Kentucky~ Ohio

Kentucky~Ohio

After spending a few days with my sister, Gillian and her family in Kentucky I headed to Cincinnati to visit Joe (Tundra Wookie) and Bryan (Ice Man). These are the guys that inspired me to make this trek across the country. I met them at High Acre in Harper’s Ferry WV in December of 2006. They were hiking the AT north to south in the middle of winter! I was there with Kurt at a Cadillac crew gathering. Somebody met Joe and Bryan in town and invited them out to the party at High Acre. They came Friday night and Saturday night and we talked. I invited them to stay at my house when they got to where I live. They called me a week (maybe less) later and I picked them up at Swift Run Gap. I brought them home and fed them and baked them cookies. They did their laundry and checked email etc. AND they shared their pictures from their AT hike ~ AWESOME! And Joe also shared his pictures from his trip to Alaska the previous summer~ BIG WOW! So, I was impressed, envious and Inspired! Two great guys on an amazing journey. I really wanted to keep them, but they had to hit the trail the next morning so I took them back up to Swift Run Gap and turned them loose. They finished hiking the AT in Februray 2007 and went back to Cincinnati. So, that’s the history.

I drove to Joe’s house on Sunday this week~ got there around 3:00 pm. I met his dad, Bill and we all went to Skyline to get chili~ It’s famous in Cincinnati and very good I must say. Joe gave me a mini tour of the city and then we went to the Cactus Pear where Bryan works to visit with him and have dinner (yes, dinner after the chili : ) When Bryan got off work we drove back to Joe’s and had a campfire on the patio and camped out in his back yard. It was a blast! I had a great time catching up with these guys. I met Bryan’s girlfriend Katherine and heard all about Joe’s girlfriend Emily. Emily was in Indiana at a training camp getting ready for an Alaska venture this summer. Joe and Emily are engaged to be married in October! Oh, yeah, and Joe also shared his photos from his latest adventure: a trip to New Zealand! Guess where I want to go next summer!!