A Few More Lessons Learned

It has been almost 4 weeks since I left home.

There has been much joy as I have been enveloped in the beauty, diversity and vastness of creation.

There has been a few been minor challenges- troubles with campsites that were planned without a full comprehension of the lay of the land, lack of connectivity when trying to post a blog-but nothing insurmountable.

There has been some learning along the way as well:

*Be flexible as things will not always go as planned

*Prepare for any weather (I was not anticipating the extreme heat in the mountains)

*Leaving food in a cooler for 3 days, without fresh ice, when it is in the high 90’s is not a good idea

*I don’t like driving in the mountains, and I have done a lot of driving at uncomfortable heights

*People are interesting and amazing

A woman who was on a 125 mile hike on her own

A family (Mom, dad, 4 1/2 yr old and a 2 1/2 yr old)  traveled from Israel, rented a camper van and are touring national parks for 4 weeks

A man in his 80’s who was mountain climbing with his son

A pastor and her family who moved from Maine to Holden Village for a 2 year stay

*I miss my peeps

*I am glad I built into my trip time with friends and family

*I will not take flush toilets and showers for granted ever again!

*A good friend is one who you have not seen in years and yet the comfort of being together remains

I am blessed to be spending time with Joanna, a seminary friend I met while taking Greek in the summer of 1983. Joanna lives in Tacoma with her husband, Tim, and son, Luke. It is delightful to catch up while strolling through her historic neighborhood in north Tacoma, sharing delicious meals and reminiscing about our days in Seminary. While in seminary we went out to breakfast together every week at a local dive, Bonnie Too, on University Ave. So, tomorrow we will be going out to breakfast for old time sake.