Our story and how this all came together

In October 2005, Dwight and I will begin the walk from St. Jean Pied de Port in the Pyrenees to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Recently, I lost my job of five years as an officer in an advertising agency due to a company merger. After my last day on October 12, we will be stepping on a plane bound for Spain. From the moment the news of the merger occurred, I have viewed it as nothing but a positive change in my life. Many doors have sprung open, but the biggest door that has practically fallen off its hinges is the opportunity to do the Camino, something I’ve been longing to do for quite some time. It takes at least thirty days, and it is 500 miles from the Pyrenees to Santiago, Spain! My departure from the agency has so far been the best scenario I could have hoped for. I had been considering a change in my career, looking for more challenging work; and it seems to have solved my dilemma. Taking four weeks off at one time from my job would not have been possible.
Dwight and I first met while my friend Lindsey and I were tooling around on scooters in Cozumel. While it looked fun, we found that our abilities to manuver these vehicles through the busy streets of Cozumel was much more than we had anticipated and a little unnerving. We quickly sought out the local tiki bar and plopped ourselves down next to the beautiful, torquiose waters of the Caribean to await our next move. Dwight and his friend Will appeared shorty thereafter, quickly assesssed the situation, accepted our invitation to ride scooters and we were off to tour the island. Dwight persuaded me to drive because the strange animal-looking drink in his hand was bigger than his face and evidently, deceivingly strong. Lucky me. I was really hoping to hold tight and let someone else drive. Little did I know a year later we would be doing more than just touring around a little island in the Caribean. It seem both of us were in desparate need of a life makeover. Dwight was suffering from a series of unfortunate events and I was unsatisfied with the direction my career and personal life had been moving and determined 2005 would be my year for good, positive change. The power of two would prove to be quite something of a miracle. We continued our friendship long after the trip and as fate would have it both of us suddenly found ourselves single right around, you guessed it, Valentines Day. So there you go, now months later we are on our way to walk 500 miles together across Northern Spain on a journey that most only dream about. Or maybe they just assume we have lost our minds.
As we both came to crossroads in our lives, we decided this would be the perfect time to take on an exciting new adventure. The fundraising part of the trip was an idea that absolutley fell into my lap and took on a life of it’s own. I’ve been involved in community work here in Atlanta and have always wanted to do more. Dwight has done some incredible things with the charity side of his business one being his work with The Better Life Foundation. Combining our desire to walk the Camino and doing something meaningful became a challenge we couldn’t turn away from. Once our fundraising expedition is completed I will be searching for a new job and Dwight will go back on the road as a guitar tech for Cowboy Mouth. Even though Dwight is currently touring with the band he has also been concentrating on restoring and relocating his custom guitar business to Atlanta. So we are taking a short pause in our lives and are looking forward to the new opportunities coming our way.
This is an incredible personal journey as well as an opportunity to go beyond our personal reasons and goals. Our goal is to use the trip as a unique endeavor to raise money through Lyrics for Life for several children’s cancer charities. My mother works for the Massey Cancer Center, and I have always been supportive of their efforts and her hard work. To do something for the community here and for my hometown Richmond, Virginia would be an added plus to an already enriching adventure. I’ve had several family members who lost the battle to cancer and some who continue to fight the battle today. This endeavor just made sense to us, and we thought Lyrics for Life could be the perfect avenue to help us make it happen.
In recent days we have seen the devastion of Hurricane Katrina and our nation is suffering. We at first considered not doing this trip at all. We thought it just didn’t feel right to ask for donations for our fundraiser when all of our hearts are in the Gulf. It would be too much to ask when most of the nation is and should be focusing on support for the Hurricane Katrina survivors. But then we thought that maybe there was a way we still could not only raise money for Lyrics for Life but that maybe we could help those survivors that not only are suffering from cancer but have had to survive this devasting Hurricane as well. We have decided to stay the course and adjust accordingly.
This is not a well-known adventure here in the United States, so we think it will be a unique, intriguing story and an experience to share that we hope you will enjoy. With our love for music, Dwight’s career in the music industry and past charity work experience, we know that our partnership with Lyrics for Life is the perfect avenue for us to raise money for children’s cancer charities and have an enriching journey along the way.

Thanks for taking the time to read our story and for all your donations and support!

Callie Householder & Dwight Maddox