The March

	The March	Great Speech! That's Sue & I (in yellow) behind her - it was awesome seeing the crowd from that angle. All the cheering seemed directed at us. Let's not let the enthusiasm fade! Help us help you.
	Date of march: 4/11 Accomplished - next Washington, D.C. (?) Destination: Madison Final Plans We have made all arrangements and the little bit of training we did, can't hurt. The weather reports say mostly sunny and mild (an excellent day for a hike), so come join us at the start! Day 1: Beautiful weather. Thanks to those that showed support, not only by seeing us off, but many joined us for the walk. Sue made it 16 miles to the Horicon Marsh before succumbing to tired legs and cramped feet. Jaime continued for another 4 miles to keep us on schedule. Jaime had a blister the size of Texas on one heel adding more pain to his cramped feet. Day 2 was looking pretty shaky. We'll see!?! Day 2: Another gorgeous day for a 20 mile hike. We can't believe how much better we felt after a good night's sleep. Sue was able to walk another 11 miles, while Jaime completed the full 20 to stay on schedule. The band aid on the blister held up! We had a great day, although we are very tired and extremely achy. Wish us luck. We'll need it! If you see us on the road, please honk. You'll know us when you see us. Day3; Grueling! This was the weather we feared we would encounter for the whole trip. Thank goodness the first two days were mild, because on this day the winds were cold, sleet fell for a couple of hours, and finally when Sue decided to walk with me, it snowed! My salvation was the winds were behind me, kind of pushing me forward and I needed the help cause my legs were tired, my knee started getting stiff( I'll have to get that checked out), & the sleet actually hurt when it hit you in the face. When the sun went down, I had another 24miles in, (64 total miles, 150,000 steps) & Sue racked up another 6 miles too! Day 4: After calculating the miles to go we realized we only had about 15 miles to get to the Howard Johnson"s Hotel, in Madison. Our motivation picked up, as the task in front of us was no longer so daunting. A Madison TV crew started following us, which gave us new energy to march to the comfort of a waiting bed, ASAP! Channel 3000, Madison did an excellent piece which you can still see if you go to their website! When we arrived to our destination, there was great relief! We had no idea how tough this walking stuff could be, it was only walking right? 185,000 +/- steps & 79 miles complete and only 5 mile to go to reach the Tea Party on Wednesday. Now - rest! April 15^th: We made it! Wednesday was a mere 4.5 mile walk. We gathered in the parking lot of Howard Johnson’s at 8 a.m. There were 7 brave souls ready to march down E. Washington to the Capitol. We left around 9 carrying our signs, with a huge American flag leading the way. Motorists beeped as they passed us, encouraging us as we made our way through construction zones. When we arrived at the Capitol, we trudged up the stairs to touch the capitol’s doors. It was a great feeling to have reached our goal. We were invited to stand on the stage with the speakers and other representatives of many counties throughout Wisconsin. There were an estimated 5,000+ at the Tea Party, and all were encouraged to not let the momentum stop. People, we need to let our legislators know that we are watching what they do. Please keep it going. Talk to us. We are brainstorming about what we can do next. Any ideas? Go to our Sound Off page now. Don’t let it stop! Help us help you!! F THE START TRAINING DAY - Sue and I arrived in front of the Fond du Lac courthouse at 6:45 a.m. Friday, 3/6/09. After a photograph and a good luck kiss, I followed the Fond du Lac bike trail to Hickory Street. I soon realized that the Highway 41 bridge was out, along with the railroad trestle to the west. So I backtracked to the railroad trestle by International Paper and crossed there. It took me about one hour to get to the Wild Goose State Trail. There I had immediate doubts because all I could see was "ice, ice baby." After looking at the maps I had brought along, I decided to still stay on the trail. Hopefully the further south I went, the better the trail would get. I had to walk on the side of the trail, a slight incline loaded with ice and dog logs. Tons of dog logs! Here we have the start of this beautiful trail right in Fond du Lac, and can you imagine what the stench will be like when we get some of the spring thaw? Yuk!! I'm sorry people, but whoever walks their dogs out there and allows their dog droppings to remain two feet off the pathway should be ashamed! If you're reading this, take some responsibility, form a group with rakes and go "shush" the logs into the woods where they can fertilize the foliage. We want Fond du Lac to be respectable all the way out to Hwy 151 please! Once I hit the tunnel, the trail improved, and I realized I had made the right decision. I am a carpenter, and my job is my exercise program. But I tell you what, I will be enjoying this state trail more often, because it is gorgeous out there. If anyone gets the chance to venture out walking or on bike, go for it! I made Oakfield by 10:15, grabbed a coffee and talked with the gal behind the counter. I gave her a TOA card, and I was off. Still no sun and the winds had picked up, but I was pretty prepared ,so no issues as I proceeded. Looking on my map, I realized I was l headed for Oak Center. There is a great, little lumberyard there, Faber Building Center, that I do business with. Can you imagine their surprise when I told them I walked all the way there to pay my lumber bill? After explaining that I was testing my "carpenter legs", I paid my bill and again I hit the trail. The sun was trying hard to peek out, and finally at noon it was starting to warm me up. I enjoyed three benches dedicated to Dave Greene. I think I played volleyball with him a few years back. I was sad to see that he had passed away back in 2004. As I walked along, I noticed two sets of tracks in front of me taking the same walk for many miles. One set was rather small, but the other was in the 4-5" radius in size. Oh yeah, did I fail to mention, definitely canine and definitely large. No other human tracks were around, so I figured they were either coyote or wolf. Either way, I thought-awesome. So I took pictures. Hope they turn out. At 2:00, I made it to Hwy 49. There I met two people debating which way they should go. I gave them TOA cards and a brief explanation of our mission. The trail south was all snow covered and the trails were groomed for winter activities, not walking. The couple went north, but I had no choice but to keep going south. As I sloshed along, my feet started getting wetter and sorer, but I figured this was an excellent endurance test. Surely if I survived this walk, I should have no problem completing three days of straight walking. I made it to Burnett as it was getting dark, 6:15 p.m., eleven and a half hours later! I figure I lost some time with all the snowy walking conditions. I felt satisfied. If I had not stayed on the trails and, instead, cut over to Beaver Dam, I would have made it. As I am writing this story Saturday morning, I am proud to say I covered about 25 miles. Although my feet are sore, I think I could walk another 8 hours today if I had to. Luckily I don't-today! I'm encouraging everyone to join us at the start of the march. We could provide "free" litter pick up along the way. For many, this could be a long walk, but there are many stops along the way where they could get picked up. Please consider this and make arrangements. It is well worth the walk and it's safe, If we have many in our group. You know, Sue and I can not do this alone. We need everyone's ideas and help to be heard in Washington, not just Madison. Sue is next. She will be walking the next leg to test out her endurance and see what route we should be taking. If anyone knows a good route from the Wild Goose State Trail to "Madtown" out of Burnett, please contact us soon. We need it to be accessible for, hopefully, hundreds of people, not on the main highways. We have two dates in mind, either Monday April 13th to arrive in Madison on the 15th, or leave Fdl on the 15th(tax day) and arrive on Friday. Also, we are looking for some political figures to speak when we get there about how our government can be held more accountable with our tax dollars. I'm thinking the man our president assigned as the "Accountability Czar", V.P. Joe Biden. All suggestions are welcome. Come join us and give us your thoughts as we grow into what we hope will be a world changing idea. KEEP SPREADING THE WORD. YOU NOW HAVE A VOICE. I enjoyed

