Walking Tennessee // Week 16 // Skydiving for free and my great-grandfather is in a museum

Day 106 // Montgomery Belle State Park to Waverly // 25 miles // miles in total 726                                     

Day 107 // Skydived from 14,500 feet o miles                                                                                                   

Day 108 // Waverly to Camden // 21 miles // miles in total 747                                                                         

Day 109 // Hung out at Nathan Bedford State Forest o miles                                                                           

Day 110 // Camden to Huntingdon // 15 miles // miles in total 762                                                                   

Day 111 // Huntingdon to Medina // 27 miles // miles in total 789                                                                     

Day 112 // Medina to Jackson // 12 miles // miles in total 801

Jessica:  Hey.  [Sighs] So.  In Tennessee, I’m in Camden, Tennessee, right now.  Um, I’m about a day or two away from going to Jackson, which I have an uncle that lives there, and then I’m going to Memphis.            Um, right now I’m at the halfway point between Nashville and Memphis.  So, you know, I made the decision to walk across Tennessee.

01:06:30.17And, um, just pick up from there.  Home, home state. Today, I’m gonna go to this museu-, uh, a folk museum, and my grandfa-, my great-grandfather, [Clyde Western], he’s got some baskets on display there, ‘cause he was a weaver. So I get to see that.  Little piece of history there. 

Uh, I’ve been on the road for three and a half months.  And the whole stay in Nashville, was, you know, it was good.  It was great.  It was weird, um, because I’m in the middle of something, and I was just there with this new baby.  Um, and, and it was like just dealing with a lot of different emotions, you know.              They were nesting, and I’m doing the opposite of nesting.  Um.  But it felt nice to be in, you know, home. Wherever home is. And I’ve been dealing with a lot of different emotions, but, you know, I went to Waverly, which I thought was gonna be, like, the shittiest town ever, and it turned out to be awesome.  I went skydiving.  What?  I know.  So I jumped out of a plane.  That was great. You know.  I...I stayed with a friend’s dad who gave me some moonshine.  [Gets up and returns with bottle].  I think I’ll have a little now.  It’s 10 AM.
It smells so good.  It’s called Apple Pie.  And it really does taste like apple pie. Mm.  Everyone keeps warning me about the meth-heads in west Tennessee, including my Me-Maw.  So, hopefully I don’t get eaten or something.  I don’t know what they do, but.  I guess crazy shit. Kinda running out of money.  Um.  So that’s a stressful thing.  I keep dreaming about it. But I’m just not worried.  Like, I think that, somehow, things are gonna be provided, and I don’t know what that means, but... Perhaps that’s just me being naïve.  But people do keep helping me out.  I stayed with [Sam] in Waverly, and he, like, took me to dinner, and bought me drinks, and took me skydiving.  So.  That was awesome.

01:09:35.03                And it’s getting hot.  It’s getting hot, hot, hot, hot.  Hot in here.  Out there.  It’s getting very hot, so, I’m walking in a lot of heat.   And I got a week or so before I [can] really do any comedy, I guess.  ‘Til I get to Memphis.  [And at] the beginning of my trip, it was hard.  I felt like a block for writing. Not just comedy, but in general, just to feel the emotions of the trip, I felt blocked from that, ‘cause I thought maybe — I think maybe it’s that if I felt too much, then it would — you know, I wouldn’t continue forward.  So you just kinda have to block yourself from that.   I’m just out here.  Walking.  Keep finding myself in these cool places. 

01:10:35.04                There are like these little windows where it’s just — I don’t know what’s happening!  This is really hard!  It’s hot!  Where am I gonna stay!  And then, boom, it’s like a couple days where you just meet someone.  They're super cool.  You do cool stuff.  Jump out of a plane.  Ride a motorcycle.Yeah, so three and a half months on the road, and I feel like I’m doing good.  Doing all right.

Walking Tennessee // Week 17 // Made it to Memphis, home of the King, baby!!

Day 113-115// Jackson to Bells // 16 miles // total 817m                                                                                      (took 3 days, kept having to stop because of bad weather)                                                                                  Day 116 // Bells to Brownsville // 12 miles // miles in total 829                                                                           Day 117 // Brownsville to Covington // 23 miles // miles in total 852                                                                  Day 118 // Covington to Memphis // 2 miles and a car // miles in total 854

// Made it to Memphis // 

Sometimes we lose ourselves in the moment and we can't see the big picture. Sometimes life is not as easy as it seems and even when you have it all, you feel alone. We shouldn't put so much pressure on ourselves. I took a car today, for 30 miles, I CHEATED, and it felt great and I regret nothing!! RIP Williams

 

Jessica: I’m getting close to Memphis.  Probably about three days away.  The weather’s been rainy.  Humid.  I’m dripping in sweat.  I’ve been on the road for over four months, and Alejandro’s coming to visit me.  In six days.

