Beaumont to Birmingham

We left Beaumont and headed north to Shreveport and then made our way on Interstate 20 East towards Birmingham. We noticed that the alternator wasn't charging and we decided to stop near a Pilot Truck Stop in the town of Rae ville to see what was up. Our hunch was right and the truck would not start, so we asked a shop there called USA Truck Repair and the owner Jeff if he would put a new alternator in. He said that he would do all the work for the cost of the alternator and the labor would be free. Four Hours later and 11 pm, we where on the road again and headed for Birmingham four hours away. I only got two hours into the drive and couldn't go any longer so we stayed in a town called Clinton Mississippi right outside of Jackson. When we got up this morning a woman's organization who was staying at the same hotel came by the truck and shared some stories with us and bought some shirts, of course there was quite a few ladies who had some signatures to put on the truck. Also the Clinton High School cheerleaders came by for a photo opportunity with the truck.

We want to also tell everybody that we have a new riding buddy that has joined our group, a black Lab puppy that we got from a guy in Jasper Texas, Gavin Henderson, he said he found him and his two brothers on the side of the Highway and asked us if we would like him. The way it happened and why we stopped in that location, made it perfect, we could not say NO! We think we will call him Jasper and he will be in pink on this whole trip and probably in every picture.

Beaumont to the East Coast

The City of Beaumont, Chief Ann Huff, and Captain Brad Pennison made us feel very welcomed when we arrived, they are the first city to escort us with lights and sirens on the freeway and through town. They made lunch, set up a press conference and gave us two nights lodging for free. I have been asking that each city we visit give me something to add to the truck, so that when I get home this truck will be perfect and full of love. Beaumont Fire gave us a horn, a monitor and another light bar, what a great show of support.
We just got a message to not come to Jacksonville due to all the storms that are going to hit that part of the country, we will divert North and end up in Vicksburg Mississippi today, we will build support everywhere we go and make a huge impact on the firefighters, police, City leaders, and the citizens of each community. We are getting so many people more aware and in pink for or women and a few men with this disease. Thank you so much for the nice remarks on the web-site, we are making a difference. I will add pictures of Beaumont later today or tomorrow, thought I lost my camera, but honey I found it. lol

Houston and their committment

Houston has already picked their shirt and the police are already making their pins that they will wear on the 25th, 26th, and 27 of October in Honor of the women of Houston. The Cares Enough to Wear Pink slogan will be displayed proudly to all of Houston and the Public Safety sure leads by example for all of us.

Houston our biggest city so far to go pink for our women

Houston was our biggest and best stop yet thanks to Deborah Schmidt from the Harris County Sheriff's office. She rallied the three agencies in Houston along with their community leaders to support the Cares Enough to Wear Pink Campaign and put on a great show for the event. There will be thousands of women of Houston who will benefit from the awareness that will be created by the Public Safety of Houston.

Austin Fire department went above and beyond

Austin treated us like royalty and they did everything possible to make our visit a success. Tim Lefuente, Elli, Dawn, and Union President Stephen Truesdell took us out to dinner and made sure we had everything we needed for our stay. We look forward to our next visit which I'm sure will be a total success.

Irving and Grapevine in Pink as well

We made two stops in the Dallas area at station 2 in Irving and station 1 in Grapevine. The Chief of Irving came out to see the truck along with all the guys from station 2, he thanked us for our work as fire fighters and gave us their honorary coin of excellance. He too plans on having his department do something to honor the women of Irving. We left Irving and visited the Grapevine fire department to say hello to the guys and was really impressed with the reception we got, especially when we just popped in the station uninvited. They came out to the truck and we shared some stories and had a few laughs, we had dinner and then they took us over to the Hilton where they got us two rooms for the night. Their Union President took care of the bill for the rooms and is already planning for us to come back next year. They are also planning the design of their shirts to honor their women as well and I can't wait to see what they look like.

Made it to Austin

Universal City housed the truck and statue just outside San Antonio, they where very excited about the stop and assured us they will sport pink for our women on our three days in October. They will rally all the other outlying cities to do the same.

We just arrived here in Austin where they have us set up in a very nice hotel, they plan on having the Lance Armstrong Foundation for the festivities as well as other Cancer Organizations, they have guest speakers, snow cone machines, and even a performance by a well known singer songwriter who also is a breast cancer survivor. We are so proud of this truck and what it stands for and to have the city of Austin take notice of this truck and use it to inspire their city to get on board this campaign, is an honor.