Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 28, 2009 – 5:53 am
Day 24–July 27 (Irwin, PA-North Versailles, PA, 7.6 miles) Though I am not as fearful of spending the night sleeping outside as I was at the start of my trip, it is stressful. There is a strategy in finding a location that is safe and neither too dark nor too light. Earlier today I had [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 26, 2009 – 10:27 pm
Day 23–July 26 (Greensburg, PA-Irwin, PA, 8.1 miles) Loitering is not my idea of a good time. And I doubt most people enjoy loitering. But, when you are homeless, it is a way of life. Since I’ve begun this journey I’ve spent hours loitering. I’ve loitered at Panera, at Starbucks and McDonald’s. I’ve spent time [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 23, 2009 – 6:28 pm
Day 20–July 23 (rest in Greensburg, PA, 0.0 miles) Last night, for the first time since I began my trip, I found myself without a place to stay for the night. I spent an hour on a bench outside the Giant Eagle grocery store talking to a homeless man named Rick while I iced my [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 22, 2009 – 11:37 pm
Day 19–July 22 (Latrobe, PA-Greensburg, PA, 11.4 miles) For whatever reason, since I have been walking I have not gone a day without eating ice cream. Some days I find myself stopping for ice cream more than once a day. So when as I came across Peaches ‘n Cream on Route 30 in Greensburg there [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 14, 2009 – 6:45 pm
Day 11–July 14 (Everett, PA-Bedford, PA 10.3 miles) It should be a simple question: Do you consider yourself to be homeless? But it is a question that I find I cannot easily answer. I have a post office box. I have an apartment in Virginia that is being subleased. I have the means to provide [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 13, 2009 – 6:35 pm
Day 10–July 13 (Breezewood, PA-Everett, PA, 8.2 miles) Route 30 as it heads east from Breezewood is no place to be walking. Large trucks whiz by; the shoulder of the road is miniscule; and in the heat of the sun it is miserable. Slathered in sunscreen and breathing in car exhaust I couldn’t help but [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 10, 2009 – 3:02 am
Day 6–July 9, 2009 (Hagerstown, MD-Mercersburg, PA, 19.6 miles) Today I realized for the first time just how many people my trip has touched, and how much the support, encouragement and well wishes from those I have met along the way have helped propel me forward on my journey. Walking through Hagerstown on my way [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 8, 2009 – 11:32 pm
Day 5–July 8, 2009 (Greenbriar State Park-Hagerstown, 13.6 miles) This morning began cold and miserable in a tent. It ended exhausted but with a renewed energy to push on. Today, I met a man named Fred in Wagners Crossroads just as I was feeling the reality of my trip sinking in and having doubts about [...]
Written by Jennifer Cooper on July 4, 2009 – 9:48 pm
Day 1–July 4, 2009 (Washington, D.C.-Rockville, 12.5 miles) As I began my 3,000 mile journey from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco it was hard not to notice the difference between the haves and the have-nots in this country. I started my walk at the Lincoln Memorial among those who are celebrating the nation’s independence, people [...]