Date: 2010-03-03
To: Inspection, Packing and Praying
Miles today: 0.0

Lots of hikers are starting in the next 2 weeks, Longhaul, EZ Hiker, Ham and Brian, Attroll, and many more. Good luck to all!!! We will be following you all until we get to start, hoping your journals will help us make our dream a reality, making it easier for us to get through this weird weather and hopefully giving us tips and advice.We are continuing to prep our food, snacks and bounce box, getting the meals ready is fun but tedious. Our pool table is full of completed meals, baggies, snacks all looking for a place. We bought 4 bins, one each for breakfasts, snacks, lunches and suppers. The snack one is full and complete, the lunch one has some meals as well as the breakfast, the supper one has plenty of meals ready but not separated by days yet. We are packaging the meals in gallon bags to distinguish between how many days we may be on the trail. Such as 2 days lunch, 3 days lunch, etc, this will allow Samantha to pack our drop easily. We will ask her to send us 4 breakfasts, 4 snacks, 4 lunches, and 4 dinners to Fontana, (just an example). Then we might ask her to add one pack of Advil, one pack of Tums, etc, this way, our boxes aren't packed and sealed allowing for us to change our mind about distance, food choices and add ins. The post office is right across from the shop and will be easy access for her. Thanks Samantha!!!Yesterday, the house inspector came over to "inspect" all of our appliances, roof, wood, water, drains, probably our underwear too. It was so hard because he was prying into our home, "looking" for something to put on the report. I felt violated, nervous, not because I thought anything I knew was wrong but maybe he would find some huge thing that would stop the sale, it felt like he was searching feverishly for something he had all our lights on. This made me feel weird because all my life I've been yelled at for leaving lights on, water on, he said he was checking for overloads, none found that I know of, Thank God. Of course the home is older and we expect some repairs, but not something huge. I was nervous, upset, luckily the buyer's agent, Terry Kelly was there and reassured me it is standard stuff and not to worry. The appraiser then showed up, Wow whammy all in one day. Let us all Pray everything comes our terrific and Ms. Lorena can buy the house and be happy in the home my children we raised, it is a very warm, comfortable home I know she will have many years of happiness.Back to the trail thing. Our start is March 27. We have so much to take care of before we are able to hike, packing, moving, closing on the house, getting our chihuahua to Grandma and Grandpa's, possibly also flying to California to visit a dear friend (Lore)who had a stroke. I have been wanting to see her but haven't had the money or time to do it. We will stuff this adventure between March 19 - 23. We plan to be out of the house and everything in storage by then. Doing all this stuff keeps us busy and our minds off wanting to start the trail. Most of the people on the trail seem to be holding up or moving slowly, taking zeros in towns. I hope the downed trees are moved, the snow melted and the hikers can move on before we start(yeah right). Not because we don't want to meet them but because the will be lots of people already starting with us and then if everyone else is hold up, we will have a "train" of hikers heading to Katahdin.3 weeks 3 days and the adventure begins...See you on the trail...