Sneakers and a shower

Yesterday, the crew and I went to get them some sneakers for the walk. The poor guy at Dick's was running in and out of the back room grabbing shoes like crazy. I had that "first day of school" feeling. Everyone was a little excited because we're getting close to leaving. It took a while but the guys all settled on the exact same style of shoe, team unity or something. They went away from the conventional running shoe to some sort of Nike ACG hiking/walking shoe.

Also yesterday I did a phone-in interview with Pete Braley on WBSM. The craziest thing was I had forgot the time of the interview and had jumped in the shower. My phone rang twice before I realized that it was Pete. I quickly grabbed a towel and called back immediately and got on the air. Pete was great and it went well. He said he'll be checking in with me while I'm gone. Next time we talk I'll probably be wishing I was near a shower. Thanks again, Pete.

I'm sitting here, in the Green Bean, thinking how crazy this whole thing is. In 13 1/2 hours it will be 2009, were did 2008 go? Even weirder is that in 8 days I will start walking from the Santa Monica Pier. Man, I hope I'm ready. I feel ready........

6 days till we fly. 8 days till we launch

Punk rock, a boom box and Bob the bus driver

It's funny how seeing some one from your past can make you feel young again. Today I got to have lunch with one of my best friends. That usually wouldn't be big news but I hadn't seen him in over 15 years. It was just one of those things, we finished school and kinda went our separate ways. We managed to locate each other on-line a few weeks back. With the holidays here and our folks still living like 10 blocks from each other, what better time. I won't get to mushy or into too many details, let's just say it made my day sitting there sharing a beer and a bunch of laughs. I can promise that it won't be that long between visits ever again.

10 full days before we fly. 12 before we walk.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

The reason Christmas is so fun is kids. Being there and sharing it with my three year old niece was wonderful. She is so beautiful and so happy all the time. The smile on her face last night when "Santa" came to visit melted my heart.

All she wanted for Christmas was a kitchen sink, an oven and "all the stuff". This morning when she opened Uncle Carl's gift, a big plastic kitchen playset, I thought she was going to explode. Everything else went to the wayside.

I walked to and from Mom and Bob's this morning (8 miles round trip) and I'm heading back there in a few hours with Kelly for dinner. If you know me, you know I'm big into my family and the holidays always give me what I need.

Merry Christmas to all my family and friends. Thank you for all your support now and for the next 5 months.


11 days till we fly. 13 days till we walk

See SPOT walk, see Jesse's SPOT

This is the device that is going to give my family and friends a little piece of mind while I'm gone. It's called SPOT: Satellite Messenger and it tracks my progress and can alert 911 of my location. Basically a "LoJack" for people.

Everything is coming up pink and yellow

Hey, FUN 107 went well today. Thank you, JR and Sharon, I will be talking to you from the road. If you were unable to hear the show this morning, you missed our announcement. The "Walk" has gone pink and yellow. We are now teamed with SUSAN G. KOMEN for the cure , and LIVESTRONG The Lance Armstrong Foundation. We decided we wanted the public to be able to choose the charity they want to give to. This has breathed new life into the event for me, both of these organizations are very aggressive and dedicated to getting people involved. We have already made arrangements to go to the new LIVESTRONG facilities in Austin, TX when I walk through. I'm looking forward to big things in the future.

For all those on Facebook, you can join our new group, Jesse Walks America for updates on the documentary we are filming.

So it's been a busy couple of days, but I guess this is just the beginning. Two weeks from now we will be loading the car and heading to T.F. Green and boarding a plane. Time sure has flown by. Am I ready for this? Stay tuned.......


