12 more days and counting! and our schedule

12 more days and I still have so much to do to get ready. Lisa and I have kept our walking up as best we can with work and summer vacations and we both feel we are physically ready for the trip. Preparing my mind for the journey has been tougher because of my busy lifestyle and I am beginning to think that I will have to debrief myself on the way over. There have been times when I walk when I sense glimpses of the serenity of the journey. Then the third part of the trip is figuring out how we get to all the different cities. We will be flying to Spain Sept 10 overnight and arrive Friday Sept 11 early morning. Lisa and I both plan to sew an American flag on our backpacks to honor those who died Sept 11. After we arrive in Madrid we will drop a bag at the hotel we will be staying at when we return (Mirasierra- Madrid) and then head to the train station that goes to Leon. We arrive Leon around 2:00Pm and will be staying with a lovely lady that I met through couchsurfing. She is hosting us for one evening and has offered to cook us a meal and to show us around a bit. We then leave on another train around 3:00pm to go to Sarria where we will then walk to Santiago. It will take about 5 days and we will average about 17 miles a day- staying in hostels along the way. In Santiago, we are then hoping to stay with another couchsurfer so that we can experience the warmth of a home . We will be there Thursday afternoon until Friday evening at 10:30pm when we will board a train again. We have a sleeping compartment this time because it is an overnight trip. If all goes well , we arrive in Madrid Sept 19 the morning of Lisa's birthday . We will check into our hotel - visit museums and parks and enjoy a nice meal and who knows what else. For anyone who wants to contact us- our room reservation is under Debbie Welch and Lisa will have her cell phone with her. After spending 2 days in Madrid , we return home. I am sure we will feel different than when we started , happy to have completed the walk and sad to leave the trail behind. - Debbie