During Thanksgiving week, Ceres and area social media was abuzz with sightings of the couple who is gaining fame as roadside celebrities by walking across the country.
There was plenty of excitement on Facebook generated by folks who spotted Torin and Paige Rouse (AKA the “Walking America Couple”) as they headed southbound through Stanislaus County after their trek through downtown Modesto and down Ninth Street.
The couple has gained a following as they spread positivity and gratitude for life as they set out to walk 12,000 miles in all 50 states – but not all at once. Their trek through California is their sixth segment and takes them from the Canadian border to the Mexican border. So far they have 28 states and 6,830 miles and been 863 days on the road.
“This is our job actually,” Torin Rouse told KHOP radio station. “We’re content creators that specialize particularly in the way that the mind works. Through the walk we try to set the example that if you train a different way of thinking about challenges, the world, yourself, you can meet the world with just nearly any circumstance and can find contentment.”
He said the couple decided to embark on this journey after he felt miserable and cynical about his role in life as a loan counselor and his “skewed perceptive” of the world.
“I decided I wasn’t gonna live the rest of my life that way, got rid of all my stuff and started backpacking.”
He says he is into stoicism, an ancient Greek and Roman philosophy that teaches virtue is the path to a happy and meaningful life.
“It’s all about changing the mind, showing people how much we’re capable of, how we can change our perspective to be happier, more resilient, more loving, and less judgmental,” said Paige Rouse.
Big-rig driver Cristian Vivanco was excited to posted on Nov. 26: “I honked at you guys today at 9:59 a.m. exactly on Ninth Street in Modesto.
The couple made their way to the Whitmore Park where they posed with the Ceres entrance sign.
In moments, Allie Ramirez and her son stopped the couple for a photo and brief chat at the edge of Whitmore Park where they snapped a photo for their Facebook page. Allie reported that her son “was so excited” to meet the couple.
Anais Solorio was thrilled to see the couple walking in the country outside of Ceres and waved and got a wave in return.
Denyse Whisenhunt-Shirley saw the couple as she left work in Ceres and said “it took me a minute to realize it was you. I am bummed I didn’t stop to say hi.”
Jamie Tift Ellak let the couple know that if they made their way Hughson they would be treated to fresh sourdough chocolate chip cookies, and a baguette to snack on. However, Hughson was not on the agenda.
Wherever they go people want photos of the couple and encourage them in their journey. Gwen Reforma caught up with them at the Roeding Road bridge over the TID canal and snapped a photo before they made their way down Faith Home Road into Keyes.
The couple tries to take the safer routes through the country and avoids freeways.
Once they left Ceres they moved onto Keyes and Turlock. Torin posted one of his thoughtful reflections as the couple strolled through downtown Turlock and listened to the advertising and music piped onto the streets.
Dignitaries along the way have hunted down the couple for photo ops like the mayor of Livingston on Nov. 28.
The couple gets so many suggestions on places to visit and place to eat that it’s overwhelming. They also rely on the generosity of those who open their homes for a stay or offer a free meal. At times, people stop to give them a cash donation.
They are routinely offered free stays in homes or hotels, such as at the Hotel Bayit in Salida.
On Nov. 30 they spent the night at El Capital Hotel in Merced and had dinner with the mayor at Destino’s Restaurant.
Are they ever concerned about taking up meals or lodging with sketchy characters? Sort of. As he told KHOP, “We’ve turned down a couple of people.
“There’s all sorts out there in the world but by and large people aren’t malicious. They’re not just out to get you. It’s just that selfishness can often override more selfless qualities a lot of the time. But yeah our hosts have been incredible. It really has been spectacular that it’s turned out as well as it has.”
The couple had made their way to the Fresno area yesterday.
