Two groups with very different purposes are traveling from San Francisco to Washington, D.C., this summer.

Although each group set off on different dates and is using different methods of transportation, both happened to pass through Lincoln on Wednesday.

March for Peace joined members of the Nebraska Coalition for Peace at the coalition’s weekly anti-war vigil at the Federal Building, 15th and O streets.

Journey of Hope joined members of Arc of Lincoln/Lancaster County for a dance at the F Street Recreation Center, 1225 F St.

The groups

As the only members of March for Peace, Ashley Casale, 19, and Michael Israel, 18, are walking across the United States to raise awareness of the need for peace and to unite people in discussions on how to take action and solve problems nonviolently. This is their first trip to promote the causes.

Members of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity are bicycling across the country to raise money and awareness on behalf of people with disabilities through the fraternity’s Journey of Hope, which is part of Push America. The group has 24 cyclists, who each raised at least $5,000, and seven crew members, who each raised at least $2,500, said public relations coordinator Nick Kulik, 20, of Bowling Green State University.

Average daily miles

March for Peace: 25 miles

Journey of Hope: 60-80 miles

Dates

March for Peace left San Francisco on May 21. Casale and Israel hope to reach D.C. by Sept. 11.

Journey of Hope left on June 10. They plan to reach D.C. on Aug. 12.

Homesickness

March for Peace: “I think we both probably miss home a little bit,” Casale said. “People are pretty nice to us on the road, and that makes us feel at home.”

Journey of Hope: Three women in Grand Island, where the group spent a couple of days, spent months planning the visit. They provided steak for the group and took them to a water park, said Matt Barackman, 21, of the University of California at Berkeley.

“I think we miss our moms, and the three of them filled that role the past few days,” Barackman said.

Dealing with boredom

March for Peace: “Ashley has a radio that she carries with her all the time,” Israel said. “A lot of times when there’s not a lot of traffic, I’ll kind of get lost in my thoughts.”

Journey of Hope: “We just try to talk as much as we can,” Barackman said. “We talk about our chapters, which have a lot of individuality.”

Learning about people

March for Peace: Casale said people have brought her new shoes on two occasions, and someone offered to give Israel a new pair of pants Wednesday.

Journey of Hope: “We have the opportunity to meet a lot of people we wouldn’t otherwise,” Barackman said. “A lot of their abilities are really underestimated.

“It’s fun seeing the cool things they can do.”

Reach Hilary Kindschuh at 473-7120 or hkindschuh@journalstar.com.