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The DON'T WAIT Project® Tour finished its final of three tours in 2022, traveling a combined 23 states. It was an honor to help share the DON'T WAIT stories of people throughout the country. Our deepest thanks to all who have participated and to TOWN TOYOTA for its full support of all three tours⏤it was quite a ride.
TOUR 2019
Our first leg of the 2019 tour takes place in Austin and Dallas, Texas, as The DON'T WAIT Project Tour 2019 gets underway. Check out who we've met, where we've gone and how camping life i treating us.
We're searching for the story that speaks to YOU. Keep watching! Follow the tour on Facebook and Instagram.
Arnaudville, Louisiana
We're making our way through the southern states. Take a look at the Bayou Teche Brewery stop in Arnaudville, Louisiana. LIVE music, crawfish pizza and 160-mile bayou, plus stories from locals on this boon dock adventure before heading to Jackson, Mississippi.
Jackson, Mississippi
For the next stop of The DON'T WAIT Project® Tour, we traveled to south Mississippi where we visited an urban farm in Jackson. Dr. Cindy Ayers does more than harvest produce on her 68-acre farm. She helps build healthy lives in her community. During our stay, we experienced much of what Jackson offers, including the food, live music and southern hospitality.
Follow the tour as we help share DON'T WAIT stories from the south. What's your DON'T WAIT?
Northern Mississippi
We traveled to Northern Mississippi for part of one of two stops centered around National Organ Donation Month and an endearing friendship that began in an ICU waiting room 15 years ago.
Follow us along The DON'T WAIT Project Tour and find a story that speaks to YOUR heart.
BIRMINGhAM, Alabama
I've gotta say, strength comes from allowing ourselves to feel uncomfortable⏤emotionally, geographically, physically. Birmingham, Alabama, definitely is not my comfortable place, but I'm so glad I showed up. Take a look, and you'll experience some of the most amazing examples of people living DON'T WAIT lives⏤I promise.
Alabama is checked off our list of stops along The DON'T WAIT Project Tour. We're moving on to the remaining stops and searching for the story that helps light YOUR path.
CHARLOTTE, North Carolina
Take a look at the wonderful stories we helped tell in North Carolina along the third week of the tour. I met Christine via Skype when she was on my show a couple years ago, following her Facebook post about the 911 call she almost didn't make. And we spent an afternoon with a group of active and thriving Parkinson's patients who absolutely stole my heart and hold my deep respect. We also took in a carnival and made friends with the downtown locals in Charlotte.
Harvest HostS
Along The DON'T WAIT Project Tour, we've boon docked at some fabulous locations. If you travel and sleep on wheels, you won't want to miss out on the Russian Chapel Hills Winery. It's true we stayed an extra day when stuck in the tornadoes, but what a beautiful place to spend our time.
Take a look.
smoky mountains, TENNESSEE
It's a rare opportunity to meet people like Robin and Fred Ford. They offered us a place to park our trailers on their more than 100-year-old homestead in between DON'T WAIT stories, and the Fords are truly a DON'T WAIT story of their own.
We kept the camera rolling and captured some of the best content of the tour. Grateful to them for their hospitality and stimulating conversation⏤two of my favorite things.
nashville, tennessee
I went in search of a musician who had a compelling story behind his or her success in the music industry, and I was immediately set on Kirby Brown for his sound, lyrics and fortitude.
Also on this stop, I enjoyed some much-needed girl time when two of my besties flew out from Washington for a fun-filled Nashville weekend, including a visit to the Grand Ole Opry and a chance meeting with one of the evening's performers.
knoxville, tennessee
I've thought about the men of the Knoxville, Tennessee, stop of The DON'T WAIT Project Tour everyday since we left. I felt honored knowing that just by them showing up for our day of fly fishing and interviews showed their trust in me as their storyteller.
Project Healing Waters is a life-changing and life-saving organization, and I will never forget the time I spent on the water with the people who run it, volunteer for it and participate in it. These men are life-changing storytellers.
AUSTIN, TEXAS - PART TWO
This is the final story of The DON'T WAIT Project Tour 2019. I first discovered the Widdison family as Household No. 6 when I wrote a feature story about them in a Colorado magazine. A year later, I interviewed them at their Timnath, Colorado, home along The DON'T WAIT Project Tour 2018. We remained in touch, so when I found out their story brought them to Austin, Texas, I knew I had to include them and their beautifully bold decisions in this year's tour.
PREVIOUS TOURS
For past episodes, highlights and photos from previous tours, click below.