man and said a simple "hi". I was carrying my flag and the man called after me asking what I was doing. I went back and told him our story and gave him my last card. His name is Basil Clark, and he is a former mayor of Clanton in "the heart of the heart of Dixie" as he told us. He was a delightful gentleman who stood and told us story after story - some serious and some very funny. We had a hard time knowing when to take him seriously. He told us he once gave Jimmy Carter a possum to eat, and Jimmy Carter told him he liked possum.

One of our favorite stories that he told us was about the Civil War. It seems that most towns are known for the battles fought there, but Clanton boasts about the battles that weren't fought there. It seems that soldiers from each side met there in that area and were both tired of the war, so neither side did any fighting. Instead many of them became friends and ended up living there after the war was over. Much of this was in what is now the Goose Pond Park area.

As we left Basil we continued on down Hwy 31 through the downtown area of Clanton. Looking at the various shops along the way we spotted The Pit Stop, which was a hobby shop. They had a beautiful eagle head painted on the front of the store. Downtown Clanton was rather interesting - we always enjoy going right through the middle of a town.

We turned off of Hwy 31 onto Greasy Ridge Rd. -- rather interesting name. There was one garden that was quite beautiful and we stopped to take pictures of it. Then we continued to Enterprise Road, and then to Coodey Rd. to Scott Dr. to Lumac Dr., then onto Shade Tree Lane to Hwy 31. On 31 there was construction, but we had a nice full lane to walk on that was steam rolled dirt. The construction crew was gone and all the auto traffic was confined to the other part of the road. This was very nice walking, but it didn't last long. Soon we were on grassy shoulders with the traffic right by us. Lots of good waving here. Eventually we came to a section of businesses and fast food eateries (this was still considered a part of Clanton - the town is 8 miles long. Here we went into a Chevron station to use restrooms and talked briefly with the lady behind the counter.

We continued on to a stop on the side of the road where Russ was waiting. This was a brief stop near the Alabama EOC = Emergency Operation Center - although Russ told us that they actually called it the Emergency Management Center here in AL.

We were able to continue another mile and a half or so to the Heart of Dixie Cheerleading Academy where we stopped for the day. It was time to head for Birmingham to pick up Ronni at the airport. It took us an hour plus to get there, and we got parked and went in to the baggage area to meet Ronni. After we got her we went over to get her big suitcase off the conveyor belt. Russ had stopped to visit the men's room, so Ronni hadn't yet met him. Joni saw him coming and said to Ronni and me, "Let's see if we can find a strong young man to lift this suitcase for us." I picked up on her lead right away, looked around and saw Russ and went over to him as he walked toward us. I asked him if he would mind coming to lift a suitcase for us. He came and got it while poor Ronni was thinking we were sure "cheeky blighters" asking a stranger to come lift her suitcase. Of course, we didn't leave her in suspense too long. We introduced Ronni and Russ to each other and she had a good laugh.

We got into the van and headed back to Jemison where we got Ronni oriented a bit, and worked on journals. Then we went out to get a bite to eat. We ended up going to Clanton (not far when you're driving). The restaurant we went to was the Cattleman Café and was very nice. It was a family restaurant. We had steaks to celebrate Ronni's arrival and as a farewell to Russ.

Back to the castle and to bed.

April 21, 2004 - Wednesday - Moving Day - + 3109.2 = Total Miles to Date 160.6 Total AL Miles - Day 20

Total Miles for Week - 22.9

Today was our moving day and the day that Russ left us. What a day. We were all up by about 8:30 and getting busy with preparing for our move. While Joni and I packed up, Russ took Ronni out to give her a lesson in driving Lady Van Go. They drove around the campground a couple of times then they took off for a store to do a bit of shopping. Russ needed to get some stuff for his trip, and Ronni did a bit of shopping at the discount store by Piggly Wiggly.

