California at last!

After more than a week of dallying, I've put on a burst of speed and made it all the way to California.

No, not Arnie Schwarzenegger's land of perpetual sunshine, but the Pennsylvania town of the same name - but I did think one day, with luck, I'll walk past a similar sign and it really will be the Golden State.

I'm actually in another town with a more famous namesake: Washington, Pennsylvania. My daily mileage has dwindled pitifully, for three reasons: feet, heat, and the people I meet.

My shins seem to be improving, and I've had two pain-free days. The temperatures are fearsome: today large parts of the eastern US are into the triple digits Fahrenheit. And the people: well, I don't know if it's something they put in the water here in western PA, but I've been basking in some truly extraordinary hospitality.

Most recently, it was from Robert, Adrienne, Aaron, Aidan and Patrick, who despite going through a period of huge upheaval in their own lives provided me with many hours of wonderful company and conversation. We spent a magical evening yesterday in a cemetery, hunting deer (with a telephoto lens, that is) as the sun went down, and then sharing jokes and a couple of six-packs.

I've almost reached the end of Pennsylvania now: next comes a little twenty-mile sliver of West Virginia, followed by Ohio. I still feel I've made only a tiny inroad into the map of the US, but then I see signs to places I passed through eighty or a hundred miles ago and realise I am making some progress.