Day 177, September 27, 2012

I woke up hearing a lawn mower. It was early and the sun was just coming up. The maintenance guys were out working on the golf course we had slept on. I watched the guy cutting grass and thought he had to of spotted us sleeping there. We were in plain sight of where he was at. But maybe theres enough homeless here to where it's not that big of a deal to get us out of there immediately. So I didn't worry much about it. That made me think of how lucky I was to never get a ticket in 6 months of sleeping outside. That's pretty good considering all the risky places I have slept at.
        I got up and started to pack my things up. Rhett slept a little longer than me but got up shortly. I stretched out while he packed up his sleeping bag and stuff. We both have a good sense of humor about being homeless and we joked as we were waking up at a golf course. Even though I've been homeless for a couple years now I try and take it lightly. I'm enjoying life and don't let it get me down much.
      We were ready to head out and left our sand spot behind the trees where we camped out for the night. As we left I saw the golf ball cleaner and wanted to take a funny picture. So I put my spare underwear in there like I was cleaning them just like the happy Gilmore scene where the caddy does that. We took a picture of it then laughed and then headed onto the bike trail to start walking for the day.
       We didn't have far to walk that day and were only about 12 miles from the ocean now. 12 miles! From finishing a 6 month long 2,650 mile walk! Man that was nice to think about! I can't believe I've almost made it. So our plan for the day was to walk maybe half way and then take a loooong break where we would relax most of the day and then finish the day around 4 miles from the water in Huntington Beach,
        We made our way about 5 miles when we came to a really nice park. It had a pond and huge trees with a lot of shade covered grass. We basically spent the remainder of the day there and just rested and relaxed. I have to be honest it was a little hard for me to sit there allday when I knew I was so close to the end. I was extremely anxious and excited to see the ocean and get my feet in there! But the end date I had announced was the next day and the people coming were excited to see the finish. So I was patient. My patience is higher than it has ever been now but it still was no easy wait.
        We rested in the shade and napped on and off for the day. We talked and just went over life in general and how crazy it can be. I never thought I would be in this position where I would accomplish such a massive challenge. I learned so much and grew so much over the time I walked this land. So much time on my own to reflect and thoroughly think through things. Growing time I needed and may have never had had I stuck to my old life of being tied down in society. Taking a step back puts life into perspective and things I wanted out of life were made clear to me where I never knew what I really wanted before. And how every human will give you different and contradicting advice of how to live or what to believe. But how I finally realized the only credible information to live by is deep in yourself. You find what is in your heart when you set it free and it's such a bigger reward than your mind is capable of understanding or imagining until you find the courage to do it. But finding that courage can be tough and may take a stubborn mind to a very low rock bottom (like I did).
        So we had time to just take in the day with no real agenda and rest our bodies. We sat there for a long time just people watching and enjoying the nice scenery. At around 6 or so we finally packed up and headed out to get a little closer to the coast for the finish tomorrow.
       We headed back onto the bike path and walked to the next cross street. Rhett was hungry so we stopped at a jack in the box. I ordered 2 tacos and a water and he got a meal. We ate there and then left to find a place to sleep in the next mile or so.
      Bad we walked down the bike trail I suddenly caught a scent of the ocean and it gave me chills. Wow. This is real. This is coming so close to an end. I can't believe it. We found a park right off the bike path at the east edge of the town Huntington. It was dark by now and about 9pm. We walked into the park and there were baseball fields there. Rhett lead the way and between two baseball fields he founds a grass strip that was between 2 fences. It was a really good spot. It was a nice area and real quiet. It would be perfect for the last night of the trip. Wow! Last night of the trip. That is wild! Almost 180 days of sleeping across the country. I've slept behind dumpsters, inside public bathrooms to find shelter from storms, under bridges, in ditches, in woods, in desert, behind churches, in churches, and so many other random places. I can't believe this is the last night of sleeping until I reach my destination. Unreal.
         I fell asleep that night with so much excitement. I don't know what is coming tomorrow. What emotions, what people I will see, how the water is going to feel. I have fed off of how this day would feel for so many tough hot hours. Used it as motivation and imagined it as I went to sleep countless times. The nights when things were so tough and I was alone and thousands of miles away from home. Nights when I slept on concrete behind ally ways where strange people would walk by me. This was the day I trusted I would see. This was the time I looked forward to experiencing. It is going to happen tomorrow.