I woke up again now from the sunshine. I slowly got up and sat on the bench while I woke up and rubbed my eyes. My hips were really cramped up from the table top I slept on. it was early still, about 6:45. I laid back onto my sleeping bag and just rested a while hoping my hips would relax and the pain would go away. I ended up falling back asleep for an hour or so.
I really took my time and cleaned my cart out and stuff there while just in no hurry to take off. Finally at around 10:30 I took off walking. had a bit of a late start compared to normal. It was another very nice day and was definitely a cooler temperature. I walked south and over the 60. I went down to south Moreno Valley to start making my way west again and towards the south part of Riverside below the 91.
I walked through the bottom part of Moreno Valley and it wasn't that bad of an area. I had heard this town was going to be a rough one to walk through. I usually find the towns I go through are never as bad as people tell me before hand. But then again I wasn't going through the part of town that was supposed to be bad either. No complaints about that though. I did pass a couple homeless tents set up along some trees and chain link fences with tons of trash everywhere, but I never saw anyone there. Maybe they were out for the day trying to figure out how to eat and make it to tomorrow.
I was about 6-7 miles in for the day when a truck pulled over next to me. It was a guy who popped out and was following my journey. He had read through my journals and said to see the country through my eyes had really humbled him. Also to hear about all the people I came across had changed the perception he had of others. He thanked me and thought that it would really help the way he treats others in the future. That was pretty cool to hear. He brought me some cool supplies. He gave me a camelback to drink out of, a nice hat, some sandals, some shoes to give away, and some snacks. These were all things he said he wouldn't use and that I could give away to others. So I planned to do just that. He also had some directions for me to get to riverside the best way. He was really nice and had also asked if he could track me down later to bring me dinner. So I told him about where I would be and that I would be very thankful for that. He took off and I kept walking.
I didn't make it very far before another truck pulled off. A guy around my age or so popped out and had a bag of In n Out burger. He handed it over to me and I was so excited! he had been following my walk and was up in the area from San Diego and wanted to track me down. I love In n Out burger and was so happy I was about to munch down on a burger. That hit close to home. He stayed and talked for about 10 minutes and then said he had to hit the road. I thanked him and he took off. Then I scarfed down the burger in about 3 bites. Oh my god that thing was good!
I walked another 4-5 miles and decided to take a break at a sit down area at a gas station before I left what looked like the last little part of town before it was just all houses and residential area for the rest of my days walk. I stayed there for about 35 minutes or so until it was dark. Then I was ready to knock out the last little bit of the days distance to make it to the outside of Riverside. It was all houses from there and the roads were lit up plenty enough to walk down in the dark. The area began to get nicer and nicer. I was climbing up some hills where the houses were suddenly giant massive mansions. I was wondering what it would feel like to sleep all alone in one of those places. It would be so abnormal to me now to imagine being safe and not having to worry what could come within feet of me and put me in danger every night. I don't remember how it feels not to rest on guard at all times while sleeping extremely light. I cant remember what an actual real night of mental rest feels like. My mind is always alert and doesn't get to rest even when I sleep. I really was fascinated with the thought of living in a giant house like that and how it would completely change the routine of my mind. And would I be happier?
I finally made it to where I wanted to go after another couple hours of walking. I had gone about 13-14 miles and was done. I ended up meeting the guy earlier who wanted to bring me dinner. He brought chairs and an ice chest to eat on and everything! it was pretty cool as we just sat there next to a park in the dark and lounged while eating dinner. Probably looked absolutely creepy to anyone driving by, but I didn't care as I stuffed my starving face with spaghetti and garlic bread for the second night in a row! what a treat. I haven't had 2 home cooked meals back to back nights in a long long time. That is something I could definitely get used to again easily after this walk after 6 months of eating a granola bar for dinner if im lucky. He had some cookies too for desert and I was feeling pretty spoiled!
He left after hanging out there for about an hour and I was exhausted. I literally walked about 50 feet across the street where there was a small orchard next to a house. I crept right into it and found myself a spot behind a few trees to be out of sight of the road and the houses. There were a bunch of spider webs I walked through on the way into the trees so I knew there were probably plenty of spiders in there, but I didn't care. I made my bed and plopped down into my sleeping bag. It was about midnight and that was really late for me out here. I had made it to Riverside and was really feeling close to the finish now. I cant believe it.
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