Perhaps you've heard already... I'm trekking across America for a good cause...
Sunday, October 29, 2006
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10-28-06
Last night we all went out to celebrate the finish. Sarah and Pam, mom and dad, Steve and Debbie, Craig (Brenda's cousin), Paul (a friend I met in Moab), Adam and I all went. We hit a sport's pub, ate dinner, and had some drinks. It was really fun to let loose a bit.
My biggest surprise, I think, was Paul showing up at the end. I met him in Moab, and he and I kept in touch via email. He is from England, and is taking his motor bike all over the place. When he decided, last-minute, to fly up to see us finish, he was in Guatemala! He's headed to Argentina now. Paul inspires me to keep "doing." I appreciate his sense of adventure and his spontaneity.
I really don't know what everyone did today, but Adam and I did something I had been dreaming about for a while. We slept in until about noon, then just laid around, watched TV, and just played lazy. It was a great wind-down.
My emotions are this: confused. I'm trying to figure out if I'm happy, sad, or what. I think I'm just going to cry when I feel the need, laugh when I need to, or even just veg and have no emotion.
For now, we're gonna' have some seafood and cocktails at Fisherman's Wharf. More relax time. It's a hard day! :)
10-27-06
Start: About 1/4 mile from the big finish!
Destination: The Pacific Ocean!
Elevation: Sea level
Miles: 1/4 mile
Weather: Warm, sunny, breezy, perfect!
(Watch the finish at www.ourhike.com!)
What a day! Mom and I woke up, got ready, packed our backpacks up for the last time on this trip, and headed out. Adam and Dad dropped us off at our ending point from yesterday, which happens to be only a quarter-mile from our exact finish point.
Mom and I stood for a bit, waiting for just the right moment to step out onto the sand toward the beach. Our stomachs weren't full of butterflies any more - they were full of knots. We were nervous, not having any idea what to expect, but we were so excited, too. We were mostly anxious - the anxiety was making our stomachs go crazy. Finally, we stepped out onto the sand and started walking toward the small gathering of people at our finish point. It was slow-going through the sand, but it felt good to be moving. I even accidentally bumped mom's stick, causing her to drop it. That made us laugh.
So we got to the banner that had the ADT logo and another that read "Our Hike for AA&MDSIF." We actually took a minute to take off our shoes so we could feel the sand between our toes, then took our backpacks off. Then mom and I went arm-in-arm and stepped our toes into the salty Pacific Ocean - FINALLY! :)
But we didn't only dip our toes in... we completely jumped in. It felt great! Actually it wasn't as cold as Lake Superior in May. Crazy! It was quite refreshing and felt really great!
We had a small gathering of family, friends, and patients. It was very simple, very nice, and we felt very comfortable. So we did it. We made it all the way across America on foot. The first mother-daughter team to cross the country on foot, too!
We are feeling proud. We are feeling thankful to all who participated and supported us. And we are hoping that the transition back home isn't too overbearing. We will have to keep everyone updated on how that all goes!
Yeah! We made it! Thank you, readers, for following our journey and helping us get here, too! :)
10-26-06
Start: Bear Valley TH, CA
Destination: About 1/4 mile from the big finish!!!!!
Elevation: 22 ft.
Miles: 10.1
Weather: Sunny and hot
Uh... we are almost completely done. How do we feel? We're not sure. I think tomorrow, when our toes finally hit the salty water of the Pacific Ocean, we're either going to be overwhelmed with excitement and feelings, or we're going to seem sort of numb and it'll hit us two weeks from now. But either way, we're just going to let it happen however it does.
Today's hike was really fun. Pam and Sarah hiked along, and it helped the day fly and the uphill seem not so steep. We don't necessarily feel like we want it to end, but we are feeling a little anxious - maybe a little nervous, so their hiking along really calmed our nerves.
Having family and friends here is awesome. We are feeling a little more comforted and ready to do our "ceremony" at the finish tomorrow.
Boy... what happened today? I don't know! Too much running through our minds! We did have a pretty hike, and we ended on the sand, LOOKING at the water. We seriously haven't even touched it yet. It will be so exciting to have that "symbol" to show we truly have connected our east to west progression. We dipped our heels in the Atlantic, and tomorrow we'll dip our toes in the Pacific.
1 more day.
10-25-06
Start: Bolinas Ridge Trail, CA
Destination: Bear Valley TH, CA
Elevation: 751 ft.
Miles: 13.9
Weather: Perfect!
Sarah took some great photos of us at the Golden Gate Bridge this morning before we drove out to hit the trail. Then a little later we did a radio interview. So before we even hit the trail, we did a lot. And then, when we drove up to the road we needed to take, it was gated with a sign reading, "Closed due to high fire danger." So we ended up circling around and finding a different trailhead. It was an exciting morning. Once we finally hit the trail, we cruised on.
Sarah and Pam drove ahead, then hiked towards us on each stretch between trailheads. We had a fun time looking around each corner to see if they were there, and when they were we'd all holler in excitement as if we hadn't seen each other just a half hour earlier.
Our plan for when we were done hiking was for Sarah and Pam to drive us to the San Fran airport so we could surprise the guys when they flew in. So we took windy Hwy 1 at night, and we quickly realized that maybe Hwy. 1 was meant for a one-time scenic drive sort of thing. It's so windy that we probably drove at least an extra half-hour. It's a beautiful drive in daylight, though. Anyway, we found an alternate route for later use.
We got to the airport, and I read one of the screens that said a flight from Minneapolis was coming in late - at 12:22 am (instead of 11:30). So we sat and waited while Sarah and Pam parked the car. All of a sudden Sarah comes walking by, and I hollered for her, and she turned around and said, "They're here!" We were looking at the wrong stupid flight. Mom and I snuck over and I first saw Steve, a family friend, along with his wife, Debbie, who flew out to see us finish, too. Then I saw Adam, waiting anxiously for his suitcase to come around. I walked up behind him and put my arms around him, expecting a huge exciting shout or something - and Adam was Adam, which is funny. He turned around and said, "Oh, hi," smiled big and gave me a kiss - very calmly. I don't know how that guy controls his emotions the way he does! I'd have peed! (I just about did when they surprised us in Denver.)
Then we walked over and saw Grandma and dad, and they both were shocked. It was SO much fun! We had to change their plans a bit so we could stay with them for the night, but it was worth it.
Tomorrow we hike a little over 10 miles, and that'll leave us with a very short walk on Friday to Limantour Beach (ooh, I just got butterflies in my stomach).
2 more days!