Kyle

I am in Boonville, MO.  It's about 2:16 and the date is May 13, 2014.  I'm at a host home. Today I am taking the day off.  I've been  put down a lot of miles and it has been really awesome.  One thing that you really have to watch when you put down a lot of miles with a goat is you gotta make sure you watch his hooves; make sure they wear evenly and right now LeeRoy is looking like a champ.  He is walking faster.  In fact, I would say this is the fastest start we have had.  The first two years we did this were pretty slow starts.  I think we have gotten almost, well shoot, I think we got about 100 miles down, I don't know, maybe more.

A couple quick little stories.  When I walked into Blue Spring, I stopped at a restaurant called Hot Pot Cafe. In there I met a bunch of amazing people, but one couple in particular, Norman was his name and I can't remember the wife's name, Sarah is her name...  but they had me sit at their table and talk with them and we kept on being interrupted the whole time. I didn't really get to learn much about them.  They asked me a bunch of questions and again I was being interrupted so much that we really didn't get a good conversation going.  However, we did connect a little bit.  So, I left Blue Springs and I kept trucking and meeting people and it was awesome.  Also, when I was in Blue Springs a couple, Kaci and Kyle, passed me and they wanted to talk to me.  But we never got a chance to meet up. they found me on Facebook and we started messaging.  We became  Fast friends, Kyle and I and Kaci. Side note.  There are so many people that I have already met that I want to talk about.  Everybody has a unique story.  Everybody has a unique story that I want to share.  And, I am not that good of a writer, nor do I have the patience to sit down and chronicle every single amazing story that happens.

I left Blue Springs, I made it to Bates City.  I was in Bates City, slept behind a dumpster at a gas station.  I kept walking; made it to Concordia.  I took a day off in Concordia.  I was having knee and hip pain and it was because I didn't have the right shoes and so that really affects me in a huge way.  Especially with the weight of my backpack and my body mechanics are already  horrible.  I look like Quasimoto walking.  I get a real good waddle going back and forth.  My right foot points out and I kind of get this weird peg leg looking kind of walk going.  Especially towards the end of the day. One of my things that I forgot about is that at the end of the day after your body starts to cool down and you sit down. When you finally have to get back up to go to the bathroom or you have to get up to get something; I stand up and I feel all of the miles all at once.  My feet are swollen and they hurt and yeah, it's just not comfortable.

So anyways, last Wednesday, Kyle came out and we had BBQ.  We sat together and talked and debated different Christian books out there and a little bit of theology.  We talked about his family and his wife, Kaci. It's interesting how quickly you can become friends.  How quickly you can connect with people and get to know them.  So then we made a plan for him to come out Friday.  He came out and we walked that whole day together and it was amazing.  You know, it was good to have company on the road; we chit chatted and he got to experience the eight or nine miles of a walk on that Friday.  People wanted to get a picture with me and him while we were eating.  This often happens, while I am eating people will come up to my table and say, "Hey I want to get a picture of you."  So, I'll be in the middle of a bite and I'm looking up at the camera and they take a picture of me.  And then they turned to Kyle. This is his first time having this experience and I could just imagine what he is thinking.  He kinda gets this look on his face like, "Man, this is so awkward.  I am not even a part of the project.  Why are you taking my picture?  Does this happen all the time?"  And yes Kyle, yes my friend, this happens a lot to me!  Ha ha!  You can see the uncomfortableness and I realized how far I have come.  I'm okay with this.  I'm okay with people just coming up to me and taking my picture.  I am used to it now.  I've gotten thicker skin and that's kind of interesting.