14 days till we fly. 16 days till we walk

4 B's : BRUINS, the BANNER, and BIRTHDAY BEERS

Went to Boston on Saturday to a Bruins game for Kelly's birthday. It was me, Kelly, Cristina, Eric and Lindsey. Eric had booked a hotel room right by the Garden so we could go to the game and then go out drinking to celebrate. We hung out in the room for a little while, eating pizza from Halftime, before heading to The Greatest bar (no really that's its name). Didn't stay there long because the girls wanted to dance, so we went to Harp's. There was a band that was pretty good and fun was had by all.
It was the first time I had been to the Garden since the Celtics won the championship. Seeing the banner was something I'd been waiting for. In true tradition (even though it was a Bruins not a C's game) upon first entering the arena I looked up to the rafters and sat down and enjoyed nachos. The Bruins won 4-2 so that was a good for my first game.

So now I'm home just hanging out while the weather ruins another day. Some people like the snow, I'm not one of them.

16 days till we fly. 18 days till we walk

Monday, Monday

Just a quick note. Due to scheduling conflicts my interview on FUN 107 has been moved to Monday, December 22nd, at 8:35. I will have a couple announcements to make, so please listen on Monday.

20 days till we fly. 22 days till we walk.

Times ticking.

We got together yesterday morning for some practice filming. We drove out to Horseneck Beach for some scenic walking background. Holy moly it was freezing. The wind was whipping over the open water and the waves were crashing onto the causeway. We were there for about twenty minutes before we started walking inland. In total we filmed for about 2 1/2 hours. We may have a grasp on what we're doing, I guess we will find out soon enough.

No more work. I'll be in full training mode for the next 23 days. Back-to-back 30 mile days, working out, and eating right. That will be the hard one, eating right, I enjoy sweets and things too much. I'm going to do my best.

On to other things happening. On Friday morning, December 19th, I'll be back on the JR & Sharon morning show on FUN 107. With only 3 weeks before I leave it will be good to get the word out again. I may have a few new announcements to make as well.

23 days till we fly. 25 days will we walk.

Practice

Still trying to get used to blogging from my BlackBerry. I thought it would be easier than it is. Or maybe I'm not smart enough. Whatever I'm writng this and hoping it will make the page. I only have 1 and a half hours left of work.
Tomorrow morning the film crew will be getting together again.
25 days till we fly. 27 days till we walk.

It's not easy BEAN GREEN

I walked 22.2 miles today, 11.1 before work and 11.1 after. It's a good thing Kelly works so far away that I can set a destination and have something to look forward to when I get there. I feel good about the whole walk, nothing REALLY hurts. My right knee is bothering me a little, but Dr. Moore should fix that on Friday.

Friday is my last day at the GREEN BEAN. I'd like to give a quick thanks to Jeff for giving me a job when I needed one, even knowing I was leaving. If you live in the New Bedford area and haven't gone to "the Bean", go, it's good. And definitely check out the new pizza spot, three doors down on Union St., BRICK (also owned by Jeff). It is amazing. Also a thanks to Nicole, Eric, and the rest of the "BEAN" staff (Melissa, Morgan, Alex, Emily and Karen where ever you are) for all your support.

27 days till we leave. 29 days till we walk.

Practice?! Practice?! We're talking about practice?! Not the walk. Not the REAL walk. Practice?!

On Saturday, December 6th, the documentary team had a "practice" run. We met up in Dartmouth with the intentions of me walking to Horseneck Beach with the guys following. I started down route 6 and the car, with cameras hanging out the windows, passed not too long after. Each of them took turns walking along with me, figuring out shots and practicing angles. I lasted about 10 of the 15 miles before I started to get hungry. Of course I forgot to bring any kind of food, but that's why we practice right? All in all it was a good day. I can not wait to be out in the desert, filming with these guys. We are going to have a blast and make a great "doc" in the process.

A quick background on the plans for filming. Carl, Eric, and Steve will be with me from Hollywood to Phoenix (roughly). That's 450 miles or two weeks walking. Than it is lonely time from there to North Carolina. During which I will be doing all the filming myself. The team will get back together in N.C. and they'll be making trips back and fourth up the east coast. Hopefully they'll be with me in Philly, New York City, D.C., and maybe a couple other spots. We've put together a good game plan and the team seems to work well(for now lol) We'll all see how it works out together so stay tuned.

