Journal Entry, Current Events, Stardate, 2.23.2010:

The upcoming walking trip up the coast of California, from Monterrey to San Francisco and then completely around the San Francisco bay, is looming larger and larger on our temporal horizon and in the hearts and minds of the walkers and our supporters. Over the past few weeks Susanne has begun camping with Nick and I on the weekends, and last week we brought in the fourth official walker.

Furthermore, we have begun to work on different ways of making money, trying to get away from direct panhandling and to find more creative and artistic ways of gathering the necessary funds to support ourselves on the road. To start, we have begun making hemp bracelets, and collecting shells, interesting stones, bits of metal, wood, and copper wire to include in jewelery making—actual making of these items has so far been done by Nick and Susanne while I have been working on mapping, building the website, and putting the word out. Also, I have been working out how to set up a portable sand casting kit so we can make pendants, bracelets and earrings from copper and silver on the road.
This coming weekend we will be having an art day where we will be doing small paintings suitable for traveling with and selling as we go. As art is the underlying purpose of the walk, it seems fitting that we support our mission through the diligent practice thereof as much as possible.

About other walkers, last Thursday Susanne spent the afternoon with an old friend of hers, Ellen Maxey, whom she had not seen in a while. In the course of the day she told Ellen about the upcoming trip, and Ellen was immediately enthusiastic about the prospect. Later in the evening, the tweo of them picked up the dogs from Susanne's house and met me and Nick at Starbucks. Leaving Susanne's car there, we walked the dogs off down the canal to a nearby park on the river. Walking those two dogs together is comical as Bella is a 90+lb Shepard/Airdale mix, two years old, with the energy of Pooh's Tigger, and Whinney is an old Dachshund with an insatiable curiosity and a withered left eye which causes her to veer constantly to the right. As we walked, we all got acquainted, and Ellen decided then and there that she was coming on walk, though she might not be able to stay the whole course because of her school commitments.

On Friday, Ellen and Susanne both joined us camping by the river, upon reaching camp, we discovered that the Maglite that was thought to be in my back pocket had gone missing, so I retraced my steps using nick's pocket lantern to try to find it in the grass along the trail, in the dark. No luck, so, on the way back to camp I went to one of our old camps and retrieved a couple of milk crates we had left behind to provide extra seating around the fire for our guests. Then I approached the camp from the direction opposite the trail, practicing my woods-craft and moving without light I made it to the border of the firelight without being detected. Susanne and Ellen walked back out to the road to meet their friend Denise T. later in the evening and brought her back to camp. She was thinking that she also might want to go on the walk with us.

We built a fire, set the extra seats around it, and I cooked an excellent dinner of carne asada steak with tortillas, salsa, chilies, avocado, beans, and such prepared over the campfire. We told stories, read poetry, and (after Denise fell asleep early) took late night walks in shifts so as not to leave her alone at camp. We finally got to sleep around four in the morning, men in one tent, women in the other. In the morning we had coffee and eggs scrambled with ham, cheese, garlic and onions, bathed in the river, and then went back out into the world. Everyone had a good time, but Denise T. decided that she would not be walking after all as the outdoor life is not for her in large doses.

Denise T. decided not to go, but a friend of mine (who was once a student of mine), Denise C. is planning on joining us for her Spring Break, as are some other college friends, James C. and his girlfriend Mae perhaps, and a few other people have expressed interest in joining us for portions of the trip, including my father. I hope they can all make it at different times. This is going to be an excellent traveling roadshow through some of the most beautiful country in North America, and you are all invited along for the ride. In order to keep up with the trip's planning, preparation and execution continue to follow this blog. Also check out Nick's blog at http://ziconix.blogspot.com/2010/02/things-just-things.html , the Central California Bays Art Walk 2010's facebook group page at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=308968254773 and the Walk website at http://sites.google.com/site/centralcabaysartwalk2010w/

The website will be the most comprehensive source of Walk materiel, containing art, photography, and writing by walkers, as well as bios, purpose, needed materiel, details of route, announcements regarding achievements, scheduled art days, and any other events of note, as well as links to individual walker's blogs and facebook links. Blogs and the Website also have donation buttons allowing interested parties to contribute their two cents (or more) to the cause. We can use all the help we can get, but we are determined, and if necessary will embark with nothing, trusting to God and human kindness to see us through. This is a pilgrimage, a spiritual journey for all of us, and we will not be stopped. Peace out to y'all...