On The Road Again!

On Sunday, July 15th, I'll spend the day at the beach with my friend Tom.  I'll probably find a campground and pitch a tent that night, then on Monday I'll start walking south again.  Finally, I'll be back on the road again.  I've enjoyed the visit with my family and friends, and the family reunion was great -- but I'm ready to get back out on the road again.

I've loaded up my backpack and made a couple trial runs -- or should I say tried to make a couple trial runs (and trials they were!)  The first try was hauling around 47 lbs. I didn't last a mile with that.  The next try was with around 40 lbs -- still too much.  So with a great sigh of defeat, I am back to pushing the cart again -- albeit with a much smaller load than I started out with!  I've eliminated quite a bit of gear, and have pretty much streamlined what I have kept.  I bought a new, lighter sleeping bag, but kept the same 7x7 tent.  Also, since I decided to push the cart, I added on my camping chair -- something I totally enjoyed with my cart, but eliminated with the pack.  And I did allow myself to keep a few toys with me, such as a puzzle book, my ipod, an electronic game, my camera, and my kindle.  And I've kept the Bibles I'm carrying, too.  All in all, the load is quite a bit lighter, but I'm still pushing the cart.  My back really likes that.

 Here in the Willamette Valley, it's been fairly warm, around 85. The other day, my friend Barb and I went to the coast to spend a day at the beach, and it was a good 20 degrees cooler. That was nice, and I'm looking forward to getting back to that. It's around 1,200 miles to San Diego, and should take me around 4 months to get there

Barb and I at the beach.

My dad and his siblings:  Boone, Joy, Monty and Doris.

Fenton gave us his all!

Uncle Monty and Krista.

Dad playing with his toy tractors.

Family Reunion

My Dad wanted me to come home to Scio, Oregon for a big family reunion, so I took the train down to Albany, Oregon.  We had a great 4th of July yesterday, and this coming Saturday is the big family shindig at my dads.  A few days after that, I'll be back on the road again.

I've really enjoyed the time that I've had to see my family and friends, and it's felt good to kick back and relax for a bit.  But now I've got ants in my pants, and I'm ready to get back out on the road.  I'll probably just start out in Albany and start walking west over to the coast, then head south all the way down to Baja California.  I've got plans up until Tuesday of next week; so after that is when I'll probably leave.

I've also had this time to revamp my gear.  Instead of pushing my cart, I've eliminated a lot of stuff and will head out from here with a backpack.  It will be somewhat heavy --just over 40 lbs -- but I think I'll be ok.  Of course, after the first couple weeks, I'll have eliminated even more stuff  :-) and should have it down to an art.  After carrying it for a couple weeks, I'll know for sure what I really want in that pack!

I'm looking forward to the family reunion this weekend.  It's been many years since I've seen everyone, and I'm sure I'll enjoy the get together.  But I'm also looking forward to getting back out on the road again.

Victoria, BC

I got into Victoria last night, after walking from Duncan to Mill Bay.  From Mill Bay I took the ferry across to Victoria and walked into town.  It was a long day.

I called my Dad up on Fathers Day, and he said that he's having a big family reunion over the weekend of July 7th and that he'd really like it if I'd come.  So on Friday, June 22nd, I'll take the Clipper Ferry from Victoria, BC down to Seattle; then 2 hrs later I'll take the Amtrak train down to Albany, Oregon, where my Mom lives.  I'll be at her house by midnight.  I'll probably stay put there for a few weeks.  After that, I don't know if I'll come back up to Washington to walk down, or just keep walking south from my Moms.  One thing I do know for sure, is that I'll be downsizing all my gear A LOT.  Much of it is winter gear, and survival gear.  Now that I'm back in civilization, I'll just take a few things in a backpack and not use the cart at all.  I'm looking forward to that part.

So for today I'm a tourist in Victoria.  Tomorrow I'll be a traveller, and tomorrow night I'll be a daughter.  :)

Qualicum Beach, BC

Staying with Regina.

   I had a wonderful time staying with Regina in Courteney.  She was so much fun to be with!  This was my first time being a guest as a "couch surfer", and I totally enjoyed it!  I've gotta do that some more!
     From there I went to Fanny Bay, and ended up at Qualicum Beach where Deb lives.  Deb's the motorcyclist that I met a week or so ago.  I stayed overnight at their house, and Deb drove me around a bit to get some great pictures of the area.

 t

Heather and puppyt

 t

    The next day I walked from Qualicum Beach to Parksville, and it's the first time I got to walk without my cart!  It was wonderful!!  The 10 mile walk was SO ENJOYABLE!  I got to go out on the beach in the sand by the water and walk there for awhile, I stopped at Milner Gardens and enjoyed that, and overall it was a great day not having to worry about - or push! - that cart  When I got to Parksville, I contacted another "couchsurfer" who said I could stay at her house.  I called Heather up and said I was at McDonalds, and she came and got me.