01:16:28.19   And, I’m going to Memphis.  It just so happens — it’s Elvis Week.  Basically every moment in my life has led, every event in my life has led to this moment. Elvis Week.   If you don’t know what Elvis Week is, it’s where, it’s a week Elvis died.  He died on August 15th.   And a bunch of crazy people hang out in Memphis, around Graceland.  
[Sighs] It’s gonna be great.  America.  You're so hot in August, America.  And the sheriff keeps circling.  I’m currently in Brownsville, Tennessee.  Uh, uh — is that [wind] Uh.  It’s a little moment of wind.  I don’t know how I’m gonna make it through Arkansas.  And I don’t know how I’ve made it here, so...                                   Interesting how that works out.




Florida // Weeks 18 and 19 // Special visit from my love, Alejandro and a surprise invite to the beach!

I had such a great time hanging out in Memphis. I got to see the sites, hang at the local coffee shop, do standup and record a couple podcasts and a radio show, which you can find under my bio page. After I hung in Memphis for a few days, my boyfriend Alejandro met me. It's the second time we have seen each other since I left over four months ago.  After our meet up, I got an offer for a free ride and 4 night stay in Panama City Beach, Florida (pcb baby). If I am going to make it to Cali on foot, I really have to get moving, but also I know sometimes life gives you opportunities that you just can't pass up, so, a trip to the beach it was.  Hanging out in the water and sand was great. It reminded me to enjoy the journey of my trip and not get to caught up in the "rules", we make our own rules for life, and I for one, have never been a fan of most of them. So, like feather in the wind, I float along, where I may land, no one will know.  (Also! My sister got engaged and is going to be getting married, in Nashville, in October, so it looks like I will be seeing you again soon Nashville!!)

Walking Arkansas // Week 20 // I made it back to West Memphis, and my mommy decided to come along for the ride!

Day 134 // Me and moms drove form Nashville over to West Memphis,                                                             she will be my car support until Little Rock.
Day 135 // West Memphis to Western West Memphis // 10 miles // miles in total 864
Day 136 // Western West Memphis to Griggs // 15 miles // miles in total 879
Day 137 // Griggs to Palestine // 21 miles // miles in total 900
Day 138 // Palestine to Wheatley // 15 miles // miles in total 915
Day 139 // Happy Labor Day! Mom got us a cabin, and rodents ate a whole in my tent.
Day 140 // Wheatley to Fredonia // 20 miles // miles in total 935

I am in Arkansas.   I’m, like, four and a half months in.  I’ve been camping with my mom for — I think it’s been an eternity, now.  I, I, uh, think I might lost my mind. And I know that people say that about their parents, but legitimately, it’s been quite difficult. 

It’s been a tough few days.  But yesterday, when I was walking in Arkansas... I had so many people stop and ask me if I needed a ride.  It was nice.  More than any other time on the trip.  But I think that’s just ‘cause I didn’t have my cart with me.  I was just carrying a backpack, since my mom’s here, I don’t need to carry everything with me like I normally do. It’s just a mess.  I’m ready to get to Little Rock.  ‘Bout 90 miles away.  Maybe I can just do it today.  Knock it out today.  90 miles.  If I walked straight, I could make it, i-, there in 30 hours.

Walking Arkansas // Week 21 // Mom left and the North Little Rock KOA lady was mean to me.

Day 141 // Fredonia to Lonoke  // 27 miles // miles in total 962 (yes, these places sound made up)
Day 142/143 - Mom's last two days in town, we drove over to Hot Springs!
Day 144 // Lonoke to Little Rock // 15 miles + a little help from my momma // miles in total 977
Day 145/146 - Hangin out in Little Rock
Day 147 // Little Rock to North Little Rock // 11 miles // miles in total 988

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On this day, a poorly aging bitter grey haired koa "kamp" lady yelled at me and told me I was naive and needed to grow up. I left in protest unsure of where I would stay the night. I'm so glad it happened because I got to stay with an awesome family, who took me to a great dinner that happened to be next to a comedy club that was having an open mic. Awesome! The whole family went to see standup for the first time, including Zane, 13, who after seeing the name of the venue said "a comedy club named the joint, those are like her two favorite things!" The day started off rough, but ended great, reminding me, everything is temporary, life can change with the wind, don't marinate in the bad moments, good ones might be just around the bend!

