Well, where to start? Huh! If you are reading this blog for the first time, I would love it if you would friend me on Facebook. Ronald Lee Relyea-Landry is where you will find me.
"God grant me the Serenity to accept the things that I cannot change, The Courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the Difference"...... For me, in this time in my life, this Serenity Prayer is so profound.
I may have not made all of right choices in my life but hopefully I have learned from them. Most decisions I believe are made up of one of two emotions driving them, One is Love and One is Fear and up until now a lot of my decisions have been based upon avoiding fear. Fear of rejection, fear of abandonment, fear of what someone else will think about me, etc. This I have determined, is no way to live a happy life. I have to do my thing and let everyone else do theirs, without judgement.
This post may not be what you are expecting, but I want to share with you what has been happening in my life since I left Austin in early October to start my adventure.
On October 10th, I left Austin, Texas after spending just over a year getting to know my Big Brother and his beautiful wife after nearly 30 years apart. What an amazing time it was in Austin filling a lot of gaps in my life. They opened their home, their hearts and I am forever grateful. Words can not describe how healing it was for me.
While in Austin, working at one of most sacred places on the planet,, Casa De Luz Center for Intregal Studies was the funnest and most rewarding jobs I have ever had. This place is magical. Helping people heal themselves with healthy, clean and balanced food and education of lifestyle.
On October 10th, I took a flight to San Jose, California where I spent eleven days with my father for the first time after nearly thirty five years apart. On October 21st I headed to San Fransisco and started at Fishermans Wharf and I walked 120 miles along the pacific coast highway and arrived in Santa Cruz on the 30th of October. I then took a bus from Santa Cruz to San Jose to spend more time with my father. I stayed with him until the 16th of November. I then took a bus again to Santa Cruz to continue my walk , I walked from one of the last standing and operational boardwalks in the world and again walked intending to arrive in San Diego sometime in February. I walked from Santa Cruz Boardwalk and I arrived in Castroville 3 days later ( The Artichoke Capital of the World)
For two nights on my walk I experienced my first freezing rain storm. I froze to the bone and learned quickly that I do not have the right equipment.
My hair is growing really long really fast and I am letting it go wild for a while. I have lost about thirty pounds and I feel invigorated. Tired and perhaps a bit overloaded with emotions, but in good spirits.
After arriving in Castroville, having decided not to walk any further until I get new equipment, I took a bus to Salinas, CA. The people at the Victory Mission were incredibly hospitable and offered me a warm place to stay and diiner to boot for two days before I decided to head back to San Jose.
My Dad lives at a place called Hilltop Manor and they have rules that allow me to stay a maximum of 14 days per year and since I reached my max( (thank you Faye) I have stayed at this place called City Team Ministries for the past several days. Great, kind people.
Spending a total of about thirty days with my Father after no communication for over thirty five years has been an amazing eye & heart opening experience. He was straightfoward and we spoke frankly and openly.. Even the hardest questions that I have yearned to ask only him all these years.
We indeed have similar personalities. I am no longer confused as to where I get some of my inherent trates.
That said, I have new zeal, a new lease on life, thank you Dad for opening your heart, sharing your stories and welcoming me back into your life after all these years. It has been life altering to be able to reconnect with you over the past couple of months. I hope we continue to learn from one another.
I have decided to regroup and decompress from all the emotions of the past several weeks. A good friend has offered me a place to rest and get centered. And figure out what is the next step. The beauty of this adventure is that I am charting it out as I go and I have the freedom to choose whichever course that moves me.
Total walking distance so far on this journey has been 160 miles,,,,The people that I have met along the way, the love and compassion is so real,,,,, to be continued...... I feel accomplished, successful, happy, and free. And I love my life.
I love you all so much for your encouragement and support. I will post again soon..........
Ron
Monday, November 28, 2011
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Resting and Repacking until next week!!!!
Hi Everyone,
I am still in San Jose, CA spending time resting and getting to know my father. It has been an interesting time getting to know him, after so many years apart.
I am practicing on my videographing skills with my new camera and I plan to put a video on here in the next few days of my trip thus far and all of the people that I have met.
Just wanted to give everyone an update and let you know that I plan to start my walk from Santa Cruz to San Diego (540 miles) in the latter part of next week.
