Journey's End

HE DID IT!

At noon on Saturday a couple dozen of Kent Treptow's friends and family members, including his "five readers" (running inside joke), met him along the shore at Huntington Beach as he finished his solo trek across the country from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

(Greeting Friends)

(Maybe more)

BREATH-TAKING! (Tracking the journey)

(The Friends)

As one who was among those "five readers" - I've followed his adventure on the blog he created using his cell phone, HERE, from day one - I must say that it takes my breath away as I contemplate some of the events of his 175 day, 3400 mile, 10 pair-of-shoes journey. Suspicions were confirmed when he told us that, although he wrote about many of the "interesting" situations in which he found himself on his journey, he did not include ALL of them for fear of causing his parents distress. The dose of poison Oak he received during his perilous climb through a local canyon in the last couple days may be the very least of it. Perhaps we'll hear about them later. (A Little Poison Oak )

(The proud parents)

PERFECT EXCLAMATION POINT!

The day was perfect for his arrival - bright, sunny and temperatures just warm enough for him to strip down and take a climactic running jump into the ocean as the exclamation point on his trip.

(The Run)

(The Dive)

THE "REWARD"

(The trophy)

He was presented with a trophy by his long-time girl friend, Alicia Robinson (former Daily Pilot ace reporter, now working for the Riverside Press-Enterprise) for the completion of the trip. The inscription says, "Kent Treptow. Walked from Maine To California Except For A Few Miles East of St. Louis. June 12 to Dec. 3, 2011". (The "other" reward)

A "FORREST GUMP"?

(The last few steps)

Some of us wondered if Kent might just pull a "Forrest Gump" on us and, once he stuck his toes in the Pacific, just turn right around and re-trace his steps back to Maine. Not a chance!

WHAT'S NEXT?
He's not talking about what the future holds right now. Although prodded by the crowd about writing a book chronicling this journey, Kent didn't make a commitment. I hope he does write the book - he's already done most of the heavy lifting with his blog. Mention was made of grad school, but I suspect he's going to find a job and re-stock his pantry before too long.

CONGRATS, AND WELCOME HOME
Congratulations to Kent Treptow on the completion of this wonderful adventure. Along the way he made many new friends and gained a perspective on this country few of us will ever have. I'm happy he allowed us to follow along each day as he posted entries on his blog and live just a little bit of his adventures vicariously. What a guy!