It was easy for us all to fall asleep last night as we listened to the rhythmic noise of the waves on the shore. It was one of the most difficult locations to leave this morning, because Fort Walton Beach is so beautiful and alluring. It is said to be one of the best beaches in America and we can certainly understand why. First thing in the morning some of us went for a morning swim, whilst others walked along the shoreline and others just sat on the balcony with a cup of coffee in hand admiring the blue sky and warm sunshine reflecting off the sea.

However, we had to leave and a group of runners had an early start with a meeting with Fort Walton Beach Mayor Mike Anderson at City Hall.

After a short and sweet meeting with the Mayor, in which the Mayor offered a very nice proclamation,

.... we were escorted by the officers for a few miles to the city limits. Fort Walton Beach had treated us well and the people there were certainly quite welcoming.

On the outskirts of Pensacola we had our first 'lost' runner of the American World Harmony Run, whereby Mark somehow took a wrong turning and ended up in downtown Pensacola. However, he finally got back onto the right road to the school after a 6 mile detour. He met a really nice guy who lent him his mobile to ring the team to let them know where he was located and team and runner were soon reunited without a hitch.

On route 98 travelling west towards Pensacola we met some very interested and interesting people who greeted us along the way. In Navarre, a female Air Force officer named Jennifer Diaz turned her car around and stopped to chat with us. She seemed to understand our message of harmony that we carry with us and we respect and appreciate her role in offering her service to the Air Force.

The same thing happened a little further down the road when an officer in the Navy stopped for one of our runners and we did a small, impromptu meeting.

Ken and Sandra of the Taco Bell Restaurant we stopped at to wait for a runner also made us feel at home. Even though we did not get anything to eat there, they offered us some ice and drinks. Again the southern hospitality played its role.

Christine, a journalist from the Navarre Press came out when she saw us running down the road. She was very interested and enthusiastic and will write an article about us for the next weekly edition of their newspaper.

So even before we got to our first big ceremony of the day we met with some very helpful and enthusiastic harmony lovers.

Our next ceremony was at Montessori School of Pensacola where the Head of School Maria Gaudet welcomed us where we met 125 students from age 3 up to 8th grade.

The children were very enlightened and extremely knowledgeable about where we all came from and asked us some interesting questions.

After our indoor program, we were able to have the children form a circle outside and pass the torch.

Then, as we often do, we got the teachers and staff to take a few laps around the courtyard with torch. The children cheered them on and offered a "High Five!".

The rest of the day the teams ran their remaining miles for the day to Mobile, Alabama in hot and sunny conditions.

Thank you so much to Momma Goldberg's Deli for sponsoring wraps and salads for the entire team! They were great.

At night we met a few wonderful people at the Mobile Bay Adventure Inn in midtown Mobile, Alabama. We kindly were offered four rooms at this very busy hotel.

Until tomorrow!

– Arpan

Distance: 98 miles

Team Members:
Arpan DeAngelo (New York), Atulya Lee Berube (San Diego), Yuyudhan Hoppe (Minnesota), Gabriel Pelletier (Canada), Mark Collinson (England), Kshetragna (Russia), Surya (Russia), Drsalu Gruenstaeudl (Austria), Vladimir Salnicov (Moldova), Kokila Chamberlin (Wales), Salil Wilson (Australia), Vajra Henderson (New York)

Harmonemail:
You can send a message to the runners or read the messages.

Gallery: See more images!