We had a pretty good turn out of Merrywalkers for the walk in Vancouver.  I'm not sure how many people they had for the walk, but we did run into a contingent of walkers from Yakima and Curt Myron.  
We hadn't some of the regulars in a long time, like Sam, Martha, Lena, etc. so it was good to check in with them all .

Heidi, hold up your head next time!
We weren't too optimistic when we left Portland.  The sun was shinning, I had to add gas to the tank and we were in for at least a 1/2 drive.  But it was definitely worth the trip.  First we shared a great cranberry nut muffin and coffee at Tullys, then we had to sign in.  Big decision, is it going to be the 5k or the 10K. We opted for the 10k, although we were behind everyone, it was a great day for walking.  We had a chance to talk about the trip to Savannah, catch up with Nare and Anila on their physical therapy (which is going well), talked to Joe Kelly and Bob about the walk coming up in Washington (might be a field trip there), and it was great just seeing everyone.  Look at that picture, we had over 35 people at that walk and it was a foggy Wednesday.  Starr was late in coming so we met her towards the end of the walk.  Diane, Mary Ann and I aren't fans of Izzy's so we met Antonella at 5 Guys and a Burger and those fries are delicious.  
If I remember correctly, the walk on Saturday is really nice.  It's a 2+ but it is really a nice walk.  I think Joe or Dick had us out on this walk one Saturday, and we were really surprised at how nice it was.  I'm sure we will be carpooling up there.  

Quite a group today and more gathered for coffee.  Today Bonnie and Carol joined us for the walk.  Bonnie is recovering from hip surgery and will be out doing the walks soon. She's up to 1 mile already and she only had her surgery in December, right before Christmas. 
We did meet up with some birders who had a telescope and they let us view the eagle that was perched in the tree just to the left of the tree is in the middle of our picture.  It was beautiful.  It looked so stately it almost looked as if it weren't real.  
Pam, Don and Mike met us at the coffee shop for more fun and chit chat, but I would have to say that Bill and Mary Ann provided the biggest laugh.  After hearing about our walks in Georgia and South Carolina, they asked where the bridge was.  We told them it connected North Charleston with Charleston, but we weren't sure about the river, if it was the St. Charles or not.  Bill started to tell the story about all of the major league baseballs were rolled in the mud of the St. Charles River.  Mary Ann said "But we didn't see any men out there rolling their balls in the mud."  With that, we all just cracked up while watching Mary Ann turn a bright shade of red.  

A bit cooler than Savannah, but a very enjoyable walk and the weather was beautiful.  The Merrywalkers (me, Karen, Cheryl, Candice, Tanner, Carolyn, Mary, Diane and Starr) were led by Joe and we first did the 5k at Cooper Mountain, but we finished a bit earlier.  So, we then headed out to do the rest of the walk that took us by the most amazing homes.  I took a couple of pictures of just the streets, so if you are around there, stop and look.  Dick said most of the homes out there are between 2 and 3 million.  Not only were the homes gorgeous, but the grounds and the size of their yards.  All of us can't wait to go back and do it in the spring.  Another great year round event!  Check out the pictures. 

We keep saying that it can't get any better than that, but it does!
Today Vicky talked us into walking across the bridge.  What an amazing sight.  At the other end some of us saw some dolphins, can you imagine? After that we all got in the car and headed to Beaufort to do the walk. We ended up having lunch at Blackstone's where Pat Conroy eats once in a while.  The bathroom was so different that we had to take pictures of the stuff on the wall.  Then we started the walk.  First stop, the book store where we purchased an autographed copy of his new book, Broad Street...you would think that it still can't get better, but wait..
Vicky thinks she has a Pat Conroy sighting.
The walk continues as does the adventure.  We then stop and talk to everyone, especially if they have a dog.  We have a red cardinal sighting.  OK, now for the best part.
 We stop and talk to George Graham Trask along Bay Street.  He's walking his dog and I asked "is this your home?" He asked if we wanted a tour of the most beautiful home in Beaufort. But of course, and he took us on a tour of his mansion.  Incredible.  He was a lawyer for Pat Conroy when he lost the case against the Board of Education, which launched his career as a writer. Not only that, but he was an author in his own right.  Before leaving he gave us each one of his books, which we are holding.  He's written several other books and the book he gave us even had pictures of his home.  
We have been so lucky, from the first day on.  We met the gal at the car rental place who gave us a free upgrade, the limo driver who drove us to the first walk, the ranger who gave us the beautiful print of Wormsloe, the maintenance people who showed us where Danny Hansford was buried, the gals at the Krystal's that gave us the best burgers and kept asking if we needed anything else, the couple by the Good Will store that gave us the information on the hotel in Charleston and today we met George who opened his home to us.
A great trip and I guess it really doesn't get any better than this.