30 DAYS TILL LAUNCH

the joke behind the Blog title

BlackBerry BlogBerry

What's up everyone this is just a test to see if I can do this from my new BlackBerry. Hope it works.

40 days 40 nights...something like that

It's been a week since the last blog, but two weeks since I've been able to workout. Yeah, two weeks. For those of you who don't know, I fell on my ass in NH screwing around (while ruling the "pong table" 15-1 with my friend Eric C.) and bruised my hip. The bruising spread down my leg to my knee over the two weeks making bending it painful. My friends, Dr. Moore and Dr. McNally over at Westport Chiropractic have been doing everything they can to get me back to full training. Thanks to them, I'll be back at it this coming week. They are miracle workers, when I get back in one piece it will be because of they're efforts.
A quick note about the workout that Dr. McNally has put together for me. OH MY GOD!!!! If this doesn't get me in shape it WILL kill me. Seriously, thank you Ellen.
As I write this it's under 40 days till I head to LA to start this adventure. The walk is going to be intense and to add to it we're shooting the whole thing for a full-length documentary. I say "we" because joining me for the first leg of the trip to do some of the filming are Carl(my brother), Eric and Steve. They will be with me from Hollywood to almost Phoenix, roughly 450 miles. These guys seem up to the task and it will definitely be fun. There will be more on the "doc" soon.
I'll keep you up to speed more often with such little time before I leave. Until then .....word to Preston's mother!

Way to go Nick

I'd like to send my congratulations to my friend Nick Moffatt for finishing his trek across America. Nick completed his journey on Nov. 18th. He walked 3,100 miles in 152 days, from New York to LA. I had been following Nick's blog since he first started. He was supposed to finish in January as our trip begun. I was hoping to cross paths, but he finished 1 1/2 months early. Great job Nick, hope to catch up with you in Atlanta.

live and memorex

This week was a pretty busy media week. Monday morning I was on FUN 107 with JR and Sharon. In true walk the country fashion, I walked to the studio from my house. I met Carl and Eric in the parking lot, they came to film the whole thing. Once we got in the studio Jr and Sharon were gracious hosts. The interview went well and we should have the audio up soon. Thank you both and I will be calling you from the road.
On Wednesday I met with Walt Buteau of WPRI Channel 12. The interview happened while walking down Purchase street for a segment called Street Stories which aired on Friday night at 6:15. Walt and John (the cameraman) made me feel very comfortable the whole time. The piece was terrific. I can't thank them enough for all their help. And I'll see you guys when we take off from T.F. Green on the 6th.
One day I may get this interview thing figured out, till then, "Um,Ahh,Um" what you see is what you get (I need to learn some new pause words). I hope you all enjoyed them and thanks for the support.

Over-looking the mountains

Just a quick note. I'm currently in New Hampshire looking out the window at Mount Monadnock with my girlfriend Kelly and a bunch of friends. There are 12 of us renting a house up here just hanging out, taking turns in the 6 person hot tub. Life's tough.
The view would be amazing but the fog and rain keep getting in the way. The house is pretty huge, like 7 bedrooms, 4 baths or something like that. Anyway, just a weekend getaway.
I'll be back in the city Monday for another appointment with Dr. Moore. I will be walking to and from the office so 20+ miles. Gotta stretch it out sometime right?!

