Date: 2014-03-10
To: Well Wishes from Friends
Miles today: 0.0

It¢s not easy wrapping my mind around being gone for 6-7 months. The last time I did that, I left home for good and joined the Army! This is not like that. I¢m coming back but it¢s going to be a very LONG ¢vacation¢. I¢ve taken week-long trips away from my husband, and in 2010, I was even gone for 3 weeks on a road trip with my sister. But this will be a good half year away!With this extended absence, many friends have made more of an effort to get-together before I leave. Jane, from our scout troop, and I had been wanting to get together for months, to go on walks. Being a teacher, she was very busy, had family challenges, then my medical challenge. We finally got together on Saturday, March 1st. We met in Olympia and walked around Capital Lake and up the hill to the Capitol Campus, overlooking part of downtown and the Port of Olympia. It was a bit cloudy so we couldn¢t see the Olympic Mountains in the distance, but it was still a beautiful sight.Of course, after a good walk in the cool weather, a stop at Batdorf & Bronson for coffee is a MUST. Batdorf & Bronson was the first coffee roaster in Olympia in 1986. Marty and I arrived in Olympia in 1988. I remember going downtown and smelling something like burnt toast! It wasn¢t until a couple years later that I learned that it was the coffee roaster! Batdorf & Bronson donated coffee to the non-profit, alternative school where I was teaching, for some of its fundraising events, so I started patronizing them. A woman there asked my questions about how I like my coffee to taste and what I usually put in it. She offered me a blend that they did and I was hooked! Batdorf & Bronson is a big part of downtown Olympia, with the roaster and coffee-tasting near the Farmers Market, its coffee caf© in the heart of downtown, and a couple signature coffee cafes (Dancing Goats) around town.Jane and I had a nice walk and then warmed up and relaxed with a cup of coffee and conversation at Batdorf & Bronson¢s. Jane, I look forward to doing more of that after my return!A couple who moved into a house up on the hill behind us, Mary and Joel, offered to have a small send-off gathering at their house on Friday, 7 March. We¢d met Mary soon after they moved in, on one of our walks around the neighborhood. She was walking their dog, and we stopped to pet the dog and chat. She had learned about Michael¢s upcoming adventure on the PCT and our (way in the) future adventure on the AT.About a week before the get-together, Michael and I were walking up past their house. Mary ran out to meet us. ¢When are you leaving? I¢d love to have a get-together here with a few of the neighbors. What¢s your phone number?¢We weren¢t hearing anything, then on Wednesday, 5 March, Michael and I were on a walk and decided to knock on their door. One conversation led to another and we were there for almost 3 hours! We planned a little gathering with John, next door to us, and Dick and Dee, next door to John and directly downhill from Mary and Joel. Again, a 3-hour get-to-know-our-neighbors time! Thank you SO much, Mary and Joel, for hosting everyone, and thanks John, Dee, and Dick for making it a very special evening.We had a wonderful dinner evening with Claire, Katie, and Claire¢s parents Colin and Cathy. Colin and Cathy drove from Portland, to north of us to pick up Claire just to get together with us and take us out to dinner. Michael talks about thru-hiking friends, and these are some of the best!As Michael put in his last post, we got a warm send-off at church. Claire and Katie joined us, and it was so wonderful to feel the warmth of the congregation all wishing us well. The St. Christopher¢s medal from the choir was perfect, along with singing the Spiritual, ¢I Want Jesus to Walk With Me!¢ Thank you all for your warm wishes as we head forth on this endeavor! Blessings, all of them!Marilyn, Mother of¢¦..