So, we're off.
Inevitably, we got off to a late start; a late night (of course) packing up and making last minute decisions on what to take, what to leave, when to send what to who ... It was kind of a mess, and kind of just what I figured would happen.
I woke a little later than I thought I would, stumbled downstairs to try to fix my email "issues" (why it decided to pick the night before I leave to completely b0rk itself is beyond me). Kelly made her way down a few minutes later, and we sat in silence pecking away at Powerbooks until Chris comes down, looks out the window, and sees a small army of people come to see us off. They all get invited in and the once quiet house is turned into a sea of chattering as Chris and I stumble around trying to get going at some semblance of our planned departure time.
A ton of last minute advice is given:
- "This Tiger Balm will help a lot with sore muscles, bruises, stuff like that"
- "Don't sleep in washes. They may look inviting, but a storm that you never hear could send a flash flood down into your campsite."
- "This will give you some time to really think; something like this is how I got over my first really bad breakup."
- "Learn to silence the little voice in your head. Then you'll really begin to enjoy the trip."
... And a lot more just like that, most of which I should have written down at the time.
As we finally got on the bikes, the crowd launched into "Row Your Boat" (sometimes "Ride your bike"), hugs were passed around, last minute goodbyes given...It was great. Thanks to all that showed up.