Tomorrow Jim, our son, Mark, and I are leaving for Atlanta to visit our other son, Peter, his wife, Kayoko, and our previous granddaughter, Erika Elizabeth. Then I'll drop Mark and Jim off on Monday to begin the journey!  They'll hike 4.3 miles on Monday, up to the Springer Mountain, Georgia starting place.

These past weeks have been very busy for Jim, but he's handled many things--including selling his Prius tonight to a neat woman named Heather, who saw his ad on Craig's List.  We appreciate the support and prayers of many friends and family at this time.

Mark is spending the night with us, so that we can easily get off in the morning.  He will hike with Jim until they get into North Carolina around 4/9/08.

I have very mixed feelings about Jim being gone for six months.  I see his excitement about pursuing a lifelong dream, however, and know that this will be a healing journey in the beauty of nature.  I'm so happy Jim and Mark can enjoy this time together also.  They both are very deserving of a rest and time of renewal.