I’m here.  I’m here.  In Arkansas.  My mom’s leaving me today.  And I feel really anxious about that.  Although it’s been a really hard time being with here, ‘cause she’s my mom, and that happens.   Um, I’m going further into the middle of nowhere.  And, uh, I wonder how that’s gonna work out.  There’s still people in the middle of nowhere, though.  You just have to find the right people.  My fear is, the days are getting shorter.  So the mornings are gonna have to start getting much earlier for me.01:29:06.23                Like a real hiker.  [Sighs] So far, Arkansas has been beautiful.  And it’s September 6th right now.  So I’ve, I’ve pretty much been on the road for five months.I feel good about that.  It’s September.  I gotta be done by O-, mm, uh, December.  Like, I wanna be home.  I wanna be in New York by January 7th.  That’s my birthday.  I turn 30.  I know.  You can’t tell. [Picks up pen and paper] I’ve been trying to write.  But it doesn’t come out as jokes.  It comes out more like prose poetry.
51:30:25.02                Okay.  Third time’s the charm.  This is gonna be great.  Um...Yeah.  Both the cards I used before were full.  So, I didn’t realize that. Um.  Yeah.  So, I was in this place, Covington.  It’s very white.  In this café, eating, um, a chicken salad sandwich and there were, like, a lot of WASP-y women around, and... So I wrote this.  Sometimes I’ll stop somewhere for lunch.  Maybe on a day off, and I’ll feel like a real person, almost.  But then I’ll start unloading things out of all my bags, and I’ll remember, because they don’t let me forget. You feel alone when you're traveling, even when others join you along the way.  Sometimes even more alone when others join you along the way.  [Whispering] People walking in...on my slam poetry.

01:32:01.16                I listen to these people’s stories, and, uh, one about church, and the worship song.  This other one started with the mall.  These stories fall flat.  You know, the stories in the South always do that.  They share a YouTube video at the table.  “Oh my word,” one woman exclaims.  I didn’t look to see the video.  Wouldn’t like it if they thought I cared.  Wouldn’t like it if I thought they — wouldn’t like it if I thought they cared. Interesting, the act of not caring what others think is the acknowledgment that you care what others think. It’s easy in this town.  It’s easy in these towns.  No time to question.  More time to be.  Work, work, work to pay for a lifestyle built around caring what other people think.  But isn’t that what I’m doing, after all?  [Sighs]  The simple life, they call it.  Because does it pay to know the truth? Do we pay to know the truth?  No.  Because the other is a lie.  Several times, I’ve imagined quitting.  No Bible study in the summer?  It’s crazy. My moms is leaving me.   And I’m gonna start walking in the fucking outback of Arkansas.  And it’s [hot].  It’s very hot.  Arkansas.

01:34:56.12                People are watching me right now, ‘cause these are rooms.  [Gets up and turns camera] Back here.  And they're watching.  They're judging.  Who cares.  This is pretty.  Look at this.  Look at that.  It’s nice.01:35:20.21[Turns camera back to herself] It’s nice. Five months. Five months on the road. It’s kinda crazy. I wanna be back to New York by January 7th.  That’s my birthday, and I turn 30.

Walking Arkansas // Week 22 // The 1,000 mile mark

Day 148 // North Little Rock to Conway // 26 miles // miles in total 1,014
Day 149 // Conway to Morrilton // 19 miles // miles in total 1,033
Day 150 // Morrilton to Russellville // 25 miles // miles in total 1,058
Day 151 // Russellville to London // 11 miles // miles in total 1,069
Day 152 // London to Clarksville // 14 miles // miles in total 1,083
Day 153 //Clarksville to Ozark // 22 miles // miles in total 1,105
Day 154 // Ozark to Alma // 23 miles // miles in total 1,128

Walking Oklahoma // Week 23 // More standing up than walking

The last week has been a fun one. I was offered a place to stay when I got to Alma from Susan. I met Susan because she runs crazy long marathons with Andi, who I met through Corey and Patrick in the morning, who I met through Jim Pate, who is a comic, that lives in D.C., whom I have never met. I took Susan up on her offer, however she actually lives about 30 miles North of Alma in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Ever since I started walking through Arkansas people have been telling me how beautiful NorthWest Arkansas is and that Fayetteville was a super cool town. I jumped at the chance to hang out and see the sites and do some comedy. I did a fun show in town,  was interviewed on 3B radio and also got a spot on the local news channel. 

 In other news, my dear friend who I know from NYC, moved to Bentonville, Arkansas about the same time I started the walk. She sold her soul, I mean took a job for Walmart(j/k, I must say, I have met a lot of people that work for Walmart, this is the area where it was founded. And some of those people really love their jobs, some don’t, but a lot do! So I don’t think that Walmart is evil, I think they do give a lot of money to charity, although not nearly as much as they could. I do think they have built some really cool stuff in NWA including an awesome museum, Crystal Bridges. I do also think things are way out of control and not what that Walton guy would have wanted his store to be. Let’s sell some American made merch Walmart!). 

 Thanks to Mr.Walton my super cool friend Leslie lives 20 miles from Fayetteville, in this neighboring town. I caught a ride in her pivotal, 1969 Ford F100 Ranger. I hung out at her place for a few days, cooked some good food, drank some good wine and did a really fun show at this pizza joint. When discussing my next moves, I was told repeatedly, how cool Tulsa was. So, although I had planned to hit up Oklahoma City next, I changed my route, had her drop me just over the boarder in and I started my voyage to Tulsa. The last week has been filled with more talking than walking, but I feel alive and free, and the weather couldn’t be more perfect. State number 9, here we go!