Driving to Georgia- AT Journal entry (day “zero”)

I started writing this journal entry almost two weeks before leaving for my grand adventure.  I’m writing this as I’m on the interstate headed from Mississippi to Georgia. My wife is driving and her mother in the front passenger seat, and I in the backseat of the truck, finishing up the last minute things I can tend to from this tiny pocket computer.

In the two weeks since starting this post, I’ve done so so much in my preparation to leave my everyday life for up to 6 months.

I’ve finished up 100+ paintings.(I’d aspired to 200+, but it turns out I’m human)

I squeezed in some sweet sweet time with friends in a variety of activities

- meeting for meals (one breakfast, some lunches, one mid-afternoon cookout, and several dinners)

- visiting while my work was being photographed

-weekday Eucharist

-joggles through the trees

- grant application help

-permit printing help (for hiking through the Smokies in a couple few weeks)

-help stomping around in the mud and rain to fix our compost situation

-two card games

-sewing from a dear friend to better fit in my shirt of choice for the trail

-and one marvelous evening of shabbat/gear labeling/dinner/dancing togetherness.

My old friend (and now co-worker) and I (though mostly she) worked like crazy to: 1) get my website up and useable, 2) get all the work titled and stamped for authenticity, 3) plans made to deliver the work to the galleries, 4) prepped and carried out my last event painting gig, 5-100)a million other things that had to be done.

And now, as I write, Ashleigh and her mama are taking me a couple states east to start my walk from Georgia to Maine.

But let’s go back in time to when I first started this post:

2/27/25

I can just about taste the trail!