When Russ and Ronni came back Russ finished getting his stuff ready and we took some pictures before he headed out. We had such a good time while he was with us. I think it is the best time we've had in years (after all we haven't really been together this much in years). We both had a real hard time saying good bye, but finally he had to leave.

Soon after, we were ready to leave. First we went to get gas in both vehicles. Then I parked the castle in the truck area next door (only a few trucks there now) and we went down to the post office to get our mail and turn in our forwarding address.

Back to the castle, and we headed out down Interstate 65 past Clanton and onto Hwy 31. We had planned to turn off onto Rd. 143 but they were moving a huge building up that road, so I looked at the map and went on down to CR 40, then up to 143 on that. From there we drove to Highway 14 and to 111. I stopped at a service station to check on some things and when I went back out the RV wouldn't start. I was SO disappointed! We were certain that Russ had found the problem and fixed it.

We ended up driving in the van to check out some places and found a RV Sales and Service place. I checked about bringing the RV to them, but they don't do the engine work. John was the man I talked with and he recommended the transmission place next door. I went there and talked with Brian. I told his wife what we were doing and she told Brian. They were both very enthusiastic and really wanted to help us. We went back to try the RV again. It did start, so we drove right out to All Roads Transmission (Brian and Cindy's shop). I backed it in like Brian had suggested then stopped it, and tried to start it again - it didn't start. Brian was certain he could fix it. He was certain it was the starter (that hadn't yet been replaced) so he got a replacement and put it in. They stayed a bit late to finish the job for us. The pull of the starter had run our new battery down, so Brian donated a new one to us. The other one wouldn't even take a charge.

Finally we left with the RV and headed out to a different campground since the other was in the opposite direction of where we were and we couldn't get in touch with them. We are at K and K Campground in Prattville, and not too pleased - especially since I had called to find out the price for a week and had been told by a woman that it was $90 for a week, but the man that was there when we got there said it was $120. I'm going to check with someone else tomorrow and see what price they give me. The restrooms are very bad, and the RV's are packed in pretty tight. But we're not here in the day time, and our castle is all we need. We don't have a working shower in the castle anymore, so we'll probably go another week without showers (don't worry, we do take very thorough sponge baths in the castle - we shouldn't smell too bad )

Finally we got everything put away, did our journals and headed for bed. Oh, I did talk with Dave and he said that Brenda talked with her mom and found out that Russ had arrived there about 3 hours before. That's good to know he made it okay.

April 22, 2004 - Thursday - Walking Day - 14.4 + 3109.2 = 3123.6 Total Miles to Date 175.0 Total AL Miles - Day 21

Total Miles for Week -37.3

Today was one of those very busy days so full of people and things happening. We headed out on our first day of walking with Ronni as our driver. I drove to the start point pointing out things to Ronni as we drove. As we began our walking we knew we had a service station coming up where we could use restrooms and check to see if our story was in the Clanton Advertiser yet. When we got there and were in the process of tying Cassie up before going inside, a lady came over to us. Her name is Ella Taylor from Verbena, AL and she told us she had just read about us in the paper and was so appreciative of what we were doing. After taking her picture and talking with her a bit we went over to pick up a couple of papers for us, then we went inside.

There we met Pat Kelly from Cooper, AL who worked at the gas station there in Cooper, and Linda Wales from Clanton, AL who worked there with her. When we walked on and had gone only a short distance a car pulled up to us. Inside were Tabitha Head & Regina McGuire and Carley who had turned around to come back and get our autograph - they had just read about us in the Clanton Advertiser.

We soon came to the Verbena sign where we placed Memorial Stone #219 for both Cooper and Verbena, AL. This whole area is so beautiful and we soon crossed over a gorgeous creek on Hwy 31. The trees are all green now and frequently there are many beautiful blossoms.

