CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – For nearly 1 1/2 years, Neal Moore has paddled through rivers like the Kanawha on his cross-country canoe trip. 6,200 miles and 18 months later, Moore made his way to the Capital City Thursday.

“I have a chance to become a part of people’s stories and they have a chance to become a part of mine as well,” Moore said.

After a stop in Huntington July 19, Moore has reached Charleston. In his two weeks in the Mountain State, he says he’s enjoyed the beauty West Virginia has to offer.

“From my experience, my brief experience here in West Virginia, what you have going – it’s a perfect blend between town and country,” he said.

The author has spent time living in Asia and Africa, but for a few weeks, he’s calling West Virginia home. It took Neal six days to travel from Huntington, up the Kanawha River and into Charleston. He says the people that he’s met is what has made his journey through the Mountain State more worthwhile.

“People have been just incredible,” Moore said. “Folks will wave, they’ll honk their horns, the tow captains will step out of the wheelhouse to wave as well to wish you well.”

In his adventure across the United States and through West Virginia, Moore hopes to find out what it truly means to be an American.

“To look for the ingredients of what it is to be an American, to find, explore and celebrate,” he said.

Neal will next travel up the Ohio River into Pennsylvania with the Statue of Liberty his end destination.,