America Hunger Walk (and a Hood)

edited to add: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for the lovely comments you guys have been leaving on this post. It's been hard for me to adjust to the change; we've been together for a really long time - best friends since I was 14, and "together-together" for over a year and a half now - so it's difficult for me to think of him out there walking alone, rain or shine, hot or cold. So thank you, truly, for all your kind words! It's so nice to know that other people out there (who have never met us!) wish him, and me, well. Thank you, again!

Also - I forgot to include a link to his blog, which he's updating on the road from his phone - you can find that here!
My boyfriend is Walking Across America.

Yesterday, Eric (who some of you might remember as the guy who frequently models my shawls) started walking in Provincetown, Massachusetts.

In about 9 to 10 months, he will reach his destination in San Fransisco, California.

Everything he's taking with him fits into his backpack; his single person tent, sleeping bag, clothing, toiletries, and a small supply of food and water are all on his back.

He's going to see the country he's always called home, on foot. 

And, along the way, he's trying to raise money for the Feeding America charity.

Hunger is one of the greatest tragedies of our time. About 16.7 million children in the United States don't have access to adequate amounts of food. All total, 50.1 million Americans are hungry every single day.

So far, he's raised 50% of his goal - which means that through everyone's donations, he's been able to fund over 17,000 meals for hungry children, adults, and seniors.

If you're able to - please consider a donation to Eric's fundraiser. You can find that here.
90% of the donations he receives go straight to Feeding America.

Here's the route he will be taking, shown on Google Maps (click through to page two in order to see the route after Ohio). If you live along the route (or know someone who does) and you'd be interested in hosting Eric for a night, please let us know! You can send me an email (theknittingsquid [at] gmail [dot] com) and I'll figure out with Eric what we can make work.

Thank you, in advance, so, so much.

It's hard for me to put into words how proud I am of him.

Although I can't accompany him on his walk, I'm trying to do everything I can to be supportive. And if you're a knitter (or crocheter, or just a general maker...) then you know that the first thing that comes to mind is, "I should knit him something!!"

And so.... this hood was born!

I tried to really, really think about him as I was knitting it...think about his journey, about the cold nights in the winter months and hot days in the summer months. It will keep wind of his face, it will keep rain off of his hair. It will keep the sun out of his eyes. It ties around the neck so, in case it gets blown off, it won't get lost. And most importantly, perhaps, it looks pretty awesome. (Not to mention, it's machine washable and dryable!)