is there anybody out there?... just nod if you can hear me

It's been about a month since my last blog - I finished my cross country drive and have finally found some time - so here is the final blog - I'll keep it short and sweet - but I still wanted to give some props to people I met on the trip.

I believe it was Christiansburg, Virgina where Karli, Lisa and I stayed with the Lee family. I don't have a picture of the family, but I do have one of their house -- but they were incredibly nice and provided us beds, laundry and showers. Dr. Lee rode the TransAm a few years back with his two sons.

Outside of Mineral, VA - we stopped in to visit Karli's friend Lauren - who lives and works at a communal living farm called Acorn. Karli and I stayed at Acorn for a few days and helped in the garden and setup thier booth at the local farmers market. I throughly enjoyed my visit at Acorn - the people were super cool and it was a welcome break from the ride to do a little gardening. I would rank it up as one of my favorite stops on the trip - and, if life leads me that way - I may go back to visit and spend more time there. Thanks Lauren and all the other Acorns.

In Mechanicsville, Va we stopped in with the Mackey family - who took us in - beds, laundary, showers, dinner -- gave us a tour of Richmond and even bought us vegan supplies -- you guys rock!

Last but not least I would like to give a shout out to Len --- who I mentioned in an earlier blog --- Len was one of those riders that we kept on running into. Karli and I first met Len as we entered Kansas - he was stopped on the side of the road talking to some Brits that were hiking across the US (now that's crazy!!!) -- he kept up with us for a while and chatted and then stopped to take pics. From there we ran into him again in Pittsburg, KS --- Carbondale, Il -- and Seabre, KY. Len was riding from California (I think San Francisco) to Canada (St. Laurence River) -- and from where we left him in Kentucky he was leaving the TransAm to take the Underground Railroad Route north. Len was super cool - full of energy - and had a good spirit --- good luck with the rest of your trip Len.

Len's blog: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/lenh --- then go to 'the three pistols tour' (kind of wish our tour had a cool name like that)


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Thanks to everyone who provided me with support and encouragement throughout this experience. I hope all the multitude of readers out there enjoyed this blog -- and I also hope that I have inspired you to reach for your dreams - they may seem difficult, but unless you take a leap towards them - you will never know if they are possible.

Peace and Happiness,
paul

Vegan Philly Cheese Steak - Here I Come!

A week ago today, Karli and I stopped in Wilmington, NC to visit/rest for a few days with Jennifer R. - who is super cool and took us in for a few days. It was great - we did a lot of relaxing and made frequent visits to the health food stores -- it rained every day while we were there - so it kind of gave us an excuse to just lay around (except Karli still found time to run). Jenn was a very hospitable host - especially since she had never met us before and was letting us stay for a while - but we all quickly became pals -- you rock Jenn!!

We departed on Tuesday to head down to Southport, NC -- Jenn actually came with us for the trip(again rocking) and stopped in to stay with my cousin Jill D.

Southport is a cool little beach town and my cuz lives just off of the Cape Fear River -- I chilled there for a few days before my flight out to Philladelphia, PA (Shayne, note the PA at the end that denotes Pennsylvania as the state not Philadelphia) earlier today.

Karli, on the other hand, spent the night and continued her trip down to Savannah, GA the next day.

I don't know if I can put into words how fortunate I was to have done this trip with Karli - she is truly an amazing and inspiring person - incredibly knowledgeable and I've learned so much from her. The vegan side of the force is very strong with this one - I couldn't have asked for a better master - maybe better food options - but I feel honored to have had the opportunity to learn under her with such harsh conditions - kudos to you Karlita.

Best of luck on the rest of your trip and be safe -- I miss you girl.

Jill brought me to the airport this morning - and I'm currently blogging with dial-up at my folks house in PA. I've had my cheese steak (x2) - not so vegan - and have even returned my faulty thermarest to REI.

You'd think it ends here - but tomorrow I head down to my brother's house in Maryland where my family is meeting for my sisters birthdays -- and on Monday it's off to SLC with my nephew (Nick) for the wedding - and POSSIBLY down to St. George.

I have a few more people to thank and things to blog about -- but I'll get to those at a later date --- so, don't delete my blog from your favorites yet.

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pics:


Jenn - "working" at home

Jenn rocking - I mean, training for her Ironman competition - Karli and I tried to keep up


Cousin Jill and her dog Floyd (as in Pink) and bird Jimmy (as in Buffet)

moments before Karli leaves and I'm the only one left in the group

all my stuff packed up for the plane ride
homeward bound --- you know it's going to be a good flight if you have to walk out to the plane

author's note: woah buddy that beard grows fast


author's p.s.: if you weren't counting - and you should be - I won --- not only did I get to the Atlantic first, but I also got the girl... however, she does seem to be getting away -- but I do feel like I got the final rose, or the clock, or my torch is still lit or something - so take that everyone else