15 hours!

First off: A huge thank you to those of you who have taken the time to follow or bookmark our blog. It's emotionally gratifying to know that you all care enough about us to follow along as we undertake what seems like such a monumental effort. I love the crazy combo of people, from our family members, to friends, to classmates, and even students (Hola Will!). Thank you for being there to support us.

Now, onto the blog!: I can't help but have a line from a cheesy 80's song stuck in my head "It's the final countdown!"

And if either my husband or father-in-law were here I know that they could tell me the artist, song title, rest of the lyrics, and/or the year the song was recorded, but alas... for the next 15 hours it's just me and I have no ability to recall such things (note to all: if you're ever on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" do NOT pick me for your lifeline).

Dan's first flight will leave STL in about 2 hours and I know right now he's sitting in the airport nervous as can be. 6 years ago-and I can hardly believe it's been that long- I was in the same exact position as him. I was getting ready to hop on the plane for a long stay in Spain and was equal parts nervous and excited about what lay ahead of me. In a strangely vivid way these past two weeks have really reminded me a lot of studying abroad 6 years ago. It's made it very hard for me emotionally because I'm seeing so many places that I remember seeing when I was alone, far from home, and wondering what my life was going to be like when I returned. I missed Dan so much when I was gone the first time, but our relationship survived, thrived, we eventually got married and now he's coming out to experience Spain to its fullest with me. It's a really beautiful full circle. We visited Madrid three years ago for 4 days, but this will really give him a taste of what life is like here in a country that is actually still in the running for the World Cup (:P).

We're going to stay in a hotel in Madrid the first night so he can adjust a little to the new time zone. We'll buy our train tickets up to Pamplona then, and then he's arranged for a taxi to take us to Saint Jean Pied-de-Port right across the French border. So, we will actually begin walking July 1st, and will probably arrive back in Pamplona for the Fourth of July before continuing towards Santiago.

I do not know how much Internet access we will have en route to Santiago de la Compostela, but we will try to update as much as possible. Any requests for photos or info along the way? Pictures of us with buildings? Pictures of the terrain? Pictures of the refugios where we'll be staying? Counts of how many km/m we walk each day? What food we eat? Who we meet? Funny things we see along the way? Anything else you can think of or would like to see? Let me know! I have Internet access for 12 more hours!