Then we saw an antique and gift shop and decided to go in and see if they had any earrings. As we walked in we noticed three men sitting right inside the door. They looked at us and said, "We just read about you in the paper." A fourth man was behind the counter working on the computer, but we never saw his face, even when one of the other gentlemen suggested he join them for us to take his picture. He didn't talk either, so we wondered if he was real or not. The other three were Johnny Mims of Verbena who had lived there all his life; Louis Davis of Davis Realty in Clanton; and John Bayerfield. A little later we got to meet John's wife, Pat, and we took her picture with her husband. Pat is originally from Riverside, CA

Johnny wanted very much to take us on a walking tour of historical Verbena. After thinking about it a bit we agreed to take this side trip. We came to a memorial to the Alabama boys of Chilton Co. who were killed in World War I, 1914 to 1918 and took a picture of it. Next on the route was a home built by a Confederate Colonel. Down the street from that was the restored Verbena Baptist church where Johnny Mills attends. Then down to the end of the road and to the left was the Methodist Church built in 1871. As we walked we met two men that Johnny had driven around the other day. They are Mike Taylor and Jim Duberrry of Birmingham, AL - the two men were going around with metal detectors trying to find Civil War relics, of which there is a high potential in this area, but they said they had not found anything yet. Finally we said good bye to the men and continued walking.

At our lunch break we got out one of the folding chairs we had in the back and set it up. I sat in it for lunch, then when I got up Ronni sat in it. I couldn't resist taking her picture sitting there, then I asked her to say a few words for the sound with her picture. She said, "this is Ronni Schoch and I'm driving for a couple of loonies". She's right, you know.

We noticed a lot of verbena flowers along the roadside. Johnny had told us that the town of Verbena was indeed named for the flower. We had wondered about that.

Soon we turned onto Hwy 143. A bit down the road a man pulled up beside us and asked what we were doing. When we told him, he was delighted. He pulled up and over to the side so we could get his picture. He got out with his camera intent on also taking a picture of us. His name is Keith from Birmingham and he was going somewhere in AL to do a loan closing - he works for a Title Company. We loved his license plate which read JCLUVSU.

Soon we heard someone calling to us, and we looked around to see a man coming out of a driveway in his truck. He said he had seen us earlier and just had to know what we were doing. We told him, then got his picture and his name, and where he is from -- Marbury, AL. His name is John Robinson.

As we came to the community of Wadsworth we prayed and left Memorial Stone #220 for Mountain Creek, Marbury and Wadsworth. Many small communities here have names, but are only a few homes and little or nothing more, so we sometimes leave one memorial stone for two or three communities.

Down the road a bit we noticed a beautiful field of flowers through a gate, and on the other side a feathery pale green tree. We've seen quite a few of these trees around, but so far have not found anyone that knows the name of them.

A bit further we met Gary Rues from Clanton, AL cleaning up after a wreck he had in the morning where he dumped a load of wheels from old cars to take to Clanton for resale. He was hot and tired, but friendly.

Joni and I noticed a beautiful Water Oak Tree at the corner of a forested area, and fields of Mexican Roses and red clover along the highway. An old Church and cemetery added to the beauty of the scene. Then soon we had a pine forest with honeysuckle growing all up the trees. It was a beautiful day, and we stopped just past Wadsworth.

Joni drove home to our castle via the little road through Verbena that Johnny showed us this morning to Interstate 65 right to our doorstep.

April 23, 2004 - Friday - Walking Day - 10.0 + 3123.6 = 3133.6 Total Miles to Date 185.0 Total AL Miles - Day 22

Total Miles for Week -47.3

Today we thought we would get an early start, but it was not to be. Eventually we will get into a routine with the three of us. Right now we have had things we had to do in the mornings and it has just slowed us down. We needed to stop at Wal-Mart for a few things this morning, but on the way there Joni suggested we hike until the heat of the day, then do our shopping, and then go back to finish the route. It seemed like a good idea, but we did decide to stop and see a vet about taking Cassie's stitches out since we didn't have any blunt tipped scissors. It was easy to spot a vet and get there, so we stopped on our way through Wetumpka. No charge just to take out the stitches. While Joni and Ronni were at the Vet's, I went next door to a copy place and copied a booklet that the guy yesterday loaned us. Now we have to mail his copy back.

