Hotel California

In the Eagles song "Hotel California," there is a lyric, "You can check out any time you'd like/but you can never leave." That's what this last month has felt like. But I'm happy to say I turned my keys into the rental office today and tomorrow I head down to Idyllwild to pick up Dan. We are driving down to San Diego and going to the REI in town so Dan can purchase new shoes. (He's been having trouble with his current pair.) Then I will drop off my car and Pete will drive us back to Idyllwild on Saturday so I can finally start this thing and Dan can resume his hike.

Just wanted to call attention to Hikestrong 2010 one last time before heading out. Hopefully, each dollar raised will go towards coming one step closer to finding a cure for cancer. It's an honor to be a part of a hiking community in which so many of the participants are using their hikes to try and make a difference in the world. Remember that Dan has also joined Hike for Haiti in which hikers are trying to make a difference in the lives of the people affected by the earthquake a few months ago by raising funds.

Anyways, sorry for the interruption Michael. You can take it away, and thanks everybody for reading...