Constantino Diaz-Duran is a fellow at the Center for Social Cohesion at Arizona State University. He is chronicling his walk from New York to Los Angeles to celebrate his eligibility for American citizenship. Follow Constantino’s progress.

On Wednesday, I walked from Vishal and Vasanth’s home in Clifton to a friend’s godparents’ place in West Caldwell. The walk wasn’t long, but it was very hot – about 93 degrees. I was also surprised by just how hilly Northern New Jersey is.

There was a particular street that I’ll likely never forget, Highland Avenue in Montclair, which I walked from Bradford to Claremont Avenues. It was only 1.6 miles, but it felt like four. Aside being steep, the street is very pretty. It is also home to several mansions, many of which have views of the Manhattan skyline. According to online records, this 7 bedroom, 4-bathroom house built in 1927 sold in 2003 for $965,000, and was assessed in 2010 at $1,277,700.

About three quarters of the way up the hill, a guy in an SUV drove by, hit reverse, and backed up to say hi. He rolled down the window as he took a puff from his joint. “Walking far?” he asked. “California,” I said. That shocked him, but he also thought it was “so awesome.” I told him why I’m doing it, and he said, “You want know what it means to be an American? Well, it’s awesome, but I don’t know, man, I’m just a pot-smoking rich kid from the suburbs.” He had all sorts of advice for me on how I should sneak into parks and camp, even if it’s illegal, but I should “like, [not] light a fire, and stuff, ‘cause then they’ll see [me].” A police car drove by while we were talking, and he didn’t even bother to hide the joint, which made me a little nervous. Then it started to rain, and he drove off.

The rain didn’t last long, luckily, and it did make things a bit cooler! When I made it to West Caldwell, Renée and Joel had burgers, hot dogs and wine ready. It was delightful. My friend Justin, their godson, came from Manhattan to join us for dinner. They offered me the couch to sleep on, but Justin and I wanted to practice setting up my tent in their backyard. I didn’t have time to take it out of the pouch before I left, and was feeling a little nervous about it.

This, by the way, is where I come out of the closet as a total city slicker. Before that night, I had never pitched a tent in my life. The one I got is pretty easy to set up, though, so I am feeling much more confident.

Renée and Joel’s granddaughters were visiting from Chicago, and they were all getting ready for a road trip to New England early Thursday morning. The girls, ages 10 and 11, have made it their goal to see all 50 states. After this trip, they will have visited more than 20. Their favorite is Hawaii, they said – so now I’m thinking that when I finish walking, hopping on a plane to Waikiki will be just what I need!

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*Photo by Constantino Diaz-Duran.