I finally got up after about 15 minutes and was ready to get myself going. I flung my sleeping bag out and packed it in. When I picked up my tarp a bunch of spiders scattered from underneath it and crawled away into the weeds and burrows around me. That didn't really bother me at all, as long as I had no bites. I folded my tarp up and packed it in with the rest of my things. I rolled out from the orchard I had slept in and onto a walking path along the street. It was a nice area and had big shade trees all along the street and path. There were people all over jogging or walking to exercise. I sat down and brushed my teeth next to a tree before taking off. I also noticed my front tire was flat so I put some air in it. It seemed to hold it ok so I figured I would run it until it went flat again the maybe throw some slime in it.
I started making my way through west riverside and it was a really nice town. It had a good vibe and was very clean. I walked through the residential and then worked my way up towards the 91 and then headed into town. The town was nice but there were some homeless people that I noticed. I came across a man who walked past me and I stopped and handed him a $5 gift card and a few dollars that I was given back in Cabazon. I talked with him for about 10 minutes and he said he used to be a construction worker and when the economy crashed he lost his Job, his wife left him, and he lost his apartment. He then lost hope and since then has been living in a tent with his brother (also homeless) in Riverside. He was a really cool dude and seemed to me like he was pretty straight. I asked him what the future might hold for him and he said he is working on getting some hope back and then to start applying for help somehow. It was pretty sad but I could totally relate to him. I had lost hope in just about everything at a point in my life. And when you don't have that, you have nothing. Its a hard thing to get back because there's no answer to fix it. You just have to let your mind go through it and eventually come out the other side and build on something very little. I feel like at the point of no hope is one step away from suicide and giving up. That's a scary place to be or to have been.
I continued on my way through Riverside and I came across a man and woman sleeping on the sidewalk in front of a walgreens. They had a cart similar to mine tied up to a pole and also had 2 dogs on leashes next to them. They looked very rough and battered. I walked up slowly to them to set some snacks and a gift card down next to them so they would see it when they woke up. But they woke up startled and said "what are you doing!?!?". I told them I just had some extra things and that I wanted to share it with them. Then they switched from defensive mode to then thanking me. They were married and said they lost all they had when they started using drugs. They are in the process of trying to clean up and are hurting and suffering in the meantime. Although I have much less sympathy for drug users and I feel they are weak minded, there are plenty of people who are at a good place today who have been through it. So I just remind myself of that and it makes the giving much easier for me to feel ok with. It was like the moment I had in Amarillo where I gave the men that were drinking beer money and was so upset about it, then I thought that even if years from now they remember that, it could have a great impact on them somehow then. That makes it logical and more of a realistic reality for me to feel happy that im helping them.
I finally reached the end of Riverside and continued into Corona CA. The more miles I walked the more rough the area was getting. It was about noon now and I was ready for a break. I stopped in front of a strip mall under some shade trees and sat down for a break. I snacked on some trail mix I had and drank water while resting there for a while. I wanted to get out of Corona before dark so that I could find a place to sleep that wasn't in such a rough area. And also my friend Rhett was coming to meet me around dark so I wanted to have a safe place to sleep for that night since he was going to rough it and sleep homeless with me.
I left there and headed deeper into Corona. It was still getting rougher and rougher. I was walking by some industrial buildings when I heard someone say "why don't you get a job?". I turned and it was a young guy maybe around my age walking up to me. I sort of laughed and then I though maybe he was serious. I started to explain what I was doing then he laughed and said he was kidding and has been following me on twitter since Florida. He then told me he admired what I have done and really thought it was cool. We talked for a few minutes and then he shook my hand and took off. He has supported me for a long time on the internet and it was cool to finally meet him. That has been a big part of contributing to my will to keep going and I really am thankful to have people all over who keep my spirits high. It means so much more to me than I think they can ever understand.
