Here we come! And look who got to come! Yes, David and his girls drove atll the way from Philadelphia. The tradeoff was that Marie came with them and has to go right back with them too, instead of going on to the conference with me. It will be too weird that she won't be there. But David wanted to come so bad, and then the girls got excited too. But his wife had to work, and he couldn't make an 18 hour drive with the girls alone. They couldn't come to the conference because Dave has to leave on a business trip on Monday... so we decided that we would chose to have them all come to my final hike.
It added a fun dimension to have the little girls there. They hiked the whole way, and both were happy. I'm not sure why Mia isn't smiling in this picture; rest assured that she was having a good time.
Here I am with the four other people who attended who have been on a hike of over 100 miles with me. You've already met Bess, sort of know Marie, have met David, and have not yet heard about Lyle, unless you were following this blog in the spring of 2009 when we hiked the Minnesota Arrowhead. So I'll try to introduce you to Lyle soon.
Here's David with Mia, Anja in front and pieces of Marie and Lyle. I just liked Dave with the girls here.
And my big reward? Well, there were lot of them in terms of friendship, and some joke gifts and small mementos, but here I am receiving the End-to-End patch from NCTA Executive Director, Bruce Matthews.
Quite a day! Not sure about access tomorrow... I'll have to take each day as it comes while I'm at the conference.
Thank you for all your kind wishes! Now I have to go to bed because I have to be on the road at 5:30 am to make it to the Conference on time for a meeting tomorrow. I'm traveling with Lyle now... two cars, but we are "together."
14 comments:
I'm glad this has been such a happy time for you. You really did accomplish a great thing. I like the look on Mia's face. It's the same look my little sister used to have for every picture when we were kids.
hello sharkbytes, i am ivy's sister...charmed to meet you. judging by your posts, i can tell you're gifted with a strong pair of knees...i envy you.:)
So nice to see the end of the hike photos. I'm still in awe of your accomplishment.
You are forever young.
Congratulations, Joan. Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations!!!
oh wow, so happy for you Sharkbytes, what a wonderful feat to cherish. congratulations.
Great Photos! CONGRATULATIONS!! So happy for you and pleased that your party was awesome. Have a wonderful time at your conference.
Once again congratulations. What a fantastic accomplishment. Glad you had so many wonderful people with you to celebrate and walk the final miles with you
What a wonderful day to celebrate a fantastic accomplishment. Wow! And how great was it to have David and the girls there?
What a wonderful day! The joy of the event is almost tangible here. In any case, I feel really happy for you. :)
You seem totally jubilant, Joan, and rightfully so. Your days are very full right now. It is wonderful to have so many folks you love there with you to celebrate this special time.
Again, congratulations!
You seem totally jubilant, Joan, and rightfully so. Your days are very full right now. It is wonderful to have so many folks you love there with you to celebrate this special time.
Again, congratulations!
Hooray, Sharky!! Wow! You are somethin', pally! Glad you had such a great crowd there for your milestone. :)
What a joyful looking group! It's nice to see three generations of folks on this hike!
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