Then we drove out to where we stopped yesterday via Hwy 111 just to check that route. It wasn't as pretty as it sounded on the map program and there was construction work, so we decided to stick with Hwy 143. It took us down through Deatsville, Speigner, Draper and Elmore. We left Memorial Stone #221 at Deatsville by the Methodist/Episcopal Church sign. We'll be leaving a single Memorial Stone (#222) for Speigner, Draper and Elmore tomorrow.

In Deatsville we stopped at a little store where Deborah was the manager. She was really sweet and we talked for awhile and took her picture. She wants to be sure to get a copy of our book when we write it.

We walked past the Draper Correctional Institution. It is a construction unit, so the sign says.

We met three men in a pick-up truck at a store. They were interested in what we were doing. Their names are Dale from Birmingham, and Bill and David from Bessemer.

At Elmore we took our lunch break and went to find Wal-Mart. Somehow I made a wrong turn or something and ended up in Prattville, then we went to Wal-Mart the same way we go each day from our campground. Our shopping took us longer than we expected. Then we would have to unload things and still walk. We decided it would just be too much, so we had to settle for 10 miles today.

Ronni took us out to eat and we ended up at Shoney's for a wonderful dinner. Then to the castle to put stuff away and try on Sunday shirts that we got at Wal-Mart. Then we cleaned up and headed for bed.

April 24, 2004 - Saturday - Walking Day - 15.1 + 3133.6 = 3148.7 Total Miles to Date 200.1 Total AL Miles - Day 23

Total Miles for Week -62.4

This morning we drove our route in reverse to make sure we knew the route before walking it. When we reached Elmore we drove back to the Mt. Hebron Baptist Church to place Memorial Stone #222 for Speigner, Draper, and Elmore, AL. It was a beautiful spot to set it under their sign at the gateway entrance to the church.

When we finally began walking we came around the corner and heard a voice asking us if we wanted a drink of water. We stopped and talked with him for awhile explaining what we were doing. He was in a state of shock for a bit, but let us take a picture and get his name -- John Glasscot from Elmore, AL. He was real nice, and we enjoyed the shock on his face.

We stopped at a Uniform store along Hwy 14 to see if they had any patriotic shirts. They had one only. There were three ladies sitting behind the counter -- Clara Duke from Wetumpka, AL & Pat ?, Wetumpka & Jennie ? from Wetumpka. They were delightful, and we did get their pictures.

As we walked into downtown Wetumpka we came to the Presbyterian Church. It had a memorial to the Wetumpka Light Guard out front. The First Presbyterian Church of Wetumpka we found out, was founded in 1836. The building is beautiful.

Then we stopped in at a Gift shop to see if they had earrings that I could count as my ones for Alabama. The lady who worked in there was very nice. There was also a customer in there who told us all about Jimmy Carter's church.

Then we were ready to cross the Bibb Graves Bridge. This is a delightfully beautiful old bridge. We stopped on the bridge a couple of times to take pictures. It was a beautiful river with the trees growing in it like they do in the Bayous of Missouri - This was the Coosa River.

Once across the river we turned right to meet Ronni. She was waiting for us and then drove us to a park down by the river. There I met a delightful family that I talked with for awhile. Then I got their pictures and their names. I hope they are not too garbled. What it sounds like on the camera is: James, Marsae, Monteko, Daz & Taz (these two are 6 year old twins) Monteko is 8. He later went back to the car to get a baby out (probably about 1) this family was from Wetumpka, AL

After taking our lunch break here we continued walking. Our route took us past some cudzu with the leaves on it which is actually very pretty.

Joni had been trying to get through to John all day and finally did at about 5:15 here which is a bit after midnight there. He did not mind being awakened by his twin. I actually got to talk with him first, but John didn't know it was me until Joni told him.