Thank you again for following my journey and I will post again when I am sitting on the beach in Santa Cruz.
Love,
Ron
I am still in San Jose, CA spending time resting and getting to know my father. It has been an interesting time getting to know him, after so many years apart.
I am practicing on my videographing skills with my new camera and I plan to put a video on here in the next few days of my trip thus far and all of the people that I have met.
Just wanted to give everyone an update and let you know that I plan to start my walk from Santa Cruz to San Diego (540 miles) in the latter part of next week.
Thank you again for following my journey and I will post again when I am sitting on the beach in Santa Cruz.
Love,
Ron
Monday, October 31, 2011
Fishermans Wharf to Santa Cruz Walk a Success!!!!
I arrived in Santa Cruz on Saturday October 28th at around 830pm.
The experience so far has been incredible. The people that I have met, the compassion and love has been overwhelming. I have hugged so many people. Very kind people all along the coast pulled their cars over to ask if I needed a ride into the next town and I lovingly told them no and explained to them what I was doing. On almost every encounter they got out of their cars and gave me a hug. I am loving every minute of this.
I am working on a video to show my adventure so far. I will put this on my blog soon.
Total distance so far is 120 miles. The terrain has been challenging. My knee has healed. I take 2 aspirin in the morning and then I am set for the day. I am reorganizing and resting and staying with my dad for this next week in San Jose, CA. On Monday next week I will take a bus to Santa Cruz, CA and walk to San Diego, CA.
Ron
The experience so far has been incredible. The people that I have met, the compassion and love has been overwhelming. I have hugged so many people. Very kind people all along the coast pulled their cars over to ask if I needed a ride into the next town and I lovingly told them no and explained to them what I was doing. On almost every encounter they got out of their cars and gave me a hug. I am loving every minute of this.
I am working on a video to show my adventure so far. I will put this on my blog soon.
Total distance so far is 120 miles. The terrain has been challenging. My knee has healed. I take 2 aspirin in the morning and then I am set for the day. I am reorganizing and resting and staying with my dad for this next week in San Jose, CA. On Monday next week I will take a bus to Santa Cruz, CA and walk to San Diego, CA.
Ron
Monday, October 24, 2011
Practice walk going well! Resting!
I left Fishermans Wharf in San Fransisco, CA on October 20th. I walked to Pacifica, I slept on the front porch of a Baptist church. I arrived to town to late to look for something else and I was pretty tired. This post is a summation of the past 5 days on my warm up walk. I am keeping a daily journal and when I arrive in Santa Cruz, CA to start my official walk I will post each day seperately.
Still only on every other Sunday but I will input each day in my journal.
In San Fransisco I purchased a really nice video camera and while I was at the store I told the owner what I am doing and after spending almost four hours in wonderful converstion, he gifted me a tripod. Unbelievable amount of gratitde I have.
In Pacifica, after waking from a great nights sleep, I walked over to the local coffee shop and met the owner Bob. He and several other customers were so gracious and offered me coffee and a bagel for the road. One young lady, I don't think I ever got her name, bought me a pack of my favorites cigars. Thank you.
I left Pacifica at around 10:30am on October 21st and walked to Linda Mar Beach where I decided to rest for a while, I took off my clothes and bathed in the sun. I accidentally fell asleep and you can probably imagine how sunburned I was.
I left Linda Mar Beach in the evening around 6pm that day. I walked to a spot on highway 1 that is named Devil's Slide. I walked until I got to a point on the Highway that the shoulder litterally drops off and there is no place for people to walk. This guy Kevin was kind enough to give me a ride to El Grenada just on the opposite side of Devil's Slide. It was late in the evening but I was full of energy so I decided to keep walking until I hit Half Moon Bay, CA. I have camped here at Frasier State Beach for past couple of nights. The love and kindness of so many strangers has been overwhelming.
When I arrived at the campsite I met my neighbors Kevin, Kim, and Dawn. We stayed up quite late talking about life. Kevin was a wealth of knowledge about social media, videographing, etc. I think it was because I got dehydrated but I finished off a bottle of Jim Beam Wiskey that night that I had purchased to nurse my ingrown toenail. These kind folks invited me to set up my camp right next to the fire and I slept right through a family of racoons hijacking our breakfast food which was only a couple of steps from me.
