Date: 2018-02-25
To: View Entry
Miles today: 0.0

No picture today, but I wanted to post a few thoughts. First, a shout out to Beaker - thank you for the support, and to the others who have posted in the guest book, and for the many, many messages I have received. It means a lot to me and I do appreciate it! Unfortunately, with this site I do not see an easy way to click on those messages and do a short reply, but please know that I do see them, read them, and appreciate them! Also, on another note, please excuse typos on these entries. I have to type them in from my phone, so the fat finger effect is going to kick in from time to time. I¢m not used to typing so much on a phone.... After the trail I think my fingers and wrists will be just as strong as my legs!Yesterday and today were fun. I spent as much time with my wife as possible and finished my packing. On Saturday we did a little pre-anniversary celebrating and went to an event. I¢m almost afraid to type this because it is not going to paint me in a good light, but here goes: I took my wife Gillian to Monster Jam for our anniversary. Yup. For those of you who know what that is, I¢ll just let that sink in. I promise I have a good explanation. For my friends overseas and any others who don¢t know, it¢s a monster truck competition. Imagine a normal truck with huge wheels. Then think about adding a McDonalds factor by supersizing it until it¢s so massive you need a ladder to get inside it, and it rolls over other normal size cars like they are tiny cockroaches. Then, take said vehicle and paint it a gaudy color and give it a threatening or silly name, like Gravedigger, or Big Kahuna. Draw some flames or skulls on it and maybe put a few spikes on it. That¢s a monster truck. They race each other jumping over huge dirt ramps and do crazy freestyle stunts, crushing cars, flipping over, and in the end, most of them ended up crunched and smoking, leaving their bits, bobs, and bumpers strewn about. All of this happened in Atlanta¢s new Mercedes Benz stadium, to cheering crowds of loyal fans. Ok, so I know you¢re probably thinking ¢dude, DUDE.....WHY? Why would you think it¢s a good idea to take your wife to monster jam for your anniversary? Why?¢ That¢s a fair question. First thing you should know is we like to do things, to have different and new experiences. This was definitely a curiosity and a one-and-done check on the bucket list. The second important thing is monster jam is NOT my jam. Years ago when we first started dating she had mentioned a desire to check it out. I mean, come on - who doesn¢t have a little morbid curiosity when it comes to trucks that crush a bunch of cars? Well, years went by and we got married, but I never forgot about the supersize me truck show. When I started thinking about anniversary gifts, I wanted to be traditional but wrap in our sense of adventure and love for experiences. I figured the first anniversary gift is traditionally paper, so tickets would count. And, it just so happened that monster jam was happening right before I would start the trail. Bingo! That was my pony. In all seriousness though, we both had a good time. It¢s something we will always remember doing together, with ear plugs....Today Gillian surprised me with a couples massage, which was amazing! His is where you¢re probably thinking ¢yeah, that¢s because she is smart and doesn¢t try and drag you to some crazy event!¢ Fair enough :-). My back will definitely at least feel great at the start of the hike. Afterward, we went out for tacos at lunch and ran a few errands. Before we knew it, it was time for bed. I had some good quality time with Lucy the cat as well this weekend. I made sure  she got her favorite treats and we played with her favorite toy, Ribbon. Ribbon is sort of like a cross between a toy, a baby blanket, and permission to be a kitten again. We have so many cat toys, but Lucy only has love for Ribbon. Ribbon is actually a red ribbon from the box of a pen that I was gifted at my last job. One man¢s trash is Lucy¢s treasure....And now, as I type this, it¢s time for bed and I¢m going to wake up tomorrow and it will be THE DAY! I¢ve waited so long for this that it feels surreal. I will miss my wife, family and friends so much, but this will be a grand adventure! I¢m grateful for the love in my life and for the gift of so many smiles and laughs. To bed now I go, and tomorrow I¢ll rise to walk north, one day at a time.