Ok, last post for real.  From this point on, find me on the web at http://walkingtomaine.blogspot.com

This is xanga's final farewell.  I am saying goodbye to the comforts life, only to take up a 50-pound (?) backpack and 2 walking poles and a heart full of gusto. 

Bye bye sushi.

And bye bye running water.  How I love you in the morning when my eyes are not awake. 

How I love you in the noontime before the meals that I partake.

It's been nice being with you, Mom's Butterscotch Pie.

It's been delicious, Thai Iced Tea.

I'm missing you, dad.  But we'll be closer on the Trail now than before.

You know how you spent so much of your life dreaming of what's beneath the surface? 
Now you know...



I feel like we're about to crack our own code of sorts out in the forest.

And I'll see you soon, Sis. 



You'll drive us to Springer Mountain.  You'll meet us at the Smokies and take Trail for awhile.  Maybe too, when you meet us you can bring us Tide with Downy, freshly-washed blueberries, cell service...and ice. The Office on DVD.  A lazyboy.  2 buckets of buttered popcorn.  A space heater.  The sound of the ocean.  A hammock and a stack of magazines.  5 frozen peppermint patties and my fluffy white bathrobe.

This is a farewell to the comforts of life.  Hopefully the next time I emerge we'll have made it to Maine!