Happiness Walkers - From Raleigh to Myrtle Beach to Savannah

Paula Francis and Linda Wheatley smile at Hampton House

The Happiness Walk is powered a duo of long-distance lady walkers from Vermont who recently traversed Highway 17 through the ACE Basin. They are walking from Vermont to Florida for their cause, but they are doing it in stages with this most recent excursion going from Raleigh to Savannah. These dynamic ladies stay somewhere different each night and on February 17 they stayed at the Hampton House in downtown Walterboro.

            

When they stopped walking on February 17th they were near Sheldon and elected to stay in Walterboro for the night. It was their first visit to town and an impromptu welcoming party broke out that evening with neighbors from Hampton Street. Despite the cold weather gripping the Lowcountry at that time, the Happiness Walkers told me that they had received a warm welcome everywhere during the Lowcountry leg of their journey.

            

Linda and Paula taking a walk down Myrtle Beach

Dropping by for coffee the following morning I was able to visit with these two ambulatory ladies. Linda Wheatley was the Director of the Vermont Leadership Institute for 14 years, and shared that her experiences led her up to this latest endeavor. Paula Francis served as a consultant for philanthropic giving that focused on community well being. They both left those careers to form this non-profit group in 2009, which led to doing these incremental walks beginning in 2012.

To view this entire feature article in the newspaper click on Colletonian.

To view past blog entries on fitness click Green River Games - SE Coast Paddling Trail

To view blog entries about places to visit while walking click on Lonesome Valley - OBX Lighthouses - Barnsley Resort - The Orchard Inn - Bald Head Island - Planters Inn