Breakfast with Mary, drive to Greenville, time with the Godfrey family!

Day 3:  Morning run/"Couch to 5K" plan; Niedlov's for lunch with B. Jackson and then the drive to Atlanta to pick up Ruth at the airport.

Sweet Mary played our amazing host for the evening as we went out to Mi Barrio for some great food and better company.

Day 2:  Meetings with dear, old friends and great new ones.  Thank you all for your kindness and care!  Then, Kiko and Vincent, played the hosts again to many other sweet friends in Chattanooga. 

Without a doubt, people make a place.  Thank you all for being such great friends for whom our heart has been attached to.

Day 1 of the "Galpin Fundraising Roadtrip Version 2.0":  I (Tom) dropped Ruth off at the airport and the ridiculous hour of 5:00 am.  Why flights leave that early I have no idea.  I then cleaned the house and packed the car for the drive down to Chattanooga, TN.  With a little traffic and a short (suprise) stop in Nashville for my sister Carrie, I arrived just in time to play a pick-up soccer game.

As I can tend to make foolish decisions, I didn't stretch a bit but rather put on my shorts and cleats and diretly ran out to play.  (I'm still not used to this "getting old" thing).  After driving all day and playing ulitimate frisbee the night before, 40 minutes of poor play was all my legs could take.  The pain and ache was too much to go on and every touch I had on the ball was reminiscent of junior high days. 

Alas, Kiko and Vincent played the wonderful hosts for me (of whom I forgot to take pictures of). 

Weekly Update:  Have had a wonderful July so far.  The weather hear has been an immense, and welcome, surprise.  Needless to say we've spent as much time outside:  doing as much work as needed outside, going to the Muny for free(!), reading outside, talking outside, eating outside, and just about anything we can do outside.  


Getting ready for the "Tom and Ruth Fundraising Roadtrip, Version 2.0" to start next week.  Ruth heads off to Kansas for a work training session that she conducts, while I'll (Tom) will be heading to Chattanooga for a couple of days before picking her up in Atlanta.


I saw Heypenny last night for a surprise performance here in St. Louis.  It was good to see Ben (sadly, sans Erica) again after some 5-6 years.  I was also reunited with Sean (and his lovely wife MIchelle) after some many years.   A good evening all around.


Please do not hesitate to call and/or email us if you have any questions, thoughts, or advice for us.  We will try and travel through your area here soon and would love to meet up for coffee or a meal while through.  Our schedule will be posted here soon. 

Weekly Galpin update:  Fundraising in St. Louis!  It has been sweet to come home to St. Louis (and the Sellers' cellar) to reconnect with friends, get a little bit of rest, and enjoy the company of our landlords/housemates.  


We are currently at about 40% of our fundraising goal!  We still have a long way to go, but are thankful for all those who have wanted to take part in our lives and what we'll be doing in Seattle.


I will try and update this blog once a week with pictures and a little blurb.