Uncle Joe, Clewiston - Moore Haven

Wow, what an incredible ending to an awesome day. We started off with a run in with the Clewiston Police (not to worry everything was just fine). Officer Bobby of Clewiston's Finest said we should watch out for small town cops, they would put you in jail first and ask questions later (if they asked any questions at all). We stopped at the Clewiston Soap 'N Suds to wash are very dirty clothes. I met a wonderful lady, Miss Daisy, who offered to give me washing detergent, which I gladly accepted. With clean clothes it was off to Moore Haven along the Lake Okeechobee Dike. Again it was a great day to hike on the Dike, the views were amazing and the weather was just perfect. We were introduced to Uncle Joe of Uncle Joe's Fish Camp. Uncle Joe told us of life on the lake as a guide (the bass were not bitting today) The small store (more of a bait and tackle shop) provided a great stop for quick lunch and much needed water. After a longer than expected stop at the fish camp, it was then on to County Road 720 to Moore Haven. A couple of cross country bicylcist shared some travel stories with us as we enjoyes a sack together. As we made it back on the road a blessing in the form of a UPS driver appeared. The driver stopped his truck on handed over oranges for our travels, very cool. Once we arrived in Moore Haven we headed to the Moore Haven Church of God pastered by Philip Williams. We had heard the Pastor Williams helps travelers so we decided to see just how much help we could get. I really needed a shower. We waited for Pastor Williams at the church for about 30 minutes. The moment he saw us he told us to drop our things in an apartment in back of the church. And yes the apartment had a shower and two beds. It was an amazing blessing from the Lord. I prayed for a shower and got a shower and a warm dry place to sleep. I'm going to start praying for more specific stuff from now on. Pastor Philip asked us to stick around for church so tomorrow we are just going to hang around Moore Haven then go to church on Sunday and then hit the road. What a great day.

More Swamp, Andytown - Clewiston

Today was the first day of all walking. We woke to sunshine without a chance of rain, perfect day to great some miles behind us. We packed up our stuff and headed into the truck stop for some breakfast. There we met Donnie, Tucker, and James. We told them that we were headed North on foot and they all began to laugh. What was funny is that we thought we were going to walk 47 miles along a two lane road with no towns, no shoulders, and swamp on both sides. After a few moments of thought Tim and I agreed that we were not prepared for such a long distance without any stops for food and water. Donnie told us that he would take us to the next little town North on US 27, South Bay, Fl, on the South side of Lake Okeechobee. Donnie was from Louisiana and drove his semi truck like a maniac. I was sitting in the back seat and could not see the car right in front of the truck. He told us to be careful on the road, that there were a lot of strange people out there these days. I thought to myself, yes there are and I'm riding in a semi truck with one of them right now. At South Bay we said goodbye to Donnie and his truck and started to walk, this time with plenty of little towns along the way. South Bay is just a small fishing village on Lake Okeechobee. There we met Melon the fishing guide (picture above). He was a retired steel worker from Pennsylvania. He told us that we could walk around the entire lake on the dike. The dike was built after a couple of really bad hurricanes came through the area in the 1920's. It is about 100 feet wide and has a gravel access road right top, prefect for walking with great views of the lake. We walked West along the Okeechobee dike through Bean City, Watson, and finally made it to Clewiston. It was just a gorgeous day. We pitched the tent in the woods behind an Evangelical Assembly of God Church. We walked about 22 miles today and it feels good to look at a map and say we started here and we are now here. I did not like taking the ride from Donnie but I really felt like we did not have a choice.

Walk of Faith, Miami - Andytown

My first day of walking is finally here. I have been prepping since September and with my 45 pound pack, $80.00, and lots of motivation I'm really to start hiking. Just one mile at a time, right? My good friend Tim Kotsis agreed to walk with from Miami to Ocala to help me get started. It will be nice to start the walk with a friend. We started on the West side of Miami at US 27 (also known as the Okeechobee Road) and the Florida Turnpike. It rained almost all day and I'm really tired. 9 people honked there horns at us as we were walking. We stopped at a little house and got some much needed water. I feel like I'm going to learn a few lessons about walking fast, like you have to carry water. A few miles away from the house I realized that I left my walking cane. I hate that but I guess I really don't need a walking cane for this trip. Everything is just so wet and with wet comes weight. My pack is heavy but everything fits okay so I feel good about that. We stopped walking around 18:00. Everything is swamp, there is the road we are walking on and then there is swamp on both side of the highway. And the first day ended just as it begun, walking in the rain but I must say the motivation is high and I'm ready to take on the next day. We camped out behind a truck stop called "Jo-Mo City." It was once located in Andytown, Fl but the town was destroyed to make way for the interstate highway in 1979. All that is left is Jo-Mo, I have no idea how the place got its name. But that was day one - The Lord is good and mighty and his strength with endure.