Soon we crossed over a pretty creek with big rocks in it and trees lining it all the way. We also came to a ranch with a long drive that was lit up with the beautiful old fashioned lights. Soon after that we came to the end of our walk for today meeting Ronni in a great place to start on Monday. I drove back to the castle checking the mileage as we went. I was thrilled that we actually reached our 15 miles today. Next week we begin our summer schedule of walking early in the morning, taking a long break mid--day and finishing up in the evening.

Back at the castle I worked on my journal while Joni fixed dinner. Then she went to bed. Joni was really exhausted. This heat and humidity really gets to her. If you read this journal before we finish the walk, please pray for Joni. The heat is really hard on her. Finally to bed.

April 25, 2004 - Sunday - Rest Day - 3148.7 Total Miles to Date 200.1 Total AL Miles - Day 24

Total Miles for Week -62.4

Today we did not have a church picked out ahead of time so we headed out at about 10 AM to find one. We picked out three churches, and settled on Crestview Baptist Church of Prattville. It was a good choice (thank You, LORD, for guiding us). The pastor introduced us and told the congregation what we were doing, and they burst into applause as congregations often do. Their choir sang a couple of songs during the service, and the choir director sang a solo. He had a beautiful voice and we really enjoyed hearing him. The pastor, Larry Teal, gave his message on various Scriptures. He spoke clearly so we could all understand him - often the pastors are so fast and have such a drawl that it is hard to understand.

After the service many came from the congregation to greet us. We stayed and talked for quite awhile with various ones. The pastor gave us his card and asked us to please let him know when we finished so he could let the congregation know.

We ate our brunch at the Waffle House, then back to the castle. There we changed out of our Sunday clothes and got busy with our various projects. My major project was to clean out the back of the van and rearrange it. Ronni washed the windows of the van, then decided she needed to do more than that, so she gave the whole van a wash. Joni packed up our winter clothes so we could have more room for Ronni to hang her things. Ronni also hung half of the new curtains that Meredith Lewis made for us. She got the ones up over my bed - maybe next Sunday we'll get the others hung over Joni's bed. My next project was to redo a journal entry for a couple of days ago that accidentally got zapped, and to print out maps for the rest of Alabama from our Topo computer maps. I also downloaded Joni's and my pictures. I tried to do Ronni's, but it didn't work, so I'll wait until Dave comes in a week to see what needs to be done. Joni worked on back journal entries much of the afternoon.

In the evening I fixed popcorn for everyone and we watched a slide show of our pictures from the last week. Then we got stuff ready for tomorrow, and headed for bed.

April 26, 2004 - Monday - Walking Day - 14.7 + 3148.7 = 3163.4 Total Miles to Date 214.8 Total AL Miles - Day 25

Total Miles for Week - 14.7

I woke up in the night to rain, and jumped up to close the overhead vents. I left the windows open because there was no wind and it was very warm.

Today when I got up I got dressed, then began to get the others up. We got ready as quickly as possible and headed out. It was still after 8 when we left. We stopped at Allroads to see about getting the van serviced later today, and the motor home on Wednesday when we move.

Then we headed off for our start point along Hwy 14. It was raining so we put our rain jackets on, but not the pants. It was very warm and it felt good just wearing our shorts. Of course we got very wet, but we had a lot of fun. In fact we laughed very hard much of the day as we walked.

No one stopped to talk with us. We did stop in at one convenience store, but otherwise we just kept walking in between stops at the van. Our goal was to get 15 miles in before we had to return with the van to get it serviced. We didn't quite make our goal, but were very close.

Our route took us through Claud, a very small community. We will leave the memorial stone for it there tomorrow. We also came to Tallassee, AL, and will leave that stone there tomorrow as well. Tallassee is a fair size town and very pretty. There is a large dam over the Thurlow River (or it's the Thurlow Dam over some other river ) and we got across it then stopped to head back to Wetumpka.

