Day 24 – 19 miles – 311 total

We woke up early and were ready quickly yet again. We had to wait around a little bit though because we had to wait for the trailer shop to open. On the first day of the trip, the trailer got wrecked and the axle needed to be replaced. We went to someone in Key West who told us that we should wait until we got up to the mainland in Florida to fix it because it will save a lot of money. I just wanted to get it done. Especially since we are most likely about to have to send the trailer back home. I wouldn’t want to let someone else drive the trailer with a bad axle. So we waited until they opened and dropped it off then headed back to the start of our walk for the day.

It was around 8 am when we started which is a very late start for me and Stick. We didn’t mind though. We set out and started putting those miles behind us. We shortly entered the town of Fort Pierce. A very nice town where you could tell there was a good sense of community. We tried to go into the City Hall to see if we could convince the mayor to come meet us but we realized that it is President’s Day and everything was closed. Bummer.

I was having some leg trouble after the first few miles. My IT band on my right leg was feeling a lot of discomfort. I made sure not to push too hard but to keep going while massaging and stretching every so often. I told Stick about it and that I may need to slow down but I’d let him know if I needed to stop.

Our communication is great while we walk. We even understand each other’s hand signals as we go. We usually both have headphones when we’re in areas without a lot of people so we can’t hear each other. We still find ways to communicate the most efficient way possible. We make a good team. His pace is faster than mine but we still keep up with each other just fine. We just take turns leading the way and use common courtesy towards each other and everyone that we pass.

We were keeping a close eye on our progress for the day since we knew that we would be hitting our 300 mile mark today. We got there and wrote a note on the street with sidewalk chalk so that we could take a fun picture for our social media stuff. We have both seen other crossers do this in the past and we want to do it on our trip too. Every hundred miles we will do this.

We took our picture and then sat in some nearby woods for a shaded break. A gentleman on a bike came up to see what we were up to. We told him and he eased up a bit. He said he has a camp in those woods and wanted to make sure that we weren’t messing with it. Once he realized we were no harm he became very friendly. He shared his story of how he got to be living in the trees off the side of U.S. 1. The guy is a hard worker and never had to ask for anything, but he caught a drug charge a year ago and lost his CDL license. He is still working but can’t make enough to pay for rent yet. We offered food and some gear items but he said he had everything he needs and didn’t want to take from us while we are on the journey. He just asked if we would put in a good word for him for the man upstairs as he believes his prayers may not be making it past the trees he is living in. We all sat for a moment in astonishment at the whole situation. I can’t go into full detail but it was more than circumstance that brought us together at that exact moment. If anyone has decent work for a man who wants it, please go find Mark. You’ll see him riding his bike along U.S. 1 and living in the woods behind a hotel called Relax Inn in Fort Pierce, Florida.

We kept strolling. Easy walking. Mostly alongside busy U.S. 1 with a constant hum on highway traffic noise. The sun bearing down with a slight breeze coming off of the nearby Atlantic. There was one long stretch without any stores or businesses. No sidewalks either. We were on a bike lane so we had to stay alert and keep moving until we got to a safer place to stop. We saw a furniture store up ahead and chose to stop there. I needed to refill my water bottles.

I go in and ask the owner if I can fill up on water and he gave a strange look at first but was happy to do so. I figured I’d explain why I looked so crazy and told him about the walk and why I’m doing it. Some customers overheard me telling him. Next thing I know, I had a crowd that wanted to know more. The owner had a daughter that he had to put in jail in hopes of keeping her alive and knew all about the struggles of addiction as he is raising her children for now. I told him that 12 years ago my parents left me in jail and when I got out 10 years ago I haven’t had a new charge and it’s been 7 years since I’ve used any drugs other than alcohol and I am living happy, healthy, and self-sufficient today. I hoped it would help.

The couple who was listening in chimed in now and they had lost their nephew at 25 years old to an overdose. They knew the struggles all too well also. I’m sitting here in tears as I write this. I just can’t believe how you can roll into a random furniture store and start up a conversation about addiction and everyone in the room has been devastated by it. Sometimes it’s just too much. They were very supportive of us and I asked Stick to come in so he could meet them too. We all talked for a bit and they gave us encouragement to keep going. I told the couple about GRASP and hoped that there would be some support for their family available in their area.

Back on the road. Stick and I just looked at each other with a “that just happened” face then plugged our headphones in and started walking. Some things are meant to be processed internally. A similar experience happened a few miles down the road.

We came up to a small business parking lot and a woman was getting into her car and turned to read our signs on the carts and then came over to talk to us about what we were doing. She found a lot of interest in it and told us that she believes that we have many Angels watching over us. She went into some stories where she has had visions to show her that Angels exist and I swapped stories where I knew that the connection to my sister’s soul has definitely been a guiding hand on the path that was laid out for me to walk on. Stick and I have dubbed her “The Angel Lady” and will never forget her.

A long trek to our final destination followed. We made it to Vero Beach where the Rubillo family had purchased a hotel room for us. Stick and I were half sad that the others weren’t here but half happy that we each had a bed to ourselves. It has been a bittersweet experience since the team breakup but we are on a mission and have to focus on forward progress. Things are going well for us and we choose to focus on that. We can only hope for the best for the others. It is out of our control from here on out.

We had to get a ride back to our support car and a woman named Debby offered to take me. She lost her precious nephew and was happy to help us out. She was cool as hell. A big baseball fan and a world traveler. We had a lot in common to talk about during the car ride. When we got to my car I reached in my pocket to offer her some gas money and she told me to put that back and handed me $100 in cash to go towards our efforts. Unreal. We hugged and went our separate ways.

I drove back to the trailer repair shop to pick up the trailer which is now fixed and then drove back to Stick and Domino at the hotel. We went out for dinner at an awesome pizza restaurant and filled up on carbs before going back to the room and getting a deep sleep. Great damn day!