Six Months and Counting...

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.

Nature's peace will flow into you

as sunshine flows into trees.

The winds will blow their own

freshness into you...

while cares will drop off like

autumn leaves. ~ John Muir

We're going to Alaska!

This is a trip my husband and I have dreamed of taking for over four years now. But something always got in the way. You know how it is: helping the kids with their education, putting a new roof on the house -- little things like that.

But this is our year. We've booked our flight for August 31 and we're going to the Kenai Peninsula for two weeks. I can almost see a whale breaching from here.

As excited as I am to be making plans, I realized something: if I don't get myself in shape, I'm going to be enjoying most of the sites from the car, rather than out walking among the trees and along the riverbeds. I don't want that to happen.

I want to experience the beauty of Alaska by being active. I'm not talking about hiking mountains and living off the land. A nice cozy hotel room sounds just great to me! But I want to explore trails and walk to Exit Glacier, without getting winded. I walk to head up a hillside path without fear that I won't be able to make it to the top. Most of all, I want the energy to be fully present and engaged during this once-in-a-lifetime experience.

So that means preparing now. I've created a ticker at the top of my blog, to mark off the time I have left until we fly out on August 31st. Six months and counting to walk as often as possible, to increase my strength, to tackle the paths here that go up hill and down, in order to ready for my Alaska adventure.

I have a feeling that those six months will fly by!

Until next time...