My first stop on this tour was in Cocoa Beach. There is nothing I necessarily wanted to see here, but it was a good halfway point between Sarasota and Jacksonville, where I scheduled a book signing event at San Marco bookstore on Saturday. However, I am truly grateful for the time I was able to spend here.
I met my host Joe on couchsurfing.com. He had a family event at 6 PM, and though I arrived around 6:30, he had left the back door to his house open so I could get in. I realize for many it may seem a strange thing that a stranger would leave his house unlocked so another stranger could access it, but that is the world of couch surfing.
In all of the times I have stayed with someone I met through couchsurfing, I have never actually slept on a couch. Just like the others, Joe set me up in the spare bedroom with clean sheets and a welcoming spirit.
After rising the first morning to watch the sunrise at the beach, which is only a block and a half away from Joe’s house, I was inspired to start reaching my goal of writing a new song in every city. And since I felt so accomplished by the song I had written before noon, I volunteered to mow Joe’s lawn since he had a busy day preparing for his own trip. Every now and then, I will ride by someone mowing grass, and the smell makes me long for the activity, so mowing his lawn was a win-win situation.
Joe had scheduled an out-of-town trip to Detroit, but said I could stay another night as long as I locked up when I left. On my second night, Joe took me out for an incredible dinner, where I had some amazing clam chowder, and an entrée with shrimp, scallops, mashed potatoes, and green beans. The next morning, I had the house to myself.
Not only was I allowed some alone time to rehearse, but also to meditate and rest. His fenced in backyard features a swimming pool that feels like bathwater, and the water noodle allowed me to simply float and breathe in the gratitude I feel for getting to live the life that I do. Each morning that I’ve been here, I have been able to watch the sunrise, and it has been a splendid beginning to this tour.
This morning, as I celebrate my 52nd birthday, I am excited to ride the coast up to Jacksonville and meet my next host. I’m still not entirely sure what will come of this entire tour, but I welcome it with gratitude, and I am excited to see what the road will reveal to me. Already, I have been asked to be in the Will Rogers Days Parade in Oklahoma on November 4 and I am trying to organize a performance at the Will Rogers Memorial Museum auditorium.
If nothing else, I am grateful for another grand adventure.