Hi everyone!  As you know, we're all done with our PCT adventure....Oh my goodness!  We still can't believe it, but we've really enjoyed some time together on our very first cruise and also with our friends Josh and Sara here in San Diego. 

We still  wake up everyday with sore muscles and find any small amount of physical exertion completely tiring!   But we've definitely been able to relax and rest in a horizontal position, and we've put back on all our weight ;)  Well, maybe not exactly!

We'll be putting on the rest of our journals and pictures, and I know it may seem a bit anti-climactic, but I'm going to try and put at least the pictures on chronologically...so stay tuned for the finale pictures!  We had some fun celebratory items to use for our pictures and Sara was able to have a little photo shoot with us-so they're pretty good! 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours-we're heading to Arizona to visit Jason's brother and his family, and then soon we'll be back home in Washington!  Home to the snow....yikes!
 
Rich here,
It is Saturday morning Nov. 13th at 9:15 right now.  I just got off the phone with Jason.  He and Cassandra and getting ready to head out the door in San Diego for a Cruise.  What a great way to finish the PCT adventure!!  Jason called Friday to see if they had availability on the cruise, since on Monday he was told they did not.  They had a balcony cabin!!  They booked it,
 
Picture
Hot pool on the left, cold pool on the right-so amazing!
I am so pleased to be sitting here, drinking my coffee, and doing my last internet update before we reach the border...nearly five months have gone by!

It's our last stop, but what a great stop!  We only had to walk 10 miles yesterday, which when you're normally walking 25 seems like a walk in the park, so they just flew by and we were in town later in the morning.  We checked in to Warner Springs Ranch and found our really cute little cottage, showered, took a tour around the grounds (we think it's like an amusement park!), then came back and got ready for the hot springs...

So amazing-these pools are huge and they play peaceful music over speakers and provide noodles so you can just lay there and soak it all in...and that we did!  Satisfied from a good soak,  we went to the golf-course across the street and ordered our lunch and dinner for the day.  After I ate, I had to lay in bed to keep myself warm-I was chilled from the soaking!  I ended up falling asleep and Jason went to do our laundry and catch-up on internet-stuff.  We later went to the T.V. room and watched the Seattle Sounders lose to L.A. and got caught-up on Prince William's love-life.  All in the name of "rest".

Sleeping these last few days has been torturous...we're in bed around 7, and when we awake in the night, we usually find that it's only 10:30 or something, and it feels like we've already slept all night!  We toss and turn the rest of the time-our bodies are achy so it's hard to lay in one position for long-the night just drags on and on...It's horrible.  And now that the time has changed, mentally it's going to be even more maddening.  But alas, FOUR more nights!  We slept very well in our comfy beds last night, thankfully.

A couple of days ago, while we were at Paradise Cafe eating dinner, I was telling a gentleman that we were planning on walking 25 miles a day so that we could be done on Friday.  He said "Now don't miss the journey!", implying that we were rushing ourselves.  And I was like "Our 'journey' has been almost five months long!  We haven't missed anything!  We want to get this thing done!"  So that was that and we're very happy with how all of this has come together.  We've given it our all-and let me tell you, there have been some days where "all" has be A LOT.  We've gone through so much, seen so much, felt so much-we're ready.  Standing at that monument at the Mexican Border...while being surreal I'm sure, is going to feel SO DAMN GOOD!  Ha ha :)  

Sara & Josh Morrill, friends of ours from our first year together at YD Adventures, will be involved with our big Hurrah at the border, and we're so excited for that!  We're trying to be done as early as possible on Friday, which will be sometime either late morning or early afternoon-so celebrate with us!  Raise your glasses high and praise God for a safe and beautiful adventure for the two of us!  Thank you all for being here, checking in and leaving your comments...We've felt supported and encouraged the whole way!

We LOVED this message from our friend Curt:

"Loved the notes, soon to be none... You'll finish quickly with faces smiling in the sun. Your feet so sore, and bodies weary, your adventure is almost done. Family and friends are thankful your trip was full of fun. Next time you write, your packs light, you'll leave us with great news. Your trips complete, you're northward bound, I-5 never felt so sweet. Enjoy the ride, and the rest, you hucked it huge on the Crest."

So until San Diego...
Cheers everyone!
Cassandra
 
Cassandras note with the Journal entry says they will likely just bring the next Journal Entries with them.  Only about a week to go now!!
 
Just in from the USPS ...