End of the journey, but the beginning of a new perspective

I arrived today in the last state before DC. We are in Danville, Virginia. These last few days have been amazing. Our days have been jam packed and we have been visiting a lot of organizations. We also had an awesome arrival in Charlotte. I want to thank all my friends in the area that came to the arrival. It was great seeing them and also Amber Perrell from Queens Student Activities! We had a great dinner with both the Pi Kapp national office and Push America office with all the board members as well. It was hard to believe that I was already back in Charlotte. It feels like yesterday that I was in San Francisco on my practice ride.

We also had a great friendship visit and dinner at the ARC of High Point. We had a scavenger hunt with the participants in a museum which was a blast!

Also in the passed few days Bruce Rogers, the man who first rode across the US in '87, rode with us for two days. He is an amazing man. Coming out of Charlotte, Chad Coltrane, CEO of Push America, did a ride along to High Point. It was great riding with him and getting to know him a little bit more.

I am not sure if I am going to have internet again before Saturday, so I would go ahead and give some thanks. I would first like to thank all my sponsors again. This would not have been possible without your help. Trust me that the money is making a difference and bringing so much joy to those who need it! Your money is making people with disabilities' lives much more enjoyable because they have a community that they are able to go to and be themselves and that allows them to lead a normal life.

I would also like to thank Reena Arora, Queens marketing coordinator, for being so supportive and helpful with getting the word out about Journey of Hope. She has been amazing ever since she heard about what we were doing.

There have been so many people that have been so supportive this summer and I am extremely thankful for that. People with disabilities are apart of the largest minority than anyone can become apart of at anytime. I encourage everyone to try and get a better understanding of people with disabilities. They are no different than us and they can use all of our support. This summer has changed my life and the way I view people with disabilities. I am thankful that I have been given this opportunity and I am looking forward to share my story. Keep checking back in because I would like to write at least one more post about the arrival into DC. We will be arriving at the Capitol building around 11 am this Saturday August 15th. If anyone is in the area I would love for you to come out!

-Joey