MONDAY MAY 3RD DAY ONE

Hope this thing works, as this is my first time trying to use my blog. All prior posts have been done by Jeff Spencer, as well as the entire set up and all content. Looks like I am on my own tonight, but Jeff will be taking care of a lot of my correspondence in my absence. I owe Jeff a lot for his help and his unwavering loyalty. As for today, well the morning started off early and eventful on Main Beach in Laguna, as a drunk, homeless, racist with a forty ounce can of beer, opened his beer and his mouth, when both should have remained shut. Chased him off like the guy who tries to wash your windshield in the middle of a crowded city street, while you are driving. Afterwards I met up with the send off crew, took some pictures, which I will try to post also, and I was off and walking. Today I had someone join me on the first leg that we will just call " Joe " because his name is Joe. He was one of the first to Mackenzie on the night of the accident. He lives 30 feet from where Mackenzie was found that night. I was honored, as well as I am sure Mack was, to have him walk with us. it was the single ' longest 20+ mile walk I have ever been a part of. Not because of the distance but because of the time it took. We were greeted by numerous supporters pulling their cars over and giving words of encouragement and lots of hugs. We were tracked down by a CBS news team in a van and an escort vehicle while negotiating Laguna Canyon road. We were stopped and interviewed by a very professional and respectful news team that I will always remember fondly. This morning my cell phone was fully charged upon my departure but it would not stay that way long. The only time my phone was not ringing is when it was receiving countless text messages. Three quarters of the way through, my cell phone finally succumbed to exhaustion and died. All of the calls were well wishers showing their support for Mackenzie and the journey. I have never been so overwhelmed by kindness and crazy, beautiful people. We arrived at the crash site at around 3:oo pm to a large welcoming party and our favorite news team steadily working in the news van. They waited for us while they edited their story just so that I could see it before it aired at 3, 4, 5, and 6pm and again tonight at 9, 10 and11pm on CBS and KCAL 9 news. The rest of the crowd consisted of friends and family and that filled me with pride and honor just to know them and the rest of you out there who have sent your kind words of encouragement and donations to Mackenzie's Foundation. The flowers and baloons were beautiful. I am speechless and amazed at the outpouring of love and support and I cannot find the words to express my gratitude. Tomorrow will be a later start because my tracking system, or my trusty travel companion, "Spot " as I call him, decided to malfunction on the biggest day so far. I will have him up and running and will go back to Laguna to redo the route, so it will show on the map and the overall journey. I apologize for the inconvenience and I will actually drive to do this and get dropped off at today's end point and continue from there. By the way, who turned up the heat 20 degrees from the day before? I really appreciate it. Thanks for being a part of day one.
* Mackenzie had many nicknames from me, but the most frequent one she heard was " Monkey Butt. " I miss her so much that I want to lay down and die.