We’re leaving Seattle in less than three weeks and heading east. While we have plenty on the agenda, the biggest for us is Operation Grandparents. We thankfully have 5 grandparents between the two of us and all between the ages of 85 and 90. We have spent so much time away, on the other coast, in other countries, and on trails that we have missed much of their older years. We are looking forward to getting home and spending some quality time with them while we all have the opportunity. Plus, they’re not so mobile anymore and would probably appreciate some extra hands and help.
We are going to be bouncing between Findlay and Cincinnati, a couple weeks at a time in each place. In doing so, we also get to spend time with our parents too. When it comes down to it, they’re some of our best friends and we are really looking forward to spending time with them. I’m especially looking forward to whooping my mother-in-law in Monopoly on a regular basis.
Along with Findlay and Cincinnati time, we also are planning some road tripping. We have a good collection of friends and family on the east coast and Midwest and it’s been a good while since we’ve seen everyone. Our first trip is aptly named the “Midwest freeze your balls off tour” where we’ll be making stops in Grand Rapids, South Bend, Chicago, and Madison during the first couple weeks of February. We are also hoping to make some trips through Columbus and to Amish country to visit our trail friend Rumblestrip.
We’ve even got some book touring to do. As part of the east coast trip, we hope to set up book signings and presentations with trail clubs and libraries to promote Julie’s new book, Between a Rock and a White Blaze. The book should be released in just a couple weeks and we hope to get some attention for it because while The Trail Life has far exceeded our expectation for sales, we think the new book is even better.
Lastly, we have CDT prep to work on. We have most of our gear ready but we still have a lot of planning to do to get us ready for 3100 miles of hiking through the Rocky Mountains this coming summer.
We have a full schedule ahead, just as we like it. We look forward to seeing everyone we can and making the most of the time we have. Ohio here we come!
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