Great Speech! That's Sue & I (in yellow) behind her - it was awesome seeing the crowd from that angle. All the cheering seemed directed at us. Let's not let the enthusiasm fade! Help us help you.

Date of march: 4/11 Accomplished - next Washington, D.C. (?)
Destination: Madison

Final Plans

We have made all arrangements and the little bit of training we did, can't hurt. The weather reports say mostly sunny and mild (an excellent day for a hike), so come join us at the start!

Day 1: Beautiful weather. Thanks to those that showed support, not only by seeing us off, but many joined us for the walk. Sue made it 16 miles to the Horicon Marsh before succumbing to tired legs and cramped feet. Jaime continued for another 4 miles to keep us on schedule. Jaime had a blister the size of Texas on one heel adding more pain to his cramped feet. Day 2 was looking pretty shaky. We'll see!?!

Day 2: Another gorgeous day for a 20 mile hike. We can't believe how much better we felt after a good night's sleep. Sue was able to walk another 11 miles, while Jaime completed the full 20 to stay on schedule. The band aid on the blister held up! We had a great day, although we are very tired and extremely achy. Wish us luck. We'll need it! If you see us on the road, please honk. You'll know us when you see us.

Day3; Grueling! This was the weather we feared we would encounter for the whole trip. Thank goodness the first two days were mild, because on this day the winds were cold, sleet fell for a couple of hours, and finally when Sue decided to walk with me, it snowed! My salvation was the winds were behind me, kind of pushing me forward and I needed the help cause my legs were tired, my knee started getting stiff( I'll have to get that checked out), & the sleet actually hurt when it hit you in the face. When the sun went down, I had another 24miles in, (64 total miles, 150,000 steps) & Sue racked up another 6 miles too!

Day 4: After calculating the miles to go we realized we only had about 15 miles to get to the Howard Johnson"s Hotel, in Madison. Our motivation picked up, as the task in front of us was no longer so daunting. A Madison TV crew started following us, which gave us new energy to march to the comfort of a waiting bed, ASAP! Channel 3000, Madison did an excellent piece which you can still see if you go to their website! When we arrived to our destination, there was great relief! We had no idea how tough this walking stuff could be, it was only walking right? 185,000 +/- steps & 79 miles complete and only 5 mile to go to reach the Tea Party on Wednesday. Now - rest!