Today we were able to catch a beautiful sunrise and sunset right from the window at our motel.  We probably have more photos than you'd like to see, but it's so nice seeing the sun and being outside in shorts.
The Magnolia Garden was beautiful.  It wasn't your manicured plantation. We took a tour of the slave cabins and found out that the slaves were brought over not only for their brawn but for their skills.  The major crop was rice.
We then took a tour of the plantation house.  Then the last tour was of the swamps and wetlands where we saw snakes, geese, ducks, alligators, cardinals and a myriad of wildlife, especially birds.  Once we finished the tours we walked through the gardens and the swamp lands.  It was very impressive.  We were all so tired that we ate at the bar across the channel from our room and munched on seafood while watching the sun set.
Tomorrow we have to say goodbye to Charleston and head back to Savannah with a stop in Beaufort to do a walk.  Everyone has had a great time.  Both Starr and Vicky have contributed most of the pictures taken on the trip.  Mary Ann has acted as our navigator with the GPS and Pam just comes up with the information on all of the plants and keeps us on our toes and I'm the designated driver.  We are enjoying working together to make this trip memorable.

Don't you love the picture of Vicky?  She was the designated leader for today and take it from Mary Ann and I, we should have stayed with her, because at the end, we got lost. 
It was a great day as far as the weather was concerned, in the 60s and sunny.  Sometimes we had our jackets on, but for the most part, it was so warm.  We ended up doing 3 very unique and special things on the walk.  First we found a little pathway that went into a Unitarian Church cemetery, which turned out to be the oldest in Charleston.  We must have spent at least 45 minutes just walking around.  Second, we found the Calhoun House and the manager let us just go through their wonderful garden.  I would think there was one more pathway, that was on the walk, an alley, that was pretty cool too.  The third thing was our lunch, which was at Poogan's Porch.  This turned out to be one of the restaurants where the rich and the famous eat.  We had fried green tomatoes, the best biscuits ever and "she crab soup", and those were just the appetizers. It turned out Poogan was an abandoned dog that lived on the porch and who is now burried in the front yard.  I'm sure you can look it up on web and see the pictures of the dog, restaurant and read the dog's story.
Tomorrow is the Magnolia Garden and possibly Ft. Sumter (was that where  the movie "Glory" was filmed?}  Can this really be the end of day 5?

Today we did the walk in the Ardsley neighborhood, where all of the gorgeous mansions are located.  It rained a bit when we started out, but we were soaked by the end of the walk. It started coming down and it has poured the rest of the day. We stopped for some great burgers at Krystal's and then we headed over to St. Bonaventure's Cemetery where a lot of the movie, The Garden of Good and Evil was filmed.  We couldn't find the grave and then we found a caretaker who led us right to Danny Hansford, the murder victim's gravesite.  We also saw Johnny Mercer's grave bench that listed all of his famous songs.
Getting back to Danny Hansford, his sister was murdered and on her gravesite, which was next to his, just said her name and "murdered." .  It was so cool. After we headed for dinner in Beaufort where we had another free birthday dessert which we all shared.  So far this week, we've gotten 3.  Vicky wants me to try for one more tomorrow!
Tomorrow we will walk the Charleston YRE.  It's supposed to rain but 70 degrees. I apologize for some of the duplicate pictures and I'm unable to edit a lot.  I'm using my neighbor's Apple, and I am struggling.  When I get home we'll get most of the stuff set up. But we are all having a great time.

We started running just like Forest Gump. First Wormsloe where Kathy, the ranger, gave us 5 prints of Wormsloe!  Then we decided to get a feather and head over to Chippawa Square where we recreated the scene that was filmed there with the box of chocolates.  Then we had a feather and Pam created the feather shot on the first take.  Then it was out to celebrate my birthday and tonight it's a Pub and Ghost Crawl to continue the celebration.  Some of the pictures are duplicates, but we're too busy to correct them.  Some of our new friends are Kathy the Ranger and Barckley and Sherene, who booked us in our room in Charleston. We ended the day doing the pub/ghost crawl. Today is Ardsley and Beauford then we head to Charleston.

As we walked out of the hotel this morning we were met by a limo driver who said he wasn't busy and gave us a "free" ride to the walk.  Does it get any better than that?  But, of course.  Lunch at Clary's where the author who wrote Midnight in the Garden ... ate everyday and we shared one of their famous eclaira.  Mary Ann and I were able to recite the Girl Scout Promise in front of the Girl Scout Headquarters, which was right behind Juliet Lowe's birthplace.  We saw the square where Forest Gump shared his chocolates and the church where the feather fell down.  Let's see...we spotted Paula Deen's.  We met Linda from Portland, the gal from Oregon City who does Walking Adventures and this is only Day 2.  We haven't had a chance to organize the pictures, but they are there if you'd like a peek.