A trail by the Moonlight

I leave this afternoon for the trail head. It has been some time coming and, I am remiss to say, the excitement level has not boiled over. I am just happy to begin. A few weeks ago when the planning was approaching its final stages, my head was swirling with thoughts until the deep hours of night. Now I am calm and ready; upon hearing of my restless sleep my grandmother wrote, "Dear Child, I can understand your impatience but know that the best part of the trip is prepraration, since you have the time to dream, to plan and to change what you would like; Go to Sleep! (Cher enfant, je comprends ton impatience à partir, mais sache que c'est le meilleur du voyage de le préparer, car on a le temps d'en rêver et de planifier et de changer dans la tête plein de trucs, endors toi)". Merci.

The few days I have been able to spend with my friends outside of Atlanta have been a strange and welcome contrast to my own journey. Matt and Nadine's newly purchased house leads them to dream of their future, to plan 101 home repairs and change a stranger's house into their home. We painted over walls that were not completely theirs until the final coat of paint had dried; took out carpets in order to place hardwood flooring so their first steps would be fresh.

While they accumulate I try to shed all but my necessary gear. I look forward to the moments, I look forward to not having to ask 'why?', to just doing something without a defined goal, to accomplishing an arduous task and to having a simple defined purpose...getting from one point to another. Everything got so topsy turvey in the last 6 months, I just want to slow it down; not think too much.

I leave you for now but know I have eaten as much fine Georgia BBQ as my body could handle and my feet are in good shape. Matt found a pre-owned walking stick when we went to the park on Monday; we came to that conclusion by the hand worn smooth finish on the handle and snub nose tip. I have enough food for 5 days and the weather is "A Georgia Peach".