Day 76, June 18, 2012

 I heard someone yelling and it woke me up. I sat up and looked towards the field next to me. There was a man there and he waved at me. He yelled "I thought you were dead!" I laughed. He said "just want to make sure your ok,  don't bother me". So I laid back down and rested my eyes a while longer.
       Then I woke up. It was about 8am. I got up and took a piss. Then I packed my things up and got ready. After brushing my teeth and filling my waters there I hit the road.
      I headed into Longview TX. It was really humid. I walked for about 5 miles when I stopped for a break. It was pretty warm and I wanted to make sure to stay hydrated and also keep my towel on my head moist. I continued ahead.
       I kept a good pace and kept trucking. When I got to the end of Longview I stopped at a burger king to charge my stuff and order a burger. I stayed there maybe an hour. Before I left there I filled my water jugs in the bathroom sink. And off again.
         I walked through the next couple little towns that were not really spread far apart. It was a small town, then houses along the highway, then another small town. Without really hitting any stretch of nothing. That is nice incase I need to stop for any reason. Like to use the bathroom or fill my waters. The only problem is that there is not really a shoulder on the side of the highway to walk along. I'm either in the lane, or I have to hop me and my cart up onto the curb and onto the side of the road. That is a bit of a hassle and slows my walk down.
         As I was on that stretch a car pulled off. It was a lady who asked if I was the man walking to California. I wasn't sure if she was looking for me, or the father son team behind me. So I said yes I was, then she said her daughter and granddaughter follow my twitter and they told her I just left Longview. Then I knew it was me she was referring to. She took a few pictures with me and then gave me $20. She hungout a few minutes and then told me good luck. Always awesome to have people come track me down!
        So I walked to the last little town of White Oak before hitting a stretch of nothing. So I decided to take a midday break there. Well more of an early evening break before an evening walk. So I stopped at a taco bell there. I ordered a couple dollar menu items and sat down near an outlet.
         I sat there about 20 minutes when I was getting ready to leave. And then suddenly rain started dropping outside. It soon was a heavy down pour and lighting struck fiercely around there and the thunder roared loud. It went on long enough where I could not make the rest of my stretch before dark. So I would have to find a place there to sleep.
        I stayed in taco bell a while, then around 10 I headed to a church across the street that I found on my GPS. The ground was already dry, which I was a little surprised by. And the only spot I found out of sight was in the dirt behind the church. So I made my bed there. The surface was really hard and uncomfortable. But I laid there anyways until I fell asleep around midnight.