Day 64: 10 miles walked today. This morning began early at the intersection of Windsor Parkway and Roswell Road, near the parking lot of a Caribou Coffee where I met with our Worth County campaign chairman, Kenneth Jarrett, as well as Rufus Montgomery and Michael McNeely of the Black Republican Council. This was the most populated segment of the Walk thus far, but also one of the most straightforward in terms of directions—we walked straight down Roswell Road until it hit Peachtree, and continued south through Buckhead, Midtown, and Downtown before taking a left onto Martin Luther King Jr. Drive for the last few blocks to the Capitol.

It was an easy walk today, despite being the last leg of over 1,060 miles, and being fraught with stoplights, crosswalks, and traffic. It felt almost surreal, to have reached the end of this journey, in good health and with such success for the campaign. As I approached the Capitol, in the company of more than a dozen friends, family, and supporters, and was greeted on the Washington Street steps by even more, I knew without a doubt that this trip had been a success and that this campaign will be as well. By no means did I expect this walk to guarantee victory in and of itself or provide instant statewide name recognition—but it has come a long way toward putting this campaign where it needs to be. I believe it was the right thing to do for this campaign, and I’m thankful to have had the opportunities over the past sixty-four days to be out seeing this State, meeting my fellow citizens, participating in interviews and news stories.

How many times did this walk put my candidacy on the front pages of papers around the State? I’ve honestly lost count. How many great ideas have I come away with that I can use to develop my plan to govern this State? Plenty. That was one thing in particular that I learned: all across this State, from north to south and everywhere in-between, there are people of all walks of life, all races, and all political persuasions who share the same common goal of making this State a better place for their children. I was amazed at the similarity of beliefs of people from such diverse backgrounds. I’m looking forward to putting my platform on paper and knowing that I’m doing something that so many Georgians would approve of—after all, it’s their platform. These are their ideas. I’ve just asked them what they would do if they were Governor for a day. I couldn’t be happier with the result.

I have walked 1,068 miles through Georgia asking my fellow citizens how they would be governed. And because I’ve walked, they can be sure I’ll live up to those promises. I’ve shown them I am the hardest-working candidate in this race and the candidate most willing to earn their trust and respect. That is something that no other candidate in this race can have, and I believe it is exactly what the people of Georgia want to see in their next Governor.

N33 44.961 W84 23.327   1068.31 miles walked. Thank you for your prayers and for your support. God bless.

Day 63: 16.9 miles walked today. Today the walk continued down Alpharetta Highway/Roswell Road/GA-9 for almost seventeen more miles. We began outside the Alpharetta City Hall where we left off yesterday through downtown Alpharetta, then on to Roswell. We stopped for an interview with Everett Catts of the Northside/Sandy Springs Neighbor newspaper, and I enjoyed the conversation we had.

Then we ate lunch in Roswell at Dreamland Barbecue, which was fantastic. Amazing food. Following lunch, we went back to where we left off on the walk, a bit farther up Highway 9, where we were met by a news team from 11 Alive News. They filmed me walking for a bit, and I answered some questions on camera for them. It was a very productive day from a media standpoint.

After a while longer, Vivien came out to walk with me, starting in Sandy Springs. It was great just to see her, and I really enjoyed having her walk with me. By this time, several of our team members were following in vehicles, riding up ahead and parking to wait for us to come by. Vivien walked with me until the conclusion of the day’s walk at the intersection of Windsor Parkway and Roswell Road.

After the walk was finished for the day, we met my parents and brother and sister and their children for dinner, which was great. They are all in town for the conclusion of the walk tomorrow. I cannot believe I have made it this far. It is almost surreal to be looking at the last ten miles of the walk ahead of me tomorrow. Thank you for your prayers and for your support. I could never have made it this far without you.

N33 52.737 W84 22.791   1058.41 miles walked

Day 62: 16.7 miles walked today. This morning began at 6:30 outside the Forsyth County Board of Education Building. After walking down GA-9 for a while, I stopped in at the Forsyth County News for an interview. After leaving the office, I continued down the road and was met by Aaron Gould Sheinin of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution for another interview. I believe he will be running a fairly lengthy story on the walk, and I’m looking forward to reading it when it comes out. We stopped for lunch at Subway in Midway, where we were joined by Barbara Thomas, who is the president of the Fulton County PTA.

She and I had a wonderful conversation, and we agree on a lot of points. One thing that sticks in my mind was our agreement that money is not the solution to Georgia’s education problems. If you look at the schools around the State that have done well, they aren’t always in areas with higher incomes, or places where a great deal of taxpayer dollars have been spent on education. Innovation seems to be the key. I know I will use some of these thoughts when developing my education platform shortly after the walk. In a sense, it’s been in development for fourteen years, but now that I’ve had a chance to ask so many concerned Georgians what they would do as Governor for a day, I am even more confident that there are a great many Georgians who agree. We finished today outside the Alpharetta City Hall, where we were met by a reporter from the Beacon newspaper.