Love and Support

There is nothing better than having a room full of people you love supporting your adventures. That is what happened on Sunday Nov. 9th at the Pasta House in Fairhaven. I had most of my family (related and extended) and friends on hand to help raise money for the JIMMY FUND/DANA FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE.
The food was delicious, thank you Mario and staff for your hospitality. Dan Smith ,a long time friend of the family, provided the music and as always he was great. Thanks again Dan.
Here is a list of people and businesses that donated stuff for our silent auction: Carabiner's Indoor Climbing , Morgan Beryl, Cynthia Naples, Kathy Crawford, The Black Whale , Converse Photo , Village Bicycle , Ingrid Nadeau, Leonard Cutters, The Wharf Tavern , Gum Bo, Persy's Place, Antonio's, Cobblestone Restaurant , Waterfront Grille , Ice Chest Bar & Grill, and the Pasta House . Thank you to everyone for your generous contributions, because of you it was a tremendous success.
I can't say thank you enough to everyone who came out to support me. I also have to give a special thanks to my family for getting all this stuff together and putting up with me. Love you all.

BUNCH OF BRUNCH

62 days from tomorrow I'll be getting on a plane to LA. But in 4 days, Sunday the 9th I will be gathering with friends and families for brunch. We are having a fund-raiser brunch at The Pasta House in Fairhaven at 11 a.m. . There will be eggs, toast, all the fixings and fun. We will be holding a silent auction with gift certificates from generous local businesses and hand-crafted goods to bid on. If you don't have ticket yet, they are $20 each, you can e-mail me at jesseandbrucewalkamerica@gmail.com or just show up and pay at the door. We should have a lot of fun and good food.

Good news, bad news (well changing news)

Ever have someone say to you, "I've got good news and bad news. Which do you want to hear first?" I always took the bad first so at least there is something to look forward to.

The bad news(the changing news) is Bruce is no longer accompanying me on this walk. He has family obligations that he must attend too. Although this drastically changes the landscape of the event it will still happen. I will go on with the walk as planned. I also 100% support Bruce in this decision. We've spoken and he knows where I stand and I understand where he's coming from. Bruce, you have my support and hurry home your wife and daughter miss you.

Good news. We received our SWITCHBACK HYBRID from BABY JOGGER yesterday. It is everything I expected it to be. Having the SWITCHBACK HYBRID is going to make this adventure easier on me. It will enable me to cover more ground everyday because I won't be carrying the weight on my back. Thanks again BABY JOGGER .

More good news. We have another sponsor, LIPPI SELK BAG . A sleeping bag with arms and legs, what else do you use on a walk across the country. The bags should be in early next week. Thanks guys these will be amazing and I can't wait.

And yet more good news. On Wednesday night I was invited to speak at a wellness clinic by Jim at Village Bicycle. It was incredible, all the speakers and attendees were great. Jim is the reason we have the SWITCHBACK HYBRID , he hooked me up with the connection. Also at the clinic I met Dr. Camilla Moore and Dr. Ellen A. McNally from Westport Chiropractic . These two and I are about to embark on a wild adventure: GETTING ME IN SHAPE FOR THE WALK. Boy, I don't know who has their work cut out for them. haha We'll see what these ladies can do and I'll keep you informed.

Everyone keeps asking for pictures and I promise they are on the way. Thanks for all your patience.

Funeral Info for Brenda and Denver Cail

Services will be Wednesday afternoon Brenda and Denver Cail at West Cobb Funeral Home, 2480 Macland Rd. in Marietta, Ga. We know that everyone can't go in person put you can pay your respects to the family by clicking and signing the guest books of Brenda Cail and Denver Cail.
Thank you for all your good thoughts and support.

