Hello blog readers, or blogetts, not sure what to call you.  How about friends?

Deep breath and here I go with my first entry in my first blog about my first trip to Spain and my first walk on the Camino De Santiago de Compostela.  Wow, I'm obviously a beginner at everything,  but then again, aren't we all?   Which  is exactly my intention for my journey.  I'm a beginner, looking at everything and everyone with fresh eyes, and my  heart and  arms wide open to embrace it all. 

As I sit here pondering where to go from here with my writing, it occurs to me that some background about how this all came about might be a place to start. 

I   heard of the Camino, albeit in snippets , from different souces  and at the time it did not  really capture my attention.   About 2 1/2 years ago I bought a little house in Carlise and found myself in a welcoming neighborhood with the Walker  family as neighbors.  Gay, her daughter  Kim, husband  John, and  daughter Lilly, and Gay's daughter Jennifer and her daughter Camille, have welcomed me into their midst and their family as well.   It has been such a blessing to watch the little girls grow and learn about neighborhood living.  I'd  been living in the country for 30 years prior and although the land was  beautiful and calm, I realize now how isolated I felt.

Sorry, I'm rambling,  focus Camille!!    Gay and I were having coffee on her porch one day when she began to talk about a travel magazine she was reading that had an article in it about the Camino.  She told me about her visit to Spain with her daughter Jennifer to visit Kimberly and how they had wanted to walk the Camino, but had time constraints that prohibited that from happening.  She always wanted to go back and this article refueled her desire.  Call it a divine nudging, insanity, or a moment of clarity, but the next thing I know, I said I would go with her if she really wanted to do it.  We began to talk about it and explore the possibility and after a hand shake to solidify our committment, and  another cup of coffee to fuel our fire,  we both began to plan a dream.   A dream that is beginning when we board our plane in NYC  on 9/4 and fly to Madrid where we will make our way to St. Jean Pied de Port in France ato start our walk  at the foot of the Pyrennes on 9/7/12 

My purpose for writing tonite is two-fold.  To give some background, and to do a trial run to see if this really works, as I don't have a clue how to write a blog.  Wish me luck.  Good night for now.