So far I have walked a distance of 55 miles and physically I feel fantastic Except my ligament right under my Kneecap burns intensely as I walk so I have decided to stay here for a few days to let this heal.Last night I met Doug and Chris that were riding there bikes from San Fransisco to Santa Cruz.
I just this morning met these bycyclists Brad and Stepanieand have been on the road for the past 2 months camping out traveling around California. I plan to invite them over to join me this evening at the fire I have.
I am stuck at a campsite on the beach in California and the weather is 75 degrees and blue skies. I am not complaing in any fashion. At night it gets pretty cold and wet so I went yesterday to town and bought a tent and a sleeping bag..
Santa Cruz, CA total walking distance from Fisherman's Wharf is 105 miles. It is quite mountainous and the terrain is challenging. When I get to Santa Cruz, I will update my blog again.
Thank you everyone for following my journey and I know that when I am walking alone that you are in one of my many pockets.
Love,
Ron
Still only on every other Sunday but I will input each day in my journal.
In San Fransisco I purchased a really nice video camera and while I was at the store I told the owner what I am doing and after spending almost four hours in wonderful converstion, he gifted me a tripod. Unbelievable amount of gratitde I have.
In Pacifica, after waking from a great nights sleep, I walked over to the local coffee shop and met the owner Bob. He and several other customers were so gracious and offered me coffee and a bagel for the road. One young lady, I don't think I ever got her name, bought me a pack of my favorites cigars. Thank you.
I left Pacifica at around 10:30am on October 21st and walked to Linda Mar Beach where I decided to rest for a while, I took off my clothes and bathed in the sun. I accidentally fell asleep and you can probably imagine how sunburned I was.
I left Linda Mar Beach in the evening around 6pm that day. I walked to a spot on highway 1 that is named Devil's Slide. I walked until I got to a point on the Highway that the shoulder litterally drops off and there is no place for people to walk. This guy Kevin was kind enough to give me a ride to El Grenada just on the opposite side of Devil's Slide. It was late in the evening but I was full of energy so I decided to keep walking until I hit Half Moon Bay, CA. I have camped here at Frasier State Beach for past couple of nights. The love and kindness of so many strangers has been overwhelming.
When I arrived at the campsite I met my neighbors Kevin, Kim, and Dawn. We stayed up quite late talking about life. Kevin was a wealth of knowledge about social media, videographing, etc. I think it was because I got dehydrated but I finished off a bottle of Jim Beam Wiskey that night that I had purchased to nurse my ingrown toenail. These kind folks invited me to set up my camp right next to the fire and I slept right through a family of racoons hijacking our breakfast food which was only a couple of steps from me.
So far I have walked a distance of 55 miles and physically I feel fantastic Except my ligament right under my Kneecap burns intensely as I walk so I have decided to stay here for a few days to let this heal.Last night I met Doug and Chris that were riding there bikes from San Fransisco to Santa Cruz.
I just this morning met these bycyclists Brad and Stepanieand have been on the road for the past 2 months camping out traveling around California. I plan to invite them over to join me this evening at the fire I have.
I am stuck at a campsite on the beach in California and the weather is 75 degrees and blue skies. I am not complaing in any fashion. At night it gets pretty cold and wet so I went yesterday to town and bought a tent and a sleeping bag..
Santa Cruz, CA total walking distance from Fisherman's Wharf is 105 miles. It is quite mountainous and the terrain is challenging. When I get to Santa Cruz, I will update my blog again.
Thank you everyone for following my journey and I know that when I am walking alone that you are in one of my many pockets.
Love,
Ron
Thursday, August 18, 2011
My First Blog Entry 9.7.11
Hello there,
Thank you for reading my first post on my new blog. I am really excited to share with you why I have decided to fulfill a lifelong dream and walk the entire perimeter of the United States, about 9500 miles, walking through every town along the Canadian and Mexican borders, along the entire Pacific and Atlantic coastlines including the Gulf of Mexico, and hugging as many people as possible.
I asked myself several years ago, how can I, one person, help my fellow human family? How can I raise the vibration of the planet on a grand scale? How can I make a difference?