I went through the heart of Corona and kept flowing until I reached the last place I could stop and enjoy some air conditioning. I stopped at a Taco Bell and went in and sat down. I was a little nervous leaving my gear outside as there were some kids outside that were talking smack to me when I walked up. I kept a close eye on my stuff while I went up and ordered a dollar menu bean burrito. As I sat down to eat I noticed the kids coming in and filling up cups that weren't taco bell cups with the soda dispenser. The manager then yelled at them and they started to cuss out the manager. They were real punks and I was even more on guard now with watching my stuff. Sure enough they went out and sat right next to my cart. I kept my eyes on them and then noticed one of them walk toward it and start looking inside my crates. I knocked on the window hard and aggressively and shook my head. He gave me a pretty rude look and then walked away. All I could think about was how isolated I was just a days ago and now I am around people who have so many blessings around them but still feel the need to be greedy and want to steal. It was pretty sad and actually fascinating to think about. Ive never had these extremes so close to eachother and it really doesn't make sense to me. Its a wild world and I feel as if there are many people who just don't know how good they have it. We live like kings compared to so many people yet we still feel that we need to break the rule. Its pretty interesting.
I stayed there for about an hour as the sun was getting lower. I had another visitor come say hi and he said he would be at the finish line at Huntington Beach. That was cool and it made me realize how close it was. It doesn't even seem real to me. This just seems like my life now and I cant believe its close to the end. And I cant believe I have come this way all on foot! I really cant even fathom it. My mind just cannot wrap around it. I have never accomplished anything even close to this big in my life, and now im so close to the end of something so big. I am just so humbled and blessed to be able to get through this after the very hard stretch in my life where I was convinced I was worthless and would never amount to anything. I didn't even want to wake up another day. Now when I wake up I smile and realize that through God and the good hearted people on this Earth, I actually did have a purpose, and I did have something I would feel good inside about, something for others and myself to be proud of. I never thought that would be true for me, and the fact that It was gives me hope for much more in this life.
I left taco bell and headed out of the last little stretch of Corona. The sun was now setting and I had gone about 14 miles for the day. I wanted about another 3 miles done for the day before stopping. I was about an hour away from seeing my friend Rhett and couldn't believe it. I hadn't seen him for about 9 months and missed him. I was supposed to meet him in Costa Rica before I was robbed in St Louis about 6 months back. So it had been a long time.
I was walking down the road on the west edge of Corona when a guy came toward me walking a bicycle. I noticed as he got closer that he had a flat tire. I said I had a pump and so I aired it up for him. He looked at me pretty funny and I thing was tripping from seeing my whole cart setup and stuff. I filled his tire up and then he rode off and thanked my thoroughly. I love doing stuff like that and seeing peoples reactions. It always cracks me up.
I was waiting for my friend Rhett now who was going to be dropped off by Gene (guy who found me in the desert when I was "missing") somewhere along the road I was driving down. He was going to be there anytime now and I was really excited. A car pulled over in front of me and I though it might have been them. It was dark now so I could tell. When I got close a girl and her daughter came out and came up to me. They asked if I was "hobo nick" and I said that I was. They both gave me a hug which was so cute. They thought what I was doing was great and I told them their support was a big part of getting me to this point. They said they would be at the finish line and I told them that was awesome. They left and I continued walking. Then finally Gene and Rhett pulled up. Rhett got out and I hugged him. I was so excited and he was walking the rest of the way with me! It meant a lot that he came down to see me for this.
Me and Rhett ended up walking up to a Carls jr at the next freeway exit. We met Gene there and we all went in and visited. Gene said he wanted to have a BBQ set up at the finish and to get a bunch of people to go. I thought that was cool of him and I was excited. I didn't really want to make it a big thing but there were a lot of people telling me they were going so I figured that would be cool. We hung out there and talked about it for a little while and then we took off. Gene left to go home and me and Rhett began down the Santa Anna bike trail that just started right there. The trail went from there all the way to the coast. It was a perfect little trail to finish the walk out. We caught u while walking the last couple miles for the day. It was so nice to have him there and it was all getting so much more real of how close I was to being done. It almost didn't seem real to me.
We walked down the trail until we came to a little park that had a creek running through it. I was beat tired and hed now gone 17 miles for the day. We made our camp there and laid out our sleeping bags next to the creek and off the path a ways. It was a pretty good spot and nobody was around. We stayed up just talking about stuff and catching up. He told me about the Costa Rica trip and I shared stories of my trip. We ended up talking until about midnight. Then we passed out and it was a pretty peaceful spot. I slept pretty good and was excited for the days to come to hangout with him while finishing this thing.
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