Coast to Coast: A 3,100-mile journey on foot
Some Patriots fans go to extreme lengths to visit Gillette Stadium. Some travel thousands of miles by plane, train or automobile.
But Ben Davis made the 3,100-mile trip on foot.
Ben walked from Los Angeles to Boston, making a stop in Foxborough on the 147th day of his journey. And while Gillette Stadium was not the final destination for Ben, he was one day away from completing a cross-country trek with nothing but a sense of adventure, a jogging stroller named Charles to carry his belongings, and the support of his girlfriend, friends, family and thousands of Instagram followers.
Ben, 30, set off from Los Angeles, California, on Feb. 27 with the goal of walking to Boston and jumping in the Atlantic Ocean. The trek was a chance for Ben to explore the country and chase adventure, ambitions he has because of his grandmother.
“The journey excited me, and the people I would meet, the places I would see as I crossed at 3 miles per hour … When I started getting excited about it, the idea that I could turn 80 years old and didn’t do it,” Ben said. “The fear of regret kind of inspired me, and my grandmother, we call her Meemaw, she lives a wonderful life of adventure. She’s seen the world. She’s 88 and still to this day she’s traveling the world, taking photographs and painting every week. Her life is just adventure and curiosity. It just sparked my desire to take this on.”
Though he currently lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, Ben is originally from South Hadley, Massachusetts, and grew up a Patriots fan, so making his way through Foxborough was particularly poignant for him.
“I’ve been to Foxborough a few times for Patriots games, but it was a cool moment,” Ben said. “That was the first time it hit me that’s how close I was [to the finish line] because of how many times I’ve gone from Boston to Foxborough and how close it is. That was a big moment.”
The stop at Gillette Stadium included lunch at Patriot Place with someone who had been following Ben’s journey, and throughout his trip, this kind of meet up was the norm. He posted pictures on his “BenDoesLife” Instagram page the entire way, garnering more than 24,000 followers who were willing to help him along the way.
He said that he saw the best in people across the country.
“I know people are generally good, and since I’ve left, a lot of bad things have happened in the world, but it was such a stark contrast to the things I saw on a daily basis,” Ben said. “I ran out of money in Ohio and people immediately said, ‘Here, I’m going to kick in some Gatorades, going to kick in some gift cards. I’m going to get you a night at a cheap hotel.’ It’s just an amazing, amazing thing.”
Through the Rocky Mountains, the Mojave Desert and the Great Plains, Ben walked through a “blanket of isolation,” and while he said those were some of the most stunning natural sites he saw, one of his favorite moments took place in Lone Jack, Missouri.
The day before his 30th birthday, Ben was walking through the town when a woman recognized him from a local news story. She offered to buy him ice cream and provide him a place to sleep that night.
“Over dinner, we got to talking, and she and her husband asked how old I was, and I said, ‘Well, I turn 30 tomorrow.’ We had some fun with that, and the next morning I woke up, and they had made me pancakes with a candle in them and all my laundry was done,” Ben said. “They sewed up a hole in my shorts, then I was heading out the door after a nice birthday breakfast, and she had gotten me a birthday card with $10 inside. I would have never expected that on my 30th birthday I’d be in Lone Jack, Missouri on a farm, but as a look back I wouldn’t have had it any other way.”
He has made friends all over. Whether he was playing guitar in one family’s backyard or joining a cookout in Philadelphia, Ben was welcomed by strangers with open arms and he welcomed them on his journey, as well. He documented many of the encounters on his Instagram and Tumblr pages, both of which gained a tremendous following.
When he made the final leg of his walk from a parking lot in Dedham, Massachusetts, to Pleasure Bay in South Boston, his friends and family were there to celebrate, as well as some of his followers. One even flew in from Mexico to share the moment.
As Ben walked into the Atlantic Ocean, officially finishing his trip after five months, thousands of miles and dozens of new friends, he said the moment was surreal.
“It was difficult, a lot of conflicting emotions. It was tough but exciting to have my family there on the beach to give me a hug,” Ben said. “That was a cool, but the feeling was ‘Oh my God, I don’t have to set an alarm tomorrow and figure out where I’m sleeping or what route I’m taking.’ It was a relief, but there was also an air of sadness.”
While he said it was going to be difficult to adjust to life after walking 25 miles a day, Ben is writing a book, “Ever Eastward,” about his experience, and he is hoping the lessons he learned about living a minimalist lifestyle will carry over to his life in Little Rock.
“I got rid of everything to go on the walk, and when everything you own fits in a jogging stroller, life is simple,” he said. “I hope to retain that philosophy as I head back home. Just keep it simple. This is the smallest amount of things I’ve ever owned, and it’s also the happiest I’ve ever been.”
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