Date: 2007-02-03
To: Counting Down
Miles today: 0.0

34 days and counting until we arrive at Springer again!!!! Time is flying by and we will head home to Southeastern Ohio in prep for the journey to Georgia. We have been in Kirtland Ohio pretty much since March, enjoying our family and grandchildren and, of course, working as tour guides, gardeners, etc. here at the Kirtland Temple. We plan on returning to the Kirtland area when we FINISH the trail this fall!!!This is our first day back from Florida, where we were sent for a week to try and pass the message along about our experience at Kirtland, about the great work that the Restoration Trail Foundation is doing for all the Historic Sites of the Community of Christ church, and to also promote our Appalachian Trail walk for 2007. We put together a power point of our 2005 hike and showed this several times at the "reunion" we were visiting! Many of those we spoke with were very excited about our experience. We also met several people who had walked sections of the trail and one who had walked the whole trail in 2000. Her name was "Jolly Rancher", and she plans on trying to come out around Neels Gap and hike for a few days with us. Florida, Deland area, was really nice! Temperatures below freezing a couple of nights and then warming up to the 70's and 80's. Quite different than here at Kirtland where today it is 20 degrees and windchills predicted for -20 degrees this evening with additional lake effect snow on top of the foot or so that is on the ground as we speak! We were totally blessed just being able to get out of Deland when we did. This area was hit by powerful tornadoes that devastated a huge area the same day that we left. Storms hit around 3 or 3:30 in the morning and caused many fatalities in that area. We had to detour to get to our Interstate that led back to Orlando. We were kept safe, but our hearts go out to those who suffered the many tragedies that these storms created.Updates on our 2007 hike have included working on our Leki sticks and getting them ready. Seems as though the shock absorber systems have frozen up and parts of them just will not tighten properly. Leki corporation, though, is really incredible. I called them and told them of our problem and they simply told me to send them to Buffalo, N.Y. and they would refurbish them at no charge and send them back to us. Now that is the way to stand by your product!!!!!!!!! Great company!!! The return will be in only 2 or 3 days from the day they receive them! So I will ship them out on Monday and hopefully they will be in Southeastern Ohio by the end of the week!Also, we are trying to figure out the mail drops this year. Our daughter, Emily, will take care of sending those out. We will not have as many as 2005 as we just plan to re-supply as we go into towns. Primarily our winter and summer clothing and sleeping bags will be about the only things we ship back and forth. We will make a list though, of where we will check for anything any of you want to ship to us, i.e. letters, notes, COOKIES!!!, Etc. Hmmmmm...did I say COOKIES?!!!!! Emily and Andy will also take care of our bills and posting our journals and pictures for our trail journal. Most all of our bills are payable on line! Very convenient! How did we ever get along without computers and cell phones?Ok, till next time!! See all of you soon!!!