After the interview, Will Gurley, an Alpharetta planning commission member, introduced us to a number of city officials, including City Manager Bob Regus, Finance Director Thomas Harris, and Police Chief Gary George. They were polite enough to tolerate a soaking wet gubernatorial candidate walking through their office, which I appreciate. Bob and I had a wonderful talk, and I was delighted to hear we share many of the same ideas about tax collection procedures between municipal and State governments. Although tax collection procedures and being certain the Department of Revenue has was it needs to be efficient are not exactly glamorous political pursuits, I intend to make them one of my primary areas of focus during my administration.

I know we could see significant savings if we made a few operational changes in the way the State does business with local governments. After I finished introducing myself to the employees at Alpharetta City Hall I got in the car and rode up to Braselton for a fundraiser at Jack Ansley’s restaurant, called Jack’s, which was arranged by Holly Hutchinson, an old high school classmate of mine. We had a great time and met a lot of very good folks, some of whom made donations on the spot. I always feel very honored when that happens.

N34 04.536 W84 17.647   1041.51 miles walked

Day 61: Twenty-one miles walked today. We got up early again today and started out at the intersection of South Chestatee Street and Long Branch Road, not far from the bank. Essentially, today’s route involved following Georgia Highway 9 southward, which will constitute almost the entirety of the remainder of the walk. This road (US-19) will take us almost to the capitol, which simplifies things greatly.

This morning we were joined by a reporter from the Dahlonega Nugget, and then rounded out the morning with a ten a.m. lunch at Wendy’s. I’m not kidding. After getting back out on the road for the afternoon, I was able to reach the new Forsyth County Board of Education Building in Cumming.

N34 13.903 W84 07.483                         1024.81 miles walked

Day 60: Twenty-two miles walked today. This morning began with two breakfast meetings arranged by my cousin Bill Christian. Once I got started walking for the day, I took Town Creek Road out toward Sandy Flats Road and then took Rock House Road out to the Dahlonega Highway (US-19/GA-9). During the afternoon, I was met out on the trail by Bart Reising, a recent graduate of the University of Mississippi who has had experience working in gubernatorial races around the nation.

We spoke about my candidacy, and my team’s strategy for getting me elected. He shared some wonderful insights during his fifteen miles spent on the road with me. Later on the walk I was joined by a group of college students from North Georgia College, Rafael Pellerano, Jon Feise, and Richard Mattison. Vivien came up to Dahlonega tonight and we ate dinner at Caruso’s where we were joined by two friends of one of our staff members, Elyse Roesch and Rachel Slade.

N34 28.114 W83 58.137   1003.81 miles walked

Day 59: 19.7 miles walked today. I began walking just before daybreak this morning on the south side of Lake Burton in Rabun County, where Bridge Creek Road and Burton Dam Road meet. I walked southwest along Lynch Mountain Road and the Unicoi Turnpike and followed that into downtown Cleveland, county seat of White County, Georgia. I met a park ranger who worked at Tallulah Gorge, who invited me to come back and see him again. The number of hands we shook along the road today was very encouraging. Good country folks could not be more receptive to this kind of endeavor by a politician, and they are frequently among the most knowledgeable and willing to share their suggestions when asked what they would do as Governor for a day. I bet none of the other candidates is giving much thought to the amount of political knowledge being carried around out there in the middle of nowhere.

During my lunch break today, I took a moment to stop and speak with the folks in the White County News office, and wound up having a lengthy chat with the editor and several of the staff. I then sat down to a great meal at Smith’s Soda Shop.

Later that evening, as I approached downtown Cleveland from the north, I was lucky enough to be greeted with an interview on the local radio station. My cousin Bill Christian had arranged a dinner for us with a good many locals this evening—and it was a hit for our campaign. We were invited to come back to have a fundraiser. We even decided to have it in the same room. After leaving, I visited the home of White County Commissioner Craig Bryant, a fellow firearm enthusiast, to talk about guns and the Second Amendment. My team is spending tonight in a hotel right in downtown Cleveland, which will be convenient for our morning appointments under the guidance of my cousin Bill. After those meetings, the plan is to head south toward Dahlonega.

N34 39.733 W83 43.233  981.81 miles walked

Day 58: 15.47 miles walked today. This morning began in Atlanta, of all places, where I had slept the night before following my speech at the Faith & Freedom Coalition Rally with Sean Hannity. I had an interview this morning with Gene Henssler of the Henssler Financial Group on WGKA 920AM’s “Money Talks” program, which I thought went very well. The program is broadcast throughout the State, so perhaps many of my readers here heard it. We spent almost an hour discussing economic issues of importance to the State of Georgia and how I would work to solve our problems if elected. We’re going to try and get an audio copy to post on the main webpage so you can hear it. After the interview, we drove back up to Clayton, where I had left off yesterday afternoon. It was particularly cloudy today. I headed through downtown Clayton and out Bridge Creek Road toward Lake Burton.

