365 Inspirations—125: Friends Walking Across America

Walking with George in Shoreline, WA 2010

“There comes . . . a longing never to travel again except on foot.”—Wendell Berry 


In 2010, while writing 365 Lessons on my blog, I wrote a post (Lesson 275, Walk with Inspiring People) about my friend George who is walking across America. Almost four years later and my friend is STILL walking! He made it to Virginia and I believe his final destination is Washington D.C., so he's almost there! He started in Washington State! While walking, he's met so many people and his journey is so inspiring. Recently I heard that he met a young man on his journey named Andrew Forsthoefel who was also walking across America. They met in Louisianna. I just listened to Andrew's radio segment on NPR: This American Life about his journey. It was very inspiring. Here is the link: http://transom.org/?p=33988. Andrew also blogs here: http://walkingtolisten.com/
And now for the post I wrote about my inspiring friend George who is still walking...go George! Here it is:

My friend George is one of the most inspiring people I know. He set out on a walk of inspiration across America in honor of his mother who died of cancer. He's walked through storms on the highway and cliffs near Big Sur, California and through the desert to El Paso. He's slept on the side of the road near power lines, couch surfed on couchsurfing.org in order to find a place to sleep, talked to school children about the importance of walking, and touched so many people on his walk of inspiration.

Here's what his website, enjoythewalk.org says:

"On September 20th, 2009, I, George Throop, began a nine-month pilgrimage of inspiration. I'll walk thousands of miles across America, from Washington State to Washington, D.C. Taking countless steps across America, I hope to inspire you to take positive steps towards personal growth in your own lives..."

He estimates his walk will take longer because he is currently taking a break and will return to El Paso, where he left off, sometime in December. We caught up with him in Washington State and had a chance to take a walk with him. Here's are some pictures of our inspiring afternoon:

We took a walk from the Indian Restaurant where we dined to Yoon's Yoga Bliss, where my husband teaches yoga.

I felt so lucky to have had the chance to walk and talk to George today. He's living his dream and hoping to inspire others on his journey. He hopes that others will catch his spark and be encouraged to ignite their own dreams. He has met people of all walks of life and is impressed by the generosity of strangers. People have offered him meals, a place to stay and friendly conversation. He has even had strangers join him on his walk. If you happen to meet George on his walk or catch up with him somehow, you are lucky! His inspiration is contagious!

Do you like to walk? Do you think you could walk across America?