Near Lake Steven's, a guy stopped and asked if I needed anything. He said he always stopped for those he saw on the highway toting a full backpack as he was a hiker. He told me he had hiked the Appalachian Trail in '99. This perked up my ears as I too had been attempting a thru-hike of the "AT" in '99. He invited me to McDonald's for some breakfast. I asked him what his trail name (nicknames given on the trail) had been and he said he only went by his real name, Mike. As we sat there I kept thinking he looked familiar to me, and so we kept the investigation going as to whether we had crossed paths or not. Well, it turns out that we actually spent two nights together in the same cabin at Goose Creek Cabins near Blairsville, Georgia near the "AT". That sixth degrees of separation is alive and well in my life! Now, when sharing my "AT" album and friends ask who the guy with the bushy white hair and beard is standing next to me, instead of saying, "Beats the hell outa' me!" I can say, "Why that's Mike, I'll never forget him!"

On a back road on my way over to route 11 for my walk into Bellingham, I had to walk by fields full of ripe strawberries. The smell was overpowering and had my mouth watering! A car pulls up beside me with two smiling young ladies in it. "Hi" they said as they handed me a full quart of fresh picked strawberries. "We work for Sakuma Brothers Market Stand and we all wanted you to have these." No sooner had they pulled away and another vehicle pulled up with two young  and pretty smiling girls. They handed me a small bag and one said, "Here, they forgot to bring you the shortcakes!" While they were still there, a pickup with two young men pulled up and greeted the three of us. One young lady said, "They work with us too." I said, "Did you guy's bring the whipped cream?" I'm not so sure they needed whipped cream, those were some of the best strawberries I had ever eaten and the homemade shortcakes were indeed the best I had ever eaten in my life!

In Bow, Washington on route 11, Chuckanut Drive, I went into the Rhododendron Cafe to get out of the rain and get something to eat. Once inside, I realized it was a more up scale restaurant than I would have chosen... had I had a choice, it was the only act in town. So I ordered but soup and coffee. It was a huge portion and was delicious! A lady came to my table curious about my "LOVE LIFE" sign near the door and asked what I was doing. She introduced herself as Carol Shank. owner of the cafe and told me she had my meal covered there would be no charge!

I was lost in Bellingham, Washington and had asked several people directions and to no avail. I spotted a welcome sight, a kiosk with a sign over it which said, "Bellingham Info" Well, the map at the kiosk left me even more confused than I had been before. As I was standing there frustrated I looked up over the map and there was a sign which stated, "IF YOU ARE LOST IN BELLINGHAM BLAME THE FOUR CITIES THAT BECAME BELLINGHAM" I'm not real big on blaming things so I looked around for someone else to ask. I approached a lady walking toward me and asked if she could direct me to Broadway. She looked at me as though I was a leper, but she acknowledged that she did know how to get to Broadway and started giving me directions. I was about 15 feet from her and I took a step closer to her so as to hear over the downtown traffic. She frantically stuck her hands out in front of her and said, "Don't come any closer to me or you will have to get your directions elsewhere!" I said, "Ma'am?" She said, "I'm serious, do not come any closer!" I said, "Ma'am, are you infectious or something, do you have a contagious disease?" "That's it!" she said throwing her hands up in the air, "You'll get no directions from me!" Don't blame me lady... blame those four cities!

Just outside Bellingham as I was walking past a very nice home, a very pretty young lady stepped out onto her driveway and asked if I needed anything. I told her I could use some fresh water. I told her my story and she went in and got her husband so he could hear my story as well. They were Peter and Michelle Parsons and they invited me in their home for the night! Peter was an engineer on a factory fishing boat out of Dutch Harbor, Alaska that fished the Bering Sea. He was waiting for the new season to begin. Michelle said she hoped he wouldn't be out for five month's like he was the last time. We had fantastic conversation over a dinner of fresh fish, a perk from Peter's occupation. Michele did my laundry and fixed me up with energy bars and fresh and dried fruit for my next days journey. I left there with full stomach, clean clothes and refreshed from a hot shower! They were such great people and... I have two new friends!
Next day, I was but a few miles from the home of Michelle and Peter, I stopped and stripped off my pack and ducked into the bushes to relieve myself. When I stepped back out, I saw two cold bottles of water next to my pack. Guess I had not been as incognito as I thought. As I was standing there enjoying one of the bottles of water, I heard, "You want something to eat?" I looked up to see a man about my age holding a plate full of fried chicken and vegetables in front of him. "I see you found your water, I live in the house just in back of us, you can't see it for all the large bushes." He told me that he was a Christian and that Bellingham has a lot of homeless and that he feeds all that he can. I thanked him and we talked awhile as he had become very interested in what I was doing.

