"William had a fantastic time in every way. He is already gearing up to head out again next year!"
- Nancy Rau
McLean, VA
McLean, VA
Posted on 8/7/2009
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My, oh, my!
Apogee Empire! Greetings once again! I’m tanned, rested and ready after spending the last week or so with our Coast to Coasters in the desert of Arizona and California. Well, I'm definitely tanned, at least.
I also had the incredible privilege of watching the group roll into San Diego’s Ocean Beach and ecstatically dip their wheels into the Pacific. While it may not seem like it to them, it really does feel like only yesterday that they were dipping the same wheels into the Atlantic, all the way over there in South Carolina. But what adventures they’ve had in between the two! It was an honor to spend almost a week with this group. Rarely does a group come together so completely – each person is respected individually and recognized for the unique contributions that he or she brings to the table. It’s really special. Watching them arrive, in the presence of TV crews, parents, and admiring surfers, and having an inkling of what they had gone through to get to that point, was enough to bring a tear to the eye of the most hardened cynic. I’m including several pictures of the desert they traversed and their illustrious arrival below.
In addition to suppressing lumps in my throat, I also quite enjoyed the Mexican food I was able to sneak in whilst in the area (Maine’s Mexican food is surprisingly good, but Lordy, it ain’t San Diego’s!).
It is astonishing, but when the Coasters fly home tomorrow, we’ll have only one trip out in the field – our Northwest Explorers – and they will wrap it up and fly home the following day. I don’t know if Kevin let you all know while I was in the desert, but we heard from Mike and Rachel after their six-day backcountry hike – they had an absolute blast out in the woods! Rachel said that the hike went very, very well and that the group is really enjoying their time together. After their hike, they took a day off to recuperate in Bellingham, Washington, before donning life-jackets and spray-skirts and paddling out into Puget Sound. We haven’t heard from them this afternoon, but they will be coming off of the water today, drying off, and spending a final full day together in Seattle tomorrow. Huzzah and smoked salmon all around!
To all of our families and friends - thanks again for a wonderful summer!
~ Chad
To all of our families and friends - thanks again for a wonderful summer!
~ Chad