I feel that as a society we are so isolated from one another and from human touch. A loving embrace could be life altering for so many and on so many levels. This is my way to reach out, to serve. I believe that we are all searching for the same things universally. These are love, validation, human connection and security. I decided to walk these border towns because I feel that people in these towns are in great need for love. A lot of negative energy through our media has caused this fear based environment. If I help others raise their vibration to states of love, compassion, joy, & bliss this in turn, I believe, will help the world.
"If you want to heal the world, you must heal yourself, and the world will change" I have been on a healing journey for the past several years. I am 42 years old and I am in really good shape. I have lost a lot of weight in the past few years and I have had this inner voice telling me that if my dream is walk around the country then I should do it now. To stop waiting to live out my dreams for some future illusionary date. Click here to listen to one of my favorite songs ever.
In 2005, I created a vision for a healing community center and restaurant and I named it Breath Of Life Oasis. I spent two years promoting this concept. I know that one day, when the time is right, and all of the right people are in place, I will accomplish my dream of opening this healing retreat center and living community.
I want to keep your interest as though you are walking beside me. I hope that you see what I see and feel what I feel. I hope to inspire people to start walking for pleasure and for exercise.
If my journey does indeed inspire you and you would like to join me,,, Please do,, anywhere I am in the country you are more than welcome to walk with me.
I am leaving Austin, on October 10th to visit my biological father whom I have not seen in over thirty years. I will continue to post pictures and videos along my walk of all of the loving and inspiring people and situations that I encounter. I am excited about entering this place of uncertainty. I encourage you to correspond with me through email or leave comments here on my blog.
Click Here to Listen and Enjoy another awesome tune.
More to come....
PLEASE Leave comments here on my blog on everything that you can think of to help me improve my communication skills. If my blog is aesthetically pleasing, etc. So I can continue to learn more on how to effectively write and communicate with you.
Love
Ron
Thank you for reading my first post on my new blog. I am really excited to share with you why I have decided to fulfill a lifelong dream and walk the entire perimeter of the United States, about 9500 miles, walking through every town along the Canadian and Mexican borders, along the entire Pacific and Atlantic coastlines including the Gulf of Mexico, and hugging as many people as possible.
I asked myself several years ago, how can I, one person, help my fellow human family? How can I raise the vibration of the planet on a grand scale? How can I make a difference?
I feel that as a society we are so isolated from one another and from human touch. A loving embrace could be life altering for so many and on so many levels. This is my way to reach out, to serve. I believe that we are all searching for the same things universally. These are love, validation, human connection and security. I decided to walk these border towns because I feel that people in these towns are in great need for love. A lot of negative energy through our media has caused this fear based environment. If I help others raise their vibration to states of love, compassion, joy, & bliss this in turn, I believe, will help the world.
"If you want to heal the world, you must heal yourself, and the world will change" I have been on a healing journey for the past several years. I am 42 years old and I am in really good shape. I have lost a lot of weight in the past few years and I have had this inner voice telling me that if my dream is walk around the country then I should do it now. To stop waiting to live out my dreams for some future illusionary date. Click here to listen to one of my favorite songs ever.
In 2005, I created a vision for a healing community center and restaurant and I named it Breath Of Life Oasis. I spent two years promoting this concept. I know that one day, when the time is right, and all of the right people are in place, I will accomplish my dream of opening this healing retreat center and living community.
I want to keep your interest as though you are walking beside me. I hope that you see what I see and feel what I feel. I hope to inspire people to start walking for pleasure and for exercise.
If my journey does indeed inspire you and you would like to join me,,, Please do,, anywhere I am in the country you are more than welcome to walk with me.
I am leaving Austin, on October 10th to visit my biological father whom I have not seen in over thirty years. I will continue to post pictures and videos along my walk of all of the loving and inspiring people and situations that I encounter. I am excited about entering this place of uncertainty. I encourage you to correspond with me through email or leave comments here on my blog.
Click Here to Listen and Enjoy another awesome tune.
More to come....
PLEASE Leave comments here on my blog on everything that you can think of to help me improve my communication skills. If my blog is aesthetically pleasing, etc. So I can continue to learn more on how to effectively write and communicate with you.
Love
Ron
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)