“The whole point is not to be millionaires but to have this adventure, a once in a lifetime thing,” said Amanda Rosa of North Bergen, about her upcoming experience. “It’s the last great American adventure – getting to know America, getting to know the people. I’m going to meet everyone and eat my way across the country.”
Rosa’s plan is to begin on the East Coast of the U.S. and walk straight through to the West. But first, she’s doing a sort of warm-up walk, beginning on Nov. 6. On that date she’ll leave High Point State Park, in the northwest corner of New Jersey, and begin her eight-day hike to Cape May, at the southeast tip.
Along the way she’ll be filming the journey with the intent of creating a 10-minute documentary, which will be used to drum up interest in the cross-country project. Her ultimate goal is to score sponsors for the U.S. trip, and hopefully turn it into a reality TV show.
Walkabout NJ
“The way it started out originally was a friend of mine and I were talking about three years ago and came up with the idea of walking from Times Square to Manhattan Beach in L.A.,” said Rosa. The friend, Louie Salazar, dropped out, but the idea stuck with Rosa and she discussed it enthusiastically with everyone she knew.
One of her friends was Elliot Santiago, who works at The Joey Creative Agency, a marketing and production firm in Hoboken. Santiago brought the idea to his boss, Pete Romano, and very quickly the idea of Walkabout New Jersey was launched as a teaser for the big project.
Santiago agreed to accompany Rosa on the New Jersey trek and share filming duties, documenting the trip. The duo have since begun prepping for the journey, taking local hikes around Hudson County.
“It’s a truly beautiful state and people don’t give it credit. Just go out and walk.” –Amanda Rosa
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A third member of the troupe, Ariel Alejandro Hernandez, will be parallelling them by car, taking care of food and accommodations, with Salazar tentatively making it four.
“We are staying mostly in hotels, though we are camping at three state forests along the way: Stokes, Belleplain, and Wharton,” said Rosa. They also plan to take in some sights en route. “For example, when we’re in Princeton, we’re looking forward to visiting the battlefield and seeing some New Jersey history. We hope to learn more about the Jersey Devil when we get to the Barrens.”
Walkabout, the TV show
Rosa has lived in North Bergen her whole life. After graduating from high school, she enrolled in the New York Film Academy at age 18.
“My goal is to be the first woman to direct a James Bond movie,” she said. “Unless Kathryn Bigelow beats me to it.”
The Walkabout project was always intended to combine her two loves: visual narrative and walking.
“I think on that very first day we were discussing making a documentary, and then from there turning it into a TV show,” she recalled.
And it doesn’t stop with the walk across the U.S. “It would be nice to go to other places in the following seasons,” Rosa continued. “The first season the U.S., then the second season the U.K., the third season China, and then wind up the fourth season in Australia for a real Walkabout.”
Current plans call for the U.S. Walkabout to begin next summer. “To leave in May or June,” said Rosa. “That way when we get to the desert we’re not in June. And we’re not in tornado season.”
But what happens when bad weather strikes, as it inevitably will? “We gotta keep going,” she said. “Put one foot in front of the other.”
A truly beautiful state
Asked if she was a fitness junkie, Rosa responded, “If by fitness you mean eating cheeseburgers, then yes.”
In truth, walking is her abiding passion. “We’re really looking forward to it, actually walking,” she said. “We’re counting down the days. One of the things we were talking about is we would like people to go out and walk in New Jersey. It’s a truly beautiful state and people don’t give it credit. Just go out and walk.”
Walkabout NJ can be found on Facebook.
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.