I got into the highway and walked the rest of the way through Henrietta TX. As I left town I got about 3 miles when a white truck pulled off in front of me. A guy got out and walked back to me holding 2 gatoraids and a small white bag. He came up and said he was a guy who had recently friended me on Facebook from hearing about me through a buddy of his. He had read my journals and knew that I dumpster dove in the beginning of this walk to survive before I had any food or money still. Stale donut holes were one of my dumpster dive finds so he brought me a fresh bag of donut holes! That was great! He said he was taking his kids to church and then he wanted to meet up later when I arrived in Wichita Falls (where he lives). So I said I would post it on Facebook to let him know when I got there.
So I munched those donuts down with a quickness. I continued walking and hoped to get to Wichita falls before it was too hot. I was making great time and walking with excitement to reach the half way point.
It was pretty hot and getting tough around 1pm. A car pulled over and a guy jumped out and gave me some waters. He said they were probably colder than what I had. He was right. My waters were hot at this point.
I walked a ways up and was reaching the city limit sign. And finally I was there! It felt pretty good but the heat kept me pushing forward to keep going.
I was about a mile from sonic where I was gonna stop and treat myself with a sonic giftcard I had received the week before. About a mile before a white car pulled off and the same guy who brought me the donuts in the morning jumped out with a backpack and shade hat. Then the car took off. He came up and said he was gonna keep me some company! So he walked with me to sonic. When we got there we ordered food and sat in the shade. He wouldn't let me pay for my food and insisted on buying for me.
We sat there and talked a bit about motocross as he rides dirt bikes too. We talked about the trip too and hung out and ate lunch. Then he said for me and him to just walk to his house a few miles up and I could hangout there and stay too for the night! That was awesome! I was totally surprised and exited too! To have a soft place to sleep on the day of getting half way across America would be a treat!
So we walked the 3 miles to his house. It was pretty hot and again drinking my water burned my throat. I think he was a little surprised in how aggressive I walk to get across streets and keep moving in the city and though traffic. I try to hustle across towns.
We got to his house and I was drained! The combination of little sleep last night (and the entire way), walking 22 miles, and the brutal heat had for sure wore me out.
When I got there it was very relaxing. He got me a cold drink with ice and I plopped down on a couch/recliner and was in heaven! I hung out with his family and his kids were awesome! They were so funny and entertaining. I havn't been around kids in a long time and I love kids. So it was a great atmosphere.
We just relaxed and even watched some baseball. It is very different watching tv when you havn't watched it in months. So it was really great to just enjoy everything there. They made a home cooked dinner that was amazing! BBQ chicken, macaroni and cheese, beans, and stuffed peppers on the BBQ also. What a treat that was! It was such an awesome night and just a great laid back rest.
After dinner I took a hot shower! Wow. The 4th hot shower I have had in 96 days. If you go 5 days without a hot shower it would feel great. The last time before this that I had a hot shower was just under 2 full months ago! That is something I have really learned to appreciate. My typical shower is either under a water hose, or in a public restroom. So the shower on this night felt great!
They set me up to do laundry and gave me clothes to wear while I washed mine. It was a bunch of great things at once.
So that night I laid on the couch and just felt so incredibly comfortable. It felt like I was drugged up or something and just stuck on that couch. I fell asleep and slept absolutely amazing! I honestly forgot how it felt to have a good nights rest. This day was very awesome and the half way point turned out to be a better day than I could have imagined!
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