Sad news for the family

Friday morning my sister, Kristin(Bruce's wife), called to tell me some tragic news. Bruce's sister-in-law, Brenda, and her two young boys were in a car accident in Georgia. Sadly Brenda was pronounced dead at the scene and the boys were airlifted to Atlanta. Bruce and his sister, Karen who lives in New Hampshire, headed down to be with there brother Scott that afternoon. Denver, the older of the two, ...older that's strange to say when he is only 9 or 10, was in critical condition when they left Rhode Island.
Fast forward to today. The younger boy, Nicholas, was released from the hospital to his dad. As for Denver, he unfortunately passed away this morning due to injuries he suffered in the accident.
I write this with a heavy and helpless heart. When something like this happens it always puts things into perspective. You start thinking how short our time here is and how important family is. If you read this please give a thought for Scott, Nicholas, Bruce and the entire Cail family in this time of sadness.
Kristin adds when she has any news, info on services, cards, donations or whatever it is Bruce's brother wants to do, we'll let people know. She also realizes some of you will want to call Bruce, but she is asking you to wait. He and his sister are still on the road and they just want to get to Georgia.
Again, thanks for all good thoughts.

First Time

I did the first interview about the walk on Tuesday. Raleigh Dugal from SouthCoast 24/7 met up with me and the team at the GREEN BEAN. Let me first explain the "team" statement. I had a whole entourage with me for this interview. My partners on the documentary side of the walk, Carl(my brother) and Eric were there to film the whole thing. We'll have that up as soon as we edit it. Eric's friend, Steve, was there to lend a hand as well. Then we had Nicole and Melissa there to take pictures for the blog and such. I role deep. HAHA
I've known Raleigh for a couple years so I felt very comfortable talking to him. The questions were good, I hope the answers were as well. I don't want to give anything away so I'm going to stop now. The interview (both written and video) will be on SouthCoast 24/7 soon. And we'll have the video here on the blog.
Thanks to Raleigh, Jay (southcoast photographer), Steve, and the "TEAM".

Walking on Sunshine

Woke up. Went for a run. Had some eggs. Reflected on the events of yesterday.
Tuesday, October 21st turned out to be a great day. Just 78 short days from flying out to LA, I did the same thing I do everyday, planned to take over the world (sorry a "Pinky and the Brain" flashback). No really the day was seeming normal until I got to work. For those who don't know, I work in downtown New Bedford at the GREEN BEAN, it's a coffee house/juice/smoothie place. Anyway, Eric and I are exchanging our version of witty banter and then my phone rings.

caller: hi is Jesse there?
me: this is Jesse
caller: Hi Jesse. This is Meredith with Baby Jogger . How are you today?
me: Oh hello Meredith. I'm fine and you?
Meredith: I was just calling to let you know that the company Baby Jogger would love to sponsor your event. And I just need to confirm and address to send your SWITCHBACK HYBRID trailer/jogger to.
me: Are you kidding? That's incredible. Thank you. (proceed to give address)
Meredith: If you have any questions feel free to call. Good luck. Talk to you soon.
me: Ok. And thank you again

That may not be exactly how it went but it's really close. Long story short, we have our first sponsor, Baby Jogger . welcome aboard and thank you.

Life throws curve balls.

We are 83 days away from landing in Los Angeles and 85 days from starting the walk. The team has been hard at work putting together fund-raisers and such. I have been hitting the gym everyday and running like a mad man. This week my dad and I will be setting the route, at least the first month. Once we figure it out I hope to post it on here to give you all an idea of where we'll be.
Finding product sponsors has turned out to be more difficult then I had hoped it to be. In fact as of today we do not have one sponsor lined up. With the current state of the economy I probably should have seen this coming. Any way, if anyone reads this and can help us out, drop me a line at jesseandbrucewalkamerica@gmail.com . We still need sneakers, a jogger(to carry everything), and well anything you may be willing to give.
This walk has changed me already and I haven't taken the first step. I've realized a lot about myself and others over the last 4 months. The next 80+ days should prove interesting so stay tuned. I will have pictures posted soon so you all can put a face on the guys walking, I promise.

THANK YOU EVERYONE !

Just a quick thank you to everyone who came to the GARAGE benefit. Thanks to all the performers, M.R., Carl Simmons and Jeff and Benares. Thanks to the Cox family for allowing use to use their place. Also Eric and Paul for filming the whole evening. And of course all of you who danced, sang along, and gave generously. We should have video of the event up soon. Again, THANK YOU.