They took care of the van quite nicely while I talked with Cindy at the front desk. A couple came in that the other gals talked with outside, and I got to talk with them a bit and take their picture -- they were Scott and Jamie from Montgomery, AL. Joni and Ronni went next door to a little shop to check it out. When the van was finished we headed back to the castle to do our *GAJ BIT and work on journals and get to bed.

April 27, 2004 - Tuesday - Walking Day - 19.3 + 3163.4 = 3182.7 Total Miles to Date 234.1 Total AL Miles - Day 26

Total Miles for Week - 34.0

Today we got away from the castle at about 7:30 and headed off for Tallassee to begin our walk. We tried a different route to get there today. I went northeast on Interstate 85 to a turnoff between Tallassee and Tuskegee. There we had to backtrack a few miles to Tallassee, then on back to Claud where we went to the Claud Independent Methodist Church to leave Memorial Stone #224 for Claud, AL This is a very tiny community that we walked through and prayed for yesterday while it was raining, but decided to wait and put the stone down today.

Just east of the church on Hwy 14 was Johnny G's Pit Bar B Que with one very large pig out front made of wire and overlaid with some kind of metal. We stopped to take pictures of it. We didn't take a lot of pictures yesterday in the rain.

We now went on into Tallassee where we parked at the library on the east side of the dam. As we were taking pictures a man came up and gave us a little history of the area. He was quite delightful, had lived there all of his life, and he and his wife had just celebrated their 52^nd anniversary. We took his picture and got his name -- Billy Thompson of Tallassee, AL. This dam is one of a series of three, and is known as the Thurlow Dam on the Tallapoosa River. We were in the Dam area for awhile taking pictures. This is an incredibly beautiful dam where they used the huge natural slabs of rock adding metal segments to complete the dam. It is truly beautiful. Billy had told us that when the water is flowing over the top of the dam it is an amazing sight.

A bit later we saw a man getting out of a car parked facing us. He came toward us and I noticed the camera hanging from his neck. By now this is a very familiar sight, so we both knew this was a reporter. We always enjoy talking with reporters. He did his interview and took our pictures, then we took his picture. His name is Willie Moseley with the Tallassee Tribune. He told us he had seen us yesterday walking into Tallassee, and when he saw us again today walking out of Tallassee he figured there had to be a story here, so he went back to get his camera and tell them at the paper that he was off to do a story.

Continuing on we finally got through this lengthy town to the Welcome to Tallassee sign at the east end of town where we placed Memorial Stone #225. There were lots of wildflowers around the sign so we took a few pictures of the flowers as well as the sign.

We continued on Hwy 14 East for quite awhile. At Junction 49 we stopped to ask a fellow how much further to Junction 199. He assured us we were on the right track and that it was just a few miles further up the road. A bit further we met Ronni, then encouraged her to go another 3 ½ to 4 miles to meet us for our lunch break. We talked about Hwy 199, and Ronni was sure she would be fine. About a mile later Joni and I made the turn onto 199. Another couple of miles Ronni called to say she was at a church by a cemetery on the right side of the road and we should look for her under a tree. While I was talking with Ronni, Joni was talking with a lady across the street who was doing some gardening. I joined them and found her to be a delightful woman. We took her picture and got her name -- Dolores "Dee" Spencer.

Soon we came to a church with a cemetery on the right side, but didn't see Ronni anyplace. So I called her, but got no answer. Joni and I decided to walk on and hope there was yet another church. We continued on. Ronni called again and told us it was a Baptist Church. The one we had seen was Prebyterian, so we figured we were on the right track. But we kept going and going and going. Finally Ronni called again. She thought we must have passed her. We told her we had only gone by one church. . A few minutes later Joni and I began to wonder if Ronni had missed the turn onto 199. We tried to call, but no response. Then Ronni called and said she couldn't understand where we were. I asked her if she had turned onto 199. She was hesitant, then figured that maybe she had missed it. She drove back to where she had met us in order to get a mileage reading, then finally got up to where we were. She told us our mileage was now over 15 miles.