It's "from rags to riches" out here on the road, one day I'm in a fine home spending the night and the next I have to spend an hour hacking out a tent space from the briar's with my pocket knife. I ended up with a nice flat tent site and very well hidden from the passing auto's.
In the Big Rock Cafe & Grocery at Mount Vernon, Washington, as I was paying for my purchases, Randy Audette the owner said, "Where you headed Mr. Love Life?" I told him I was going up to Blaine and the walking to Key West. He gave me permission to tent ON his property! Great, no hacking with my knife and I have a place to get fresh coffee the next morning! He also let me sit at one of the cafes tables and work at my laptop. The very cute bartender/waitress was bending down trying to help me find an electrical outlet and the zipper on her very tight jeans broke! "Damn!" she said, "Hey, anybody got some safety pins?" A couple female patrons looked in their purses to no avail. A few minutes later as she passed me on her way to a customers table I saw that she had solved her problem. She had taken four of those large black and chrome, very strong paper clips and clipped them up the front of her jeans doing the job of the zipper. I complimented her on her ingenuity. She just laughed, what a wonderful personality, she had not a care as to how it looked! She just had a job to do. I love women like that.

As I walked along the road facing the traffic as usual and carrying my beautiful "LOVE LIFE" sign over my head and minding my own business... a really beat up older car drove past me and the driver stuck his head out the window and yelled, "Idiot!" Just as I turned to see the source of the insult,I heard tires screeching. About four cars in front of the name caller a car had made an abrupt left turn. Because the other drivers in front of him were looking at the road and minding their own business, they did not have to slam on their brakes and swerve to miss the car in front of them... by inches! This maneuver caused him to be at a complete stop as I walked past him with hand over head pointing backwards toward my "LOVE LIFE" sign. Poetic Justice had me smiling broadly, you should have seen his face as he tried with all his might not to look over my way!

The evening I walked into Blaine, Washington, I met the young attendant at a convenience store. His name was Ryan, he was 28 years old. He told me he had congestive heart failure at 26 years old! The doctors told him that part oof his heart was twice the size of normal. There was no one there but he and I and he kept stepping out to smoke cigarettes. He told me that he drank as well! I asked, had not the doctors advised him to stay away from tobacco and alcohol? He said that indeed they had but the heart disorder he suffered from was hereditary and he said he figured it wouldn't matter one way or the other. I chewed him out with a whole lot of love attached. He was such a sweet and sensitive young man. I told him the same things that I say to those who tell me they are considering ending their lives. I explained to him that he doesn't have the right to be that careless with his life, that it doesn't belong just to him and that he owes it to the people who love him to take care of himself and to try and live as long as he can! We talked a very long time and I do pray that my words had an effect on him. He did say he would try to start looking at his situation differently.
I found a spot behind the store where Ryan worked to pitch my tent and went there the next morning for coffee. I started up a conversation with the lady working the morning shift. As soon as I told her why I carried "LOVE LIFE" over my head, she shared with me that both her parents had committed suicide at the same time less than three years before! We talked a lot about how we have to forgive those who commit such a self centered act because they are in so much emotional pain they do not realize they are being self centered. They become convinced they are doing the right and the only thing left to do. I told her I felt that the forgiveness is for the benefit of the one forgiving, it is a form of closure. I told her I felt that it helps heal the hearts of those of us left behind. She said she was working on that. I had never ran into anyone before who had lost their parents to a double suicide.

In Blaine, I walked up to the Canadian border and stood at the Peace Arch and took several pictures. I touched both the water and the border to signify going to the northwest corner of the U.S. I am most definitely.... now heading home! Also in Blaine, a guy drove past an shouted, "What the f--- is there to love about it!" I shouted back instantly, "Breathing!" And of course, he didn't stop so I could explain to him how simple life truly is... and how we start to really love it by just loving and appreciating the act of breathing! Life is a gift, a gift to be appreciated and enjoyed. We need to work very hard at never ever complaining... about anything! It is such a useless waste of energy. Energy we could be using to look at our own faults and then correct them. I have found that in looking at my own faults... I don't see so much fault in others to complain about.
Just outside of Blaine a guy by the name of JJ stopped and offered me something to eat and a spot to rest for awhile. I said sure and he told me it was at the end of the street we were facing and that he lived in a bright purple house. I walked on down there and that house was absolutely... BRIGHT PURPLE! I loved it! I sat out on their front porch with JJ and his fiance Karen (They're getting married today, 7/12/09.... congratulations guys!) and their friends Scott and Lisa. Lisa gave me a tiny glass turtle with the head broken, she said it was broken but it had been her grandmothers and her grandmother had been an extremely stubborn person. She said she felt it took stubbornness to do what I do. I agreed with her and thanked her for giving me such a treasured gift! Karen heads up an organization called The Red Egg Project which is dedicated to the homeless and the less fortunate. I ate tamales, charged my laptop and phone, said my goodbyes to those wonderfully sweet people and was gone on to my next adventure!

