One day last week we were walking and had just reached the end point for the day, When Officer Friendly paid us a visit.

We had just reached a 2 mile stretch of highway 68 south of Salinas that was to be the endpoint, and I was parked off the side of the Reservation Road exit in the van, when Officer Agredano of the California Highway Patrol pulls up behind us and instructs the walkers via bullhorn, "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN YOU ARE WALKING ON A FREEWAY. YOU MUST EXIT THE FREEWAY IMMEDIATELY." As there was really nowhere to go, some of the walkers made a mad dash for the van. When this starts to happen, he pulls up behind the van and again gets on the bullhorn and instructs me that, "YOU HAVE 30 SECONDS TO MOVE YOUR VEHICLE OFF THE FREEWAY." So, with me yelling and with walkers literally hanging out of the side door, I tear off down the ramp and pull off to the side of Reservation Road, and wait for the rest of the walkers to catch up.

 

When everybody catches up, Agredano pulls around behind me and comes up and goes through the whole license and registration routine. He calls it in and then proceeds to write me a ticket. I was dumbfounded. I was off the freeway on an exit ramp and I had 16 walkers that I couldn't just hide from. There was no signs that said "No Stopping, No Standing, No Walking." I tried to argue this to the cop, but he was having none of it. I got the ticket.

By then another CHiPs guy had pulled up and was standing there eyeing us nervously. Even if I end up having to pay the ticket, at least I can say it took Ponch AND John to take me down.

The next day we found a shortcut around the 2 mile stretch of freeway and the walk resumed.

This is what most of the walkers have to look forward to after a long day of walking.

Walk signs as pop art.

This is the one hundred mile cake. We walk a hundred miles and all we get is a piece of cake.

One of the bigger challenges of the walk is getting a cel phone to work in the middle of nowhere. I don't think Julie ever got through.

 

First set.

second set