I have had a great Christmas and a great meal today. Ham home grown sweet potatoes and corn pudding. Mom and Dad always have a garden. Sweet potatoes and collards are Dads specialty. On Christmas Eve we had a few friends over for dinner. Due to the fact both Mom and Dad had to work, it was not a fancy meal. But it was delicious. We had shrimp hamloaf a meat and cheese tray and Mom made her famous blue crab dip. It is looked forward to all year. Desert was Aunt Lou’s delicious cookies and a cake. It baffled me why anyone would choose to eat cake when there were snickerdoodles and milk in the house. But I suppose riding a bike thousands of miles when I have a car might baffle some people too. After dinner we exchanged gifts. I Thought this card from my Aunt Teresa was really funny!

I also got jerky a box of cliff bars and a few gift cards to restaurants and coffee shops. All excellent gifts for a cycle tourist. When I hiked the Apalachian trail in 2006 It was over the holidays. I was southbound and around Christmas I received a much appreciated box from Mom and Dad. I could hardly contain my excitement when I saw a ten pound wheel of smoked gouda and an 8 pound canned ham. Smoked Gouda is one of my favorites and on the curb in front of the post office I cut thick slices and munched away. Even with the hiker hunger I only managed to eat a pound. With a full belly it dawned on me that somehow I had to carry it and the ham. The thought of wasting it did not cross my mind. On the trail resuplies were a lot more limited and calories more precious. Anytime you ever threw something out it would haunt you for miles. Mile after mile you would wonder if you had double checked the apple core before you tossed it and something like not eating the crust off a slice of pizza 2 weeks ago was enough to keep you awake at night. And when the guilt and shame and hunger pains grew unbearable you found another hiker to confess your misdeeds too. That was met with sympathy and empathy as long as the food itself was not being described. As soon as a phrases like glistening with grease or buttery and soft were spoken the mood became hostile and the person confessing was stopped and told in no uncertain terms that unless there was a pizza in their pack they needed to shut their mouth about it. All that is just to explain why with equal parts glee and horror I added 9 pounds of cheese and 8 pounds of ham to my already 47 pound pack and headed out of town. I ate well for two days. I joke about how heavy it was but it really was appreciated. At one point on the trail I weighed 184 pounds. Any way all the gifts this year were given to me with bike touring in mind so my already overloaded bike has nothing to worry about.
The biggest and best suprise was a phone call from Rose. She decided to leave Arizona early and come visit me here in Pa! Maybe she was missing me as bad as I was missing her! I was super excited when we started planning it all out. My plane back to Florida had one empty seat and not only was it still available, it was right next to mine. Everything worked out fantastic and we will still be returning to Florida on the 30th. But now I get the pleasure of Rose’s company for few extra days. And my Mom and Dad get to meet her!
Matt,
Looking forward to seeing you sooner than later would be an understatement. My actual reactions include skips in my steps, galloping, cartwheels, Tigger like bouncing up and down in excitement. All while my face hurts from smiling so much. The added bonus is getting to meet your Mom and Dad!
See you soon!!!
Rose
That was a wonderful surprise from Rose!
Matthew it was a great christmas eve!
I can’t wait to meet Rose !
Me either!