Just wanted to say...

I just wanted to send out a heartfelt thank you to everyone who helped me out on the first leg of my journey; I had a blast on my summer trip and I really owe it to all the people who helped out in one way or another. From old and new friends who gave me a place to stay for the night or even a couple weeks to the shop owners that gave me a place to work and pick up some extra money along the way. To the people who were kind enough to donate money through the Donation link on my blog and to my mom for allowing me to store my stuff at her house, receive my mail, and for getting my house ready to sell after I was gone. And thanks to all the people I met who were kind enough to give me directions, tell me the best places in the area to eat or hike, and to those of you who simply gave me some company and took me out for a meal (or eight). You all made the trip so much more enjoyable then it otherwise would have been.

Unfortunately I wasn't able to meet up with all the people out west that I'd wanted to. I thought I'd have plenty of time to see everyone that I wanted to see but I was amazed how fast the time went by. Next time I find myself out that way I'll try to catch up with some more of you.

And thanks to everyone who followed along on the journey by reading my blog. I didn't know if I'd be able to keep enthusiasm for the blog and keep it updated through out the trip or not but it turned out that I loved it and really enjoyed keeping everyone up date that way. I can't tell you how good it made me feel when I'd get a comment or e-mail from someone that I'd never met or talked to before who said they loved the blog and were following me along on my travels.

But don't think it's over yet. The first leg of the trip may be over but in a week or so I'll be packing everything back up again and hitting the road; heading to the east coast this time. Plenty of new people to meet and adventures to be had, so stay tuned!

And of course, THANK YOU!