Our route, parts 1 & 2

Day 1: Minneapolis, Minnesota to Alton, Iowa (238 miles)

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Day 2: Alton, Iowa to Mormon Island State Recreation Area, Grand Island, Nebraska (240 miles)

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SOLD!

We've said that the trip would begin the moment we made it outside of
the 494/694 loop of the Twin Cities.

It was incredible timing, therefore, that while in a parking lot on
the edge of 494, making our final stop and just about to throw our
legs over the bikes, that we got the call: an offer had been made on
my condo, the most substantial loose end left dangling with our
departure. It was a decent offer, and by coincidence, I'd had a chance
to meet the person making it -- a grad student relocating to
Minneapolis from LA for a program at the U of M. I accepted, my
rockin' real estate guru and brother, Jesse, met us at a restaurant on
our route, we signed the papers and VIOLA! the condo is SOLD! On the
day of our deparure, exactly a month after listing it, no less.

In addition to Jesse's masterful work, I also owe a huge debt to
Julie, my Mom and Dad, my brother Nathan and friends Eric and Christy
for their help getting it (and me) ready to sell. I've been kicking up
my heels with joy nonstop since the news came.

Julie and I left town, and headed out 169 and 60 toward Worthington,
making a quick stop in Kelly's home town of Mountain Lake. The ride
was sunny, warm and that particular version of picturesque unique to
southern Minnesota: green fields, blue skies, dotted with lakes and
streams.

When we reached the Iowa border, a wall of pregnant clouds loomed to
the west. We made it to the campground in Alton (just $5 per night for
tents!), set up our portable home, beds and kitchenette, enjoyed a
tasty pasta with clam, some vino and baguette, and just managed to
clean up before the storm arrived. And arrived it did. Twice (well,
two different storm fronts, spaced hours apart). In addition to the
ample rain and stunning light show, these babies packed a lot of WIND.
Thankfully, though jostled mightily, and at times leaving us to
wonder, our gear stood up to the task, and kept us and our possessions
dry.

Today, we're making our way to McCook, Nebraska via scenic, rolling
and verdant two-laners, keeping ourselves hydrated in the 90 degree
weather. More to come!

And we're off!

A couple of days more of last minute details than we'd planned, but
the trip has now officially begun! To Alaska!

And the countdown clock reads...

Our slated departure is just seven days away! We are marginally on track, but there are thousands of loose ends to tie up before we can leave town comfortably. I am personally at the stage in preparation where my to-do list seems to be growing faster than it is shrinking, as forgotten details or dependencies between the stuff left to do list impose themselves in the doing.

Happily, we're laughing about all the prep more than we're grinding our teeth (even if we're doing a little of the latter, too). As the apartment empties, as our worldly possessions make their way into the hands of family and friends, and as we say our farewells to friends and family, it feels increasingly real that a few short days from now we will begin this round the world adventure with just our backpacks strapped onto our motorcycles.

Last Friday, Julie and I also said a sadder and more final farewell, as we journeyed to Moline, Illinois to pay our respects to her grandmother, Willadene Gans, who passed away on Tuesday at the age of 87. I am sad that I did not get to meet her, but glad that Julie had an opportunity to visit her in the last week of her life. Willadene lived a long life, independently and in great health right up until the end. She lived the life she wanted to live. May we all be so lucky.

Rough, Vulgar and Pointless

If you were tempted to re-live the amazing, seductive, transgressive beauty of Y Tu Mamá También with the new film Rudo y Cursi (English title: Rough and Vulgar), directed by Y Tu's screenwriter and featuring its two stars, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna, give it a miss.

Overloaded with so much potential, it stumbles from its opening scene, topples and falls so squarely on its face that one wonders how this project were ever green-lit. Julie and I escaped the condo for a showing, and decided to hit the Uptown for this evening's show. In retrospect, there are a hundred thousand things I wish I'd used those two hours for instead. You've been warned. ;)

A party of special magnificence

Yesterday, I was the lucky beneficiary of the best send-off party a guy could hope to have, with friends old and new turning out to wish Julie and me well on our next adventure, and to celebrate together the progress we've made toward ending homelessness in Minnesota over the past decade, and to mark the end of my 12 years with Hearth Connection.

Seeing a room full of people you admire, hearing them say incredibly warm things about our time putting shoulders to the wheel together, and having so many well wishes and so much positive energy directed at me and us and our next undertaking is moving beyond measure. I'm humbled, and proud, and touched.

Add to that a Minnesota House of Representatives resolution wishing me well in my "retirement," thanks to a good friend and kick-ass freshman Representative Jeff Hayden, read out to the group by Mayor George Latimer, a great friend and Chair of Hearth Connection's powerhouse Board of Directors, and I'm just stunned speechless.

But I won't be speechless for long, since Hearth Connection not only sent me off with so much love, so many memories, so much to be proud of, and so much confidence in their strength and resolve in the future. No, on top of all of that, they sent me off with a gift certificate for one of the world's highest bungy jumps in New Zealand! (134 meters!) I cannot imagine a more fitting way to mark the significance of this transition... nor what might come out of my mouth on the jump!

And, as if all of that weren't enough frosting on this incredible cake, check out this frosting:

Yeah, that's me, riding over the Going to the Sun Road in Glacier National Park, magically transferred onto a cake, thanks to two of my favorite Julies, one as the photographer, and the other as the party planner and Jane-of-all-trades extraordinaire.

Lucky, lucky me, for having such amazing people in my life. I just can't say thanks enough.

One month left; one year out

A month from now, Julie and I will be off on our big trip. Our plan is to ride out of Dodge on June 15, beginning our three-month trek to Alaska and our who-knows-how-long sojourn around this orb.

The trip's approach feels increasingly real. Yesterday, I moved out of my office at Hearth Connection, readying it for Kristine, its new occupant, and for Hearth Connection's newest staff person, Ben, to start on Monday. Here's the cluttered but cozy command central where I've spent my work weeks:



Ben and I will be spending lots o' quality time over the next two weeks, handing off the critical tasks and background information he'll be responsible for going forward, and introducing him to the great group of folks he'll be privileged to work with in his new role. We've blocked off every available minute through my last day, May 29, so lucky me that he's such an easy guy to spend time with!

Today also marks the one-year anniversary of my motorcycle crash in northern Minnesota. Reflecting back, I have one of those "the time has flown; it's been a really long year" perspectives on it all. Truthfully, I just feel so grateful for having so much support from my family and friends, such incredible medical care, such a successful recovery and most of all, such great fortune to be able to walk away from the accident. I've learned much from this past year: about myself; about accepting the love, support and care from loved ones and total strangers; and about my privileges, especially of having a safety net that I have not earned and that everyone should be entitled to have.

No doubt the year ahead has much to teach, as well.