About the Project

In October 2004 my wife Sharon and I, Randy, lost our residence on Pensacola Beach to Hurricane Ivan. Instead of treating it as a disaster we made this an opportunity for us to pursue our dream of traveling the U.S. in a motor home. During our four-year adventure on the road, we noticed numerous lone shoes sitting on the side of the road. We began to get intrigued by how many there were, and the fact that each of those shoes had to have belonged to someone, but who? Were they male or female, young or old, rich or poor? How did it end up alone on the road? The inherent mystery tied to these images is the untold story of each shoe, the viewer cannot help but create that story in their mind.

So what we have decided to do is catalog the shoes we come across through photographs along with the stories of Adventure that accompany each shoe. Hence the birth of the One Shoe Diaries™. The shoes are left in their original state, we do not alter or move them.

We have since stopped living full-time in the motorhome and currently reside back in Pensacola, Florida. Many events have happened since we first started out on this journey of life after Hurricane Ivan. We journeyed cross-country, we lost our sweet Noah at birth, we were blessed with Nora shortly after, we endured the BP oil spill as it wrecked our beaches and economy, I lost my mother and most recently Jinny passed away. Life throws lots of ups and downs and we invite you to experience ours with us. We hope you enjoy our ever-growing collection of shoes and the stories attach to them.

Most recently discovered Lost Soles

Latest Stories from the Road

Lost Sole Dedication #244: good bye Nanny

Today I lost a grandmother. Not my blood relative grandmother, but my grandmother nonetheless. Pauline Jessie Conner, affectionately known as Nanny, was Sharon’s grandmother and our Nora Jessie Hamilton’s namesake. Nanny was truly the glue that bound the family together, a true matriarch so this past week has been so hard on the family.

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Collector of Lost Stuff and Lost Soles #383 and #384

On our way home from Maryland Sharon and I passed a gentlemen on the shoulder of I-65, outside of Montgomery, AL, pulling a shopping cart overflowing with items that can only be described as “stuff”. I mentioned to Sharon regarding our current situation that “it could always be worse” as I pointed to this poor fellow dragging his belongings in the searing southern U.S. heat.

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