OUR FIRST BENEFIT SHOW

EVERYONE COME OUT THIS FRIDAY, OCT. 3RD, TO THE GARAGE ,@ 79 WATER ST., NEW BEDFORD, MA FOR A GREAT BENEFIT SHOW. JEFF AND BENARES , M.R. , AND CARL SIMMONS WILL BE PLAYING TO HELP JESSE AND BRUCE WALK AMERICA REACH OUR FUND-RAISING GOAL. THE SHOW STARTS AROUND 8 O'CLOCK. SO COME ON DOWN, HEAR SOME GOOD MUSIC, HELP US OUT, AND MEET THE TWO GUYS DOING THIS CRAZY THING. IT SHOULD BE A LOT OF FUN AND OF COURSE IT'S FOR A GOOD CAUSE. HOPE TO SEE YOU ALL THERE.

I'm sitting here at Mirasol's in Dartmouth, like every morning, reading and sending emails. Reaching out to potential sponsors, thanking people for donations, thinking of new ways to raise money. That seems to consume most of my day now. The process of this crazy idea was something I honestly wasn't expecting. We have just over three months before we leave and it is going to be a busy three months.

Bruce and I have started some sort of training. Our schedules don't always match so he does his thing and I do mine, but we are both doing something. Funny thing is we both train at the same gym, Carabiner's (thanks Steve and staff), and have yet to be there at the same time.


Hopefully the next post will have a list of sponsors and something may have actually happened. Until then.....

Two weeks already

Sorry it's been so long, I can't believe two weeks have passed already. Time flies when you're having fun.

Well the team has been working like crazy putting things together. We all have lists of things we try to accomplish in between our weekly "meetings". My list includes contacting potential product sponsors to help us get from there to here. This week we had two companies show interest in supporting us. Once things are worked out we'll be making an official announcement.

We have a couple upcoming fund-raisers to tell you about.
October 3 : my brother Carl, M.R. , and Jeff and Benares will be playing at The Garage in downtown New Bedford. Since all the musicians graciously donated their time, all the proceeds go directly to the Jimmy Fund.

November 9 : Pasta House, Fairhaven, MA. Join us at 11 a.m. for brunch. Tickets are $20 and will be available soon. We will have a silent auction, music, and a lot of fun. If you're interested send us an email , jesseandbrucewalllkamerica@gmail.com .

So it begins.....

Well here we are, this is where the fun begins. In four short months, Bruce & I will be flying to Los Angeles to start the 3,800 mile walk back to Boston.

I'm not sure if training actually started today or not. I walked about 5 miles and rode about 12 but thats been happening for awhile now(the walking part anyway). We are anticipating a gym sponsorship from a local gym so we can start a real workout regiment. We'll also start eating better, which means no more chocolate goodness from the Green Bean for me. Thankfully, Karen and Nicole will keep me in line.

We had our first fund-raiser over the weekend at Outdoor World in Rochester. My mom organized a 50/50 raffle that brought in $128 for the Jimmy Fund. Way to go Mom! With the support team we have behind us there is no doubt in my mind we'll reach our goal. Speaking of the goal, donations can start being sent to the address on the page. Be sure to make the checks payable as described so it will be applied to our account, please.

Well, I've gone on long enough. Keep checking back to read about our progress, new sponsors, and so on.
Thanks for your support.

Welcome Everyone

Welcome everyone. In January 2009, Bruce and I will be flying to Los Angeles and walking back across the country to Boston. We are doing this to raise money for the Jimmy Fund/Dana Farber Cancer Institute. This travel blog will keep you informed of all of our sponsors and supporters. As well as letting you follow our footsteps daily on this incredible journey. We will be officially kicking off the blog on September 1st when we start training. Details on how you can help with "gifts" to the Jimmy Fund are also on the way. Thank you in advance.
Jesse and Bruce