We owe people, big time.

by connal on August 5, 2009

Share

Today’s the day.

It’s 8:15 in the morning and we’re less than an hour away from firing up the bikes and starting the first leg of the journey – the 3 day ride to the Bonneville Salt Flats.

In the 6 months that we’ve been preparing for this trip, we have received and almost limitless stream of help from friends and family. Without their support we would not be nearly as prepared as we are. Though the full list of people that have helped us is ginormous, there are a few people who have been exceptional in their support, and we want to publicly thank them here.

Kum Cha (Anjel’s mother) and Marya (Connal’s mother): Both of our mothers gave us a very generous financial gift for the trip, but even beyond that, allowed us to box up all of our belongings and divide them between both of their homes for the next year. They also allowed us to leave without laying on TOO much guilt. We in return promised to be careful, wear a jacket so we’re not cold, and, for god sakes, call our mothers every once in a while.

“Grandpére” – Richard Maddox (Connal’s grandfather): For inspiration and a very generous financial gift. Growing up, Grandpére was always a walking encyclopedia and to this day he still amazes and entertains us with his apparently limitless knowledge and wonderful stories. For example, as a US Naval Officer in WWII he proudly sank an Australian destroyer. Ask him about it sometime.

Chris and Via: Thanks to their studio-sized “pool house” we’ve had a place to stay for the last 4 months, but even more, we’ve enjoyed countless nights of BBQ, lounging by the pool, and karaoke. Chris and V are both fantastic people and the most generous and welcoming couple we have ever known. Via runs a letterpress shop in Berkeley called Olive-Route Press, doing beautiful custom design work. You should work with her (we have).

Michael Yap: Mike has been our outdoor ace-in-the-hole. About three months ago we came up with the idea of making Trekking and Camping a large part of our trip – but we were starting from scratch when it came to experience. Michael provided us with gear for our first few trips out, along with his wealth of knowledge, and thanks to him we managed to squeeze in about 9 days and about 50 miles of Trekking before we headed off. Michael runs Exoatmospheric, a design firm in Oakland. You should work with him (we have).

• Taylor Wright: Taylor has been our go-to technical advisor. Connal came up with the concept for the ongoing statistics list on the right side of the blog, and put together the rough draft, but it was Taylor (with his boundless programming knowledge) was the one to really iron out the final bugs and get everything running smoothly.

• Bonnie Bruhn, Pam Lee, and Anton San Mateo: Three wonderful people who were willing to take care of our fuzzy and feathered loved ones.  We will miss them so much, but will rest so much easier knowing they are in your hands.

There have been any number of people that have helped us out, provided suggestions, or provided potential contacts. We can’t thank you guys enough for your help. We’ll do our best to keep in touch while out on the road and are looking forward to a “Welcome Back” party at the shire in what is sure to be 12 very quick months.

THANK YOU!!
Connal + Anjel

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Hannah August 5, 2009 at 12:01 pm

Have an awesome time, guys! I can’t wait to read all your future posts.

Reply

2 M August 5, 2009 at 9:32 pm

Happy trekking. Godspeed.

Reply

3 Anne Schlitt August 6, 2009 at 7:05 am

Good luck, you’ll be forever changed in the best way possible, I’ll look forward to reading your posts!

Reply

4 dani August 12, 2009 at 11:26 pm

BON VOYAGE!

Reply

Cancel reply

Leave a Comment

We are not evil! If you do choose to include your email above, it will not appear on the site with your comment, nor will we spam you or sell your address, it's just a way for us to (potentially) respond to you directly.

 

Previous post:

Next post: