some proper thank-yous

I never wrote a proper public thank-you to Ralph and Gay, my gracious hosts in Longview. Gay elected to pick me up when I was about four miles from her home. She and her hubby live in an amazing neighborhood, and their house sits atop a low mountain, affording them a commanding view of the surrounding countryside. Gay is a true techie; she built the computer she uses. Her slide show of a trip to Europe, which I watched while laundry was percolating, was set to music and was something to behold. I love Europe and hope to get back there again before too long. Thank you, Ralph and Gay, for your kindness and care!

My next hosts were Eric and DeAnna in Woodland (I do hope I'm spelling "DeAnna" right). I felt very guilty about the number of times I revised my arrival time-- always later and later. By the time I flopped, exhausted, into that plastic chair at the gas station, it was well after 9PM, and I'm pretty sure it was closer to 10PM when we all sat down to dinner, because E and D had elected to wait for me. Some chef or chefs had worked very hard to prepare barbecued chicken, salad, chips, potato salad, and cake, along with an irresistible lemonade; I appreciated all the effort that had gone into prepping such a fine meal, and inwardly cringed at how my delays had thrown the meal's timing off.

The couple lives out in the farming area of Woodland, away from the town proper, in a quiet, wooded area that resonates with the nighttime belches and croaks of the local frog population. Like my previous hosts, Eric and DeAnna have a marvelous house. They also have two daughters, whom I didn't have a chance to meet, though I did meet two of the family cats.

E and D describe themselves as nondenominational Christians; during dinner, we covered topics ranging from hypocrisy to interreligious dialogue. There was one part of the conversation that I wish we had had more time to cover, and that was when we were discussing the question of mission and whether Christians have (or should have) ulterior motives when engaging in formal or informal dialogue. It's a shame, sometimes, to move from house to house so quickly; I'd often love to talk for hours about these topics.

Perhaps most impressive to me about my brief stay with Eric and DeAnna was when they dropped a bombshell: they told me that I was their very first CouchSurfing guest. I was floored: they had handled my many schedule changes and various needs (laundry, computer time, etc.) with such grace and aplomb that I simply assumed they were old pros at hosting. Their roll-with-it attitude and basic cheerfulness (something I also felt while at Ralph and Gay's place) made my stay extremely comfortable. I wish I had been a better guest!

One final thank-you goes out to the awesome team at U-Neek RV at 2625 Old Pacific Highway in Kelso, where I had stopped to ask for better directions to Woodland. The entire staff was very helpful and made sure I was on the right track. I was able to spot particular landmarks and other navigational points with no problem thanks to their kind assistance.

A walk like the one I'm on can only happen with help from others. This blog serves as a kind of notepad for the journey; it's where I hope to list all the people who, singly or collectively, have helped speed me on my way. Entries like today's thank-you post are an essential part of what this blog is about.

So once again: Thanks, everyone!


_