We concluded today’s portion of the Walk at the intersection of Bridge Creek Road and Burton Dam Road, on the south side of the lake, where we’ll pick back up in the morning. At one point I came across a man named Beaver Carpenter, who, as the name implies, is a woodworker. And an extremely talented one at that. What drew me to his shop was the wooden sign out front that said, simply, “No Democrats Allowed.” I was fascinated, and I had to introduce myself. We had a very nice conversation, and I think I may have made a supporter out of him. Tonight we’re staying again at a supporter’s home in Sky Valley, a small city in Rabun County. This part of the State’s roads are beautiful, but curvy, hilly, and don’t offer much in the way of walking space on the right side of the white line, so I was especially careful walking through here. Someone asked me the other day how much Wells had been able to come out and walk with us, to which I had to reply, “not much”, owing entirely to my concern for his safety in places like this. I can barely walk here without being 100% vigilant, and I’d never consider bringing Wells to walk in a place like this. It is certainly beautiful, with all the rolling green countryside and farmland, but there aren’t exactly sidewalks through here!

There were a lot of motorcyclists out enjoying this beautiful 79-degree Sunday afternoon.  It was a little cloudy, looking for a while like it might have been about to rain, but we lucked out and made it through without hindrance. I don’t believe I’ve been ordained by God to be Governor of Georgia, or anything similar to that, but I can tell you that he has certainly opened a lot of doors for us, not only along the Walk of Georgia, but throughout the campaign thus far. I told one of my staff members today that we’re getting twice as much done with half the number of people. And I know that is what the people of Georgia are looking for in their next Governor.

There was a front page article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution this morning about one of my competitors having used his political power for personal gain. Now is not the time to delve into the issue fully, but I will remind Georgians that I have never had any business relationship with the State and I do not even participate in the State retirement plan for legislators. We’ll explore all this at a later date. For now, I want my supporters to know that I’ve never owed anyone anything other than an honest answer and a hard day’s work—and that is what Georgia will get if I’m elected Governor. Thank you, and God bless.

N34 47.778 W83 31.817                         962.11 miles walked

Day 57: Sixteen miles walked today. We were up before daylight again to get out on the road. Shortly after I got started, I was greeted by my sister and brother-in-law, Michelle and Jason Upshaw, who had driven up from Tifton to spend some time walking with me and to spend a relaxing night in the mountains as well. I’m not sure what they were expecting, but as the person who planned the route has told me often, there’s nothing we can do about the terrain. Jason and Michelle found themselves tromping with me through quite a lot of tall grass. They continued with me until we reached the Rabun County line, then our photographer Toni James came and walked with me across Tallulah Gorge. She and I walked until 3 p.m., when we had to stop for the day and take a car to Duluth for a speech I had to give at the Faith and Freedom Rally.

One of Toni’s friends, Ruth Ann McGuinn, was kind enough to let me shower and change at her house on the way to the speech. This walk truly has been a team effort, and I never would have been able to get this done alone. We had an excellent volunteer turnout at the Faith and Freedom Rally, and I thought the speech went well too. Thank you for following me at WalkingWithAustin.com!

N34 50.490 W83 24.958                           946.11 miles walked

Day 56: Twenty miles walked today. The morning started off at 7:30 am. First thing in the morning we walked into the city of Toccoa, where we had an interview with WNEG AM 630 Toccoa and met with Charlie Bauder. Today was spent walking from Toccoa to Clayton through the rolling north Georgia hills on Highway 441. It was a pleasure to see so many cars out, and it looks like this part of the State has really grown a lot since I was last here. You can take that as a good thing or a bad thing. I have heard mixed reviews of the success of national chains developing in this part of the country.

There are a number of big-box retailers popping up along the road here, and when you look out on the green horizon it is hard to imagine where all the traffic comes from to support these businesses. This place is still so beautiful. I concluded this evening at the intersection of Highway 441 and Highway 17. The team and I went up to stay at a supporter’s home in Sky Valley, Georgia, which is the “highest city in Georgia” in elevation, and appears to be all but the most northeastern place in Georgia as well. We crossed in and out of North Carolina twice on the way to this Georgia city.

N34 38.743 W83 26.927              930.11 miles walked

Day 55: Twelve miles walked today. I began at approximately seven this morning, driving toward Carnesville in the suburban with Toni, our photographer. After I had walked for a bit, I was visited along the side of the road by a reporter named MJ from the Lavonia radio station. We had a nice conversation, touching on water and the state of the economy. After a while longer, I stopped for a break at the Hopewell Presbyterian Church, where I reviewed notes and interviews from the Governor’s water meetings. As I continued down the road and made my way through Carnesville, I was approached by a few more dogs. They followed me for a bit, and eventually fell off.

I went to lunch at the Amish Restaurant on Main Street in Lavonia, which was organized by Laurie Vitalle. We ate with a retired executive from a local bank, and were later joined by Rep. Alan Powell, one of my colleagues in the State House, as well as a reporter from the Franklin County Citizen. After lunch we left by car for Griffin, so that I could meet with the Spalding County GOP. It was an excellent meeting. There were numerous local supporters of my campaign present, including Kathy Noble, Brenda Ballard, and others. Also, lest I forget, today I was also allowed to drop by a bridge party at Tootsie Powers’ house, where I was introduced to a number of influential local citizens. What a day.

N34 27.982 W83 18.474                                     910.11 miles walked