Joni and I had spotted a place to take a break back a bit, so we piled into the car and went back for our lunch break and for time to do our *GAJ BIT. After that we continued walking a few more miles down 199 to 81 and on 81 to our stop point. We met Ronni in the parking lot of a Kingdom Hall where everyone was gathering for a meeting. We weren't too sure how they felt about our very patriotic vehicle parked in their lot. Oh well.

Joni drove back to the castle while I worked on my Journal on the computer until we got closer to Montgomery where I needed to put it aside to give Joni directions. Finally we got home, ate dinner and headed for bed. Very tired, but it was a great day.

April 28, 2004 - Wednesday - Moving Day - 3182.7 Total Miles to Date 234.1 Total AL Miles - Day 27

Total Miles for Week - 34.0Today was a very long day - or so it seemed. I got up and did my *GAJ BIT, then began to get the others up. We had our breakfast then began packing up for our move. Finally it was time to start the RV, but first we stopped for morning prayers. After prayer - with a special prayer for the RV to start and run smoothly to All Roads Transmission - I put the key in and went through the usual routine for starting it and - - - it started right up! Thank You LORD! We drove straight to the shop where Brian and his crew would work on the RV engine for us. After I backed it in and checked in, saying hi to Cindy and Avery (the baby), we three went on to The big Presbyterian Church in Wetumpka where we placed our Memorial Stone #223.

Then we drove on to the post office to leave our forwarding address and to pick up mail as well as send some. Our last stop was at Wal-Mart where we did our big shopping. After shopping we went to Wendy's to eat some lunch, then back to see if the RV was finished yet. It wasn't. We bummed around a bit, then went to the hairdresser's for Joni and Ronni to get their hair cut.

Back at Brian's we had to wait a bit more, then finally we were ready to go. I got pictures of the two crew members that I hadn't already taken pictures of -- Michael & Chris. Brian told us that the engine size that everyone was thinking the RV had was wrong. When he looked at it he realized it was a 440 not a 360 as we had been thinking. The bill was incredibly low! Thank you Brian and Cindy - Thank You LORD! What a blessing this couple have been to us! We gave them each a hug, then went our way. First we gassed up the two vehicles. Our route took us out Hwy 231 South and then onto Hwy 82. Hwy 82 is what we stayed on the rest of the way over to Eufaula, AL, our next campground site. It was about 8:30 and dark already, but the RV ran smoothly the whole way! PTL!!

We got the castle all hooked up and the groceries put away that we had bought, and fell into bed. I did call Dave and left a message so he would know where we are, then went to bed.

April 29, 2004 - Thursday - Walking Day - 14.6 + 3182.7 =

3197.3 Total Miles to Date 248.7 Total AL Miles - Day 28

Total Miles for Week - 48.6

Today I got up at about 5:45 and had my *GAJ BIT, then got the others up and moving. We finally left for our start point in Tuskegee.

As we walked we saw our first Magnolia Tree in bloom. After taking pictures we continued on through the town of Tuskegee. We enjoyed the many beautiful homes through the town, and the the county court house with its clock tower.

In the Town Square of Tuskegee, AL - a memorial to the confederate soldiers of Macon County of AL is there. We also met Walker Brown, a fourth year veterinary student at Tuskegee University - she is from Central Kentucky. She had two dogs with her, and was a real joy to talk with. She will graduate very soon then move back to Kentucky.

At the local school we noticed that Nikesha Ferrell is student of the month at Tuskegee Public Elementary School - any relation to Charlie and Earline?????

We left Memorial Stone #226 for Tuskegee, AL and the surrounding area at the Magnolia Baptist Church. Soon after that we saw a snake on the road. It was almost dead, but we did take pictures of it.