Walking down a beautiful part of rout 9 near Acme, WA., and passing by a beautiful large home with a gorgeous view of Mt. Baker, I was confronted by a very tall and slender young man stepping out of the entrance to the home. He looked like he had been sleeping on the streets for a week, he did not look like he belonged to that house. He excitedly introduced himself as Colin and asked me to follow him into the beautiful home. "You'll have to excuse the confusion" he said, "we're all busy preparing for a wedding this coming Saturday but it just isn't every day someone walks by with a LOVE LIFE sign over their head." He led me into a kitchen full of busy people and introduced me and told everyone of my sign. His father immediately took my water jug and began filling it, his mother put a plate full of homemade cookies under my nose. A beautiful young woman came down the stairs and I asked if she were the bride to be. She said yes. I thanked them for their hospitality but explained that I didn't want to add more chaos to what they were already experiencing. They all laughed and said goodbye. I was looking for Colin to thank him and he was out front on his cell phone explaining directions to friends flying into Seattle for the wedding while he was on his knees picking and eating wild strawberries. "Are you related to the groom or the bride?" I asked Colin. "I am the groom." replied Colin. we talked a little while but he was way too busy taking care of last minute things for his wedding. He did have time to tell me he was getting married to the most wonderful and the most beautiful woman in the world! What a cool family!!

A young mother stopped with her son and daughter and asked to take my picture and gave me a pint of fresh raspberries...yum!

In Sedro-Wooley, Washington I was approached by a man and woman who were both covered with beautiful tattoo's and asked if they could take my picture. I said, "Yes, as long as I get to take yours!" They were Tim and Lise Sconce of Tiny Tim's Tattoo's in Sedro Wooley. They asked if anyone ever treated me harshly and I said, "Not really, other than someone giving me the finger occasionally... actually that hasn't happened this trip yet... I'm kind of disappointed." We talked a little while and I told him I was friends with Dayna Beach tattooist, Bob The Hammer and Tim had heard of him. We said our goodbyes and as they were pulling out I heard, "Steve!" I looked up and Tiny Tim was holding up that large tattooed arm and flipped me off! Now was that thoughtful or what!! It's the little things that get me... I think I'm going to cry.

On route 20 walking through the Northern Cascade National Park, a delightful gentleman named Tom took me to his campsite and cooked me a wonderful meal of sausage, peppers, onions, and zucchini. He had a French press to make the awesome coffee with! The meal was wonderful as was the conversation. He was a very interesting man and had spent several years living in Russia. We also talked of his 21-year-old daughter who had not spoken to him in five years! I could not begin to imagine the pain if my two babies were still alive and I was unable to talk to them!

While still in the Northern Cascades National Park I met Blake and Sue from Bakersfield, California who also invited me to their campsite. Sue's cousin Rob, who works in the park, came by and we cut sticks to cook our steaks on and drank some wine. It rained the whole time! We laughed and told stories and had a blast! Rob and I discussed whether we really do reap what we sow in life.... that one, I have no doubts about! Rob also told us a great story: A friend of Rob's who is a ranger in the park and as Mark put it, "One of the most layed back guys you could ever meet." Rob said that his ranger friend had to approach a camper in the park over some violation he had committed. The camper just happened to be one of those Christian guys who walks the country toting a cross over his shoulder (the sissies put wheels on 'em.) The cross carrier started arguing with Rob's layed back ranger friend and refusing to comply! Well, it ended up in a fist fight! We laughed and laughed over that one. Blake and Sue decided to go to their cousins home for the night and so they let me use their already pitched large and very dry tent for the night! I keep meeting all these wonderful new friends!

Also in the Nothern Cascades National Park, Russell and Anneliese Prononcha from Spokane, Washington stopped in their motor home and invited me in for great conversation and a bowl of chili! We talked for a couple hours and they sent me off with a box of Granola bars, a package of hot dogs, and that wonderful heart warming feeling you get after meetng great people and acquiring new friends!!

At Mazama, while sitting at a table outside having my wonderful first cup of coffee, a lady named Boo Turner stopped and asked me how the walk was going as her and her teen-aged son had seen me the day before walking over Washington Pass. We talked awhile and she invited me to breakfast at her home with her and her son. She works for a company which makes hiking socks and a company which makes hiking boots! She is going to try to get me some socks and a pair of boots! And the breakfast was good too! Boo called the local newspaper and when I made it to Twisp, WA., I went to the office of the newspaper and a wonderful lady named Joyce interviewed me and then took me to a delightful little cafe and bakery across the street and treated me to lunch! I had the best eclair I ever ate!

Leaving the delightful little town of Twisp I was walking past the Blue Spruce Motel and saw a strikingly beautiful young woman tending to the flowers in the motel yard. Her baby daughter was in a stroller watching mommy. Mommy looked up at me and said, "Hey, you need a place to stay tonight? I have one room that hasn't been remodeled yet and it has an ugly shower, I can let you have it for the night." I said, "Thank you, yes! There is no such thing as an ugly shower!" The shower was beautiful! Nicole's heart was beautiful! She brought me several frozen dinners that she said had been left by previous guests. She also brought me Pepsi's and fresh peaches. She gave me the room for two nights.