April 15^th: We made it! Wednesday was a mere 4.5 mile walk. We gathered in the parking lot of Howard Johnson’s at 8 a.m. There were 7 brave souls ready to march down E. Washington to the Capitol. We left around 9 carrying our signs, with a huge American flag leading the way. Motorists beeped as they passed us, encouraging us as we made our way through construction zones. When we arrived at the Capitol, we trudged up the stairs to touch the capitol’s doors. It was a great feeling to have reached our goal. We were invited to stand on the stage with the speakers and other representatives of many counties throughout Wisconsin. There were an estimated 5,000+ at the Tea Party, and all were encouraged to not let the momentum stop. People, we need to let our legislators know that we are watching what they do. Please keep it going. Talk to us. We are brainstorming about what we can do next. Any ideas? Go to our Sound Off page now. Don’t let it stop! Help us help you!!

THE START

TRAINING DAY - Sue and I arrived in front of the Fond du Lac courthouse at 6:45 a.m. Friday, 3/6/09. After a photograph and a good luck kiss, I followed the Fond du Lac bike trail to Hickory Street. I soon realized that the Highway 41 bridge was out, along with the railroad trestle to the west. So I backtracked to the railroad trestle by International Paper and crossed there. It took me about one hour to get to the Wild Goose State Trail. There I had immediate doubts because all I could see was "ice, ice baby." After looking at the maps I had brought along, I decided to still stay on the trail. Hopefully the further south I went, the better the trail would get.

I had to walk on the side of the trail, a slight incline loaded with ice and dog logs. Tons of dog logs! Here we have the start of this beautiful trail right in Fond du Lac, and can you imagine what the stench will be like when we get some of the spring thaw? Yuk!! I'm sorry people, but whoever walks their dogs out there and allows their dog droppings to remain two feet off the pathway should be ashamed! If you're reading this, take some responsibility, form a group with rakes and go "shush" the logs into the woods where they can fertilize the foliage. We want Fond du Lac to be respectable all the way out to Hwy 151 please!

Once I hit the tunnel, the trail improved, and I realized I had made the right decision. I am a carpenter, and my job is my exercise program. But I tell you what, I will be enjoying this state trail more often, because it is gorgeous out there. If anyone gets the chance to venture out walking or on bike, go for it!

I made Oakfield by 10:15, grabbed a coffee and talked with the gal behind the counter. I gave her a TOA card, and I was off. Still no sun and the winds had picked up, but I was pretty prepared ,so no issues as I proceeded. Looking on my map, I realized I was l headed for Oak Center. There is a great, little lumberyard there, Faber Building Center, that I do business with. Can you imagine their surprise when I told them I walked all the way there to pay my lumber bill? After explaining that I was testing my "carpenter legs", I paid my bill and again I hit the trail. The sun was trying hard to peek out, and finally at noon it was starting to warm me up.

I enjoyed three benches dedicated to Dave Greene. I think I played volleyball with him a few years back. I was sad to see that he had passed away back in 2004. As I walked along, I noticed two sets of tracks in front of me taking the same walk for many miles. One set was rather small, but the other was in the 4-5" radius in size. Oh yeah, did I fail to mention, definitely canine and definitely large. No other human tracks were around, so I figured they were either coyote or wolf. Either way, I thought-awesome. So I took pictures. Hope they turn out.

At 2:00, I made it to Hwy 49. There I met two people debating which way they should go. I gave them TOA cards and a brief explanation of our mission. The trail south was all snow covered and the trails were groomed for winter activities, not walking. The couple went north, but I had no choice but to keep going south.

As I sloshed along, my feet started getting wetter and sorer, but I figured this was an excellent endurance test. Surely if I survived this walk, I should have no problem completing three days of straight walking. I made it to Burnett as it was getting dark, 6:15 p.m., eleven and a half hours later! I figure I lost some time with all the snowy walking conditions. I felt satisfied. If I had not stayed on the trails and, instead, cut over to Beaver Dam, I would have made it.

As I am writing this story Saturday morning, I am proud to say I covered about 25 miles. Although my feet are sore, I think I could walk another 8 hours today if I had to. Luckily I don't-today! I'm encouraging everyone to join us at the start of the march. We could provide "free" litter pick up along the way. For many, this could be a long walk, but there are many stops along the way where they could get picked up. Please consider this and make arrangements. It is well worth the walk and it's safe, If we have many in our group. You know, Sue and I can not do this alone. We need everyone's ideas and help to be heard in Washington, not just Madison.

Sue is next. She will be walking the next leg to test out her endurance and see what route we should be taking. If anyone knows a good route from the Wild Goose State Trail to "Madtown" out of Burnett, please contact us soon. We need it to be accessible for, hopefully, hundreds of people, not on the main highways. We have two dates in mind, either Monday April 13th to arrive in Madison on the 15th, or leave Fdl on the 15th(tax day) and arrive on Friday. Also, we are looking for some political figures to speak when we get there about how our government can be held more accountable with our tax dollars. I'm thinking the man our president assigned as the "Accountability Czar", V.P. Joe Biden. All suggestions are welcome. Come join us and give us your thoughts as we grow into what we hope will be a world changing idea.

KEEP SPREADING THE WORD. YOU NOW HAVE A VOICE.

I enjoyed