‘Twas the night before Day1

‘Twas the night before day 1. We have been planning for this hike for so long and seemingly had plenty of time to get our gear and our lives in order. As usual, time flew by, and before we knew it we had to stay up until 2a.m. to get get our packs ready to go.
THE DOGS
We have an amazing friend, Matey, who agreed to take our dogs while we hike. Although they did go on numerous training bikes with us The Trail would have been too much for them. So the 4 of us, Grey Hare, Winnie,Bandit and I hopped in the car and drove from New York to Florida. They were terrific in the car and Bandit adjusted to his new home without missing a meal. Winnie on the other hand took 4 days before finally eating an entire meal in one sitting. To say that Matey is a dog lover is an understatement. He was so easy going about where we put the dogs’ crates, if they went upstairs or jumped on a bed, both of which they were not allowed to do in our house. We literally could not be doing this hike without Matey and we know they are in good hands.
THE PARTY
After 5 days back in NY finalizing last minute details, we left packing for the last minute. Don’t try this at home. This was hectic, anxiety producing, and resulted in throwing gear in at the last minute which I am sure resulted in extra weight. Ready or not, we were D.C. bound for my Dad’s 80th Birthday Party. This had the added benefit of seeing our family before we left.
FINALLY
Our kids dropped us off in Waynesboro, and we finally have the afternoon to just relax in this cute little Inn, Tree Streets Inn. We have no car, no deadline, no emails for the first time in a very long time. I can’t wait to hit The Trail in the morning. Now if we could just get our Delorme InReach to work.