Finally we saw a house in AL that was like one we went to in Montana - according to Joni. I took a picture so we could compare them later.

Ronni had a bit of trouble today finding one of the streets and also thought she had gotten on the wrong road to Hurtsboro. So on our way home to the castle we looked for any landmarks we could find and wrote down mileages for them. Hopefully this will help Ronni tomorrow. We'll try to do this on a regular basis for her.

Dave called me earlier today to find out where our campground is and talk a bit. We also had rain off and on today. Tonight when we came home the man next door was outside and asked about us being from California. He grew up in CA and went to junior college in Bakersfield. I asked where he grew up and he said he grew up in the town of Paso Robles. His family used to own the building that fell down in the earthquake in December (Pan Jewelers building). He lived in Shandon too. I'll try to find out his name and other info about him sometime this week. He now lives here in his trailer and works in construction. He also told us that there are some tornado warnings or watch out for the area. He didn't seem too concerned about it, but a storm of some kind is definitely brewing. Finally dinner, nightly duties, and bed.

April 30, 2004 - Friday - Walking Day - 15.1 + 3197.3 = 3212.4 Total Miles to Date 263.8 Total AL Miles - Day 29

Total Miles for Week - 63.7

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JONI!

Today we left the castle at about 8 AM or so, and went first to the post office in Eufaula. We had a pretty good batch of mail. The postal clerk recognized the names right away and told us we had a bunch of mail. He brought it out and we told him what we are doing. His immediate response was to ask us to put him and his wife on our prayer list. His wife has severe neck and back pain and the doctors are trying to figure out what to do for her.

Then we drove on through the cute little town trying to find a restaurant where we can take Joni tonight for her birthday. We found one that Joni really liked - The Golden Corral, so we decided to go with that. We also looked at churches and decided on St. James Episcopal Church (Joni's choice for her birthday). Then finally we drove out to our start point on the other side of Hurtsboro. Our first stop at two miles was at the Zion Church.

As we walked we waved to several cars going by. Soon a car pulled up beside us that we had seen pass by a few times. They were curious about how far we were walking. So we told them. They were a cute young couple, and their names were something like Lynn Moore and Evelyn Dowdell of Warriorstand, AL. A bit later we saw a car stop after passing us and start backing up. At first we thought they were backing up to turn down a side road right there, but they kept on coming back. Yep, they wanted to know what we were doing. Of course we told them and also got their pictures. Their names were something like Tom and Camille Shell, with baby due in July. They are pretty excited about that.

A bit later Joni and I came to Creek Stand Methodist Church outside of Hurtsboro, AL with cemetery that was very old. We took a few pictures and Joni wandered around inside the cemetery for awhile.

Finally we came to the town of Hurtsboro, AL. We met a man walking down the walk way as we were putting Cassie into the van. He commented that we must be part of the team of walkers. It seems he is Rick Perry of Hurtsboro, AL who runs the local hardware store. He had opened the library so Ronni could get her e-mail - Ronni bought a step stool from him to use to get into her bed. By this time Joni and I had decided we wanted to keep going without taking a break and get to the end of the walk. We stopped only long enough to get a picture of one of Hurtsboro's many murals - most I will take tomorrow when we return to place our Memorial Stone (we prayed as we went through), but it was rainy and wet, so we said we would bring the stone tomorrow.

As we walked along with the rain getting harder and harder, and us getting more and more soaked we saw two men sitting on their porch. We went over to talk with them and found them to be delightful. Of course we took their pictures and got their names. Their names sounded like William Chamley (?) of Hurtsboro, AL and Darrian Davis of Hurtsboro, AL. Then we continued on until we reached our 15 mile point. We were soaked, but it had been a good walk. I drove on back to the campground where we got all our things in and sorted and cleaned up and put away. Then we fixed some frozen dinners (we had decided we were too wet to go out to eat and would do that tomorrow night instead), and cleaned up and went to bed. We did read through our mail.