Earlier this month some friends of mine from the western part of North Carolina were sharing pictures of a community of monks walking across the country on a Walk for Peace. We learned Friday that the monks from Texas would be continuing their Walk for Peace journey down our neighborhood streets, and resting at the park in our neighborhood.

While our esteemed guests ultimately had to cancel the evening program they had planned yesterday at Lions Park, it was splendid having the monks pass over the same footsteps my swamp dog, Porter and I traverse, daily. Having a happening like this warrants grabbing the camera and sharing this on a larger scale than a microblog.

So here we are, blogging from the neighborhoods of Breezy Heights, Heritage Heights, Bennet Woods (aka the BenWoo), and Belvidere Park. We had many wonderful neighbors from adjacent neighborhoods such as Longview, Oakwood North (OaNo), Woodcrest, Madonna Acres, and Ben Lloyd coming out on a cold day. Everyone was effervescing and anticipating our saffron guests.

I love how beautiful everyone in my neighborhood is.

The monks path made an ‘L’ shape around the BenWoo. Being very familiar with all the hobotrails and cut-throughs, their path afforded me an opportunity cross paths with the group and take some photos from multiple vantage points along their route.

My sensei Pat Callahan likes to quote the photographer Robert Capra “If your photos aren’t good enough, you’re not close enough.” As I wanted to provide our guests on the Walk for Peace some space as they traversed our neighborhood, I used a zoom lens rather than the usual fixed lens I use when I’m walking around my city. Getting in our visitor’s faces with a 35 mm would conflict with the premise of a venerable guest. Hopefully you will find these photos good enough.

We first glimpsed the monks as they climbed the Glascock hill, up from the Cemetery Branch Creek valley. This is the same path through which I take my dog to the dog park.

The GoRaleigh #3 State St. bus stop had a big turn-out yesterday.

The monks climbed up the hill at a good clip. There was a palpable somber exuberance from our neighbors.

Incidentally, less than eighteen hours after the monks passed, the kids and I were sledding down this hill. Maybe today’s snow day might warrant a blog post of its own.

I digress, back to yesterday. Ducking through the BenWoo to Bennett St., another crowd had gathered to watch the monks turn on the street.

As they had on Glascock, the moved at a steady pace up Bennett.

My understanding is hosts should stand silently and observe, but I couldn’t help myself, knowing that they were on the home stretch, gave them some words of encouragement.

This monk seemed to appreciate the news that his daily journey was coming to a close:

Our guests continued through the Breezy Heights neighborhood. While I thought they would turn into Lions, they continued up Bennett towards Woodcrest. This is the same path I take my son to play baseball.

Following this encounter, your photographer cut through Lions Park crossed paths with the troupe again on Watkins.

At long last, the monks and their Winnebago approached their home for yesterday evening, our neighborhood park, Lions.

Last night while they slumbered, our neighborhood received a dusting of sleet. Evidently, my neighbor (and #15’s old football coach) Tim from down the street heard bells ringing earlier this morning, walked over and watched as our guests arose to continue their journey to Washington, D.C. They hiked up ice-covered paths 18 miles today to their next stop on the northern edge of Wake County.

It was wonderful having the monks pass through our community today. We are blessed with sharing a beautiful, walkable space filled with interesting and caring people.

I hope our guests felt the joy my friends and I experienced while sharing our space with them, and wish them a safe passage as they promote their message of Peace.