Scarecrow's CDT Sendoff...

I want to thank everyone who came and visited Teddy before the big day.  The amount of love, friendship and support each and every one of you has shown us is so appreciated and our thank yous cannot even begin to touch upon our gratitude.  I am sorry to say I did not take my camera out to capture a fraction of the good times had by all. I have a few pictures from the day.

 These hero sandwiches and cold salads were made by Bagels 101 and were so delicious - thank you Brian Winters for an excellent job.  We also ordered some food from Mama Lisa's - as always, delicious and NONE left by the end of the night.  This was complimented by delicious donated foods like taco chili dip from Ginny and Chris, Buffalo Chicken dip from Laura Melfi, Spinach Dip from Karin Cavallo, more Buffalo Chicken Dip from the Gemelli's, chips and snacks galore from Tom and Kenn Beck, roasted chicken and dinner rolls from Jamie Pentzel, as well as the beer, wine, soda, lemonade and many generous gifts from our amazing well-wishing family and friends. The tables and chairs, along with the lemonade pitcher- stand included :) from Teddy's sister Dawn

created by Ruth Beck

A special shout out to my mom, Ruth Beck, for making this thoughtful cake of Scarecrow's hiking journeys.  It showcases the patches for each of the trails he has and will complete along with her creation of a triple crown patch.  From what I heard, the cake was delicious (peanut butter) and Scarecrow loved it.  The cookie you see in the picture was created by our dear friend, Corinne Bernath.  I was extremely excited to ask her for her delicious, beautiful creations for Teddy's party.  As you can see, perfection.  You can find her work through Facebook by searching "Corinne's Cookie Creations".  THANK YOU.

created by Corinne's Cookie Creations

This could be the longest blog post I could ever write, as the thanks goes on and on.  You read about Mike and Angela Arasa in a previous blog post,  with their generous backpack contribution, but nothing could top the support they showed as Mike walked into the party dressed as a thruhiker, post trip, with a Mexican and Canadian beer in hands, to acknowledge the borders in which Teddy will touch on this trip. Clever, thoughtful, and freakin' hysterical.

Our next thruhiker? Way to go Mike Arasa

Shirt by Angela, artwork by Dakota

Below, you will see a shirt from Angela Kropp, another huge support in our lives, who presented Scarecrow with a shirt signed by everyone with their well wishes and support.  The front design was created by Dakota - great job, babe.  As you can see, we were surrounded by so much love, support, and positivity for Scarecrow's CDT sendoff.  People traveled from near and far to spend time with our family - from out of state, as far as Virginia and Pennsylvania (and Huntington) LOL .  There were gift cards, a bag full of helpful hiking items from our friends in the cul-de-sac, cash, beautifully written cards and even Red Velvet Ice Cream delivered to Scarecrow.  I need to just conclude with a tremendous THANK YOU.  I will apologize here to anyone I have personally missed, or items I failed to mention.  The thoughtfulness, generosity and love is deep within our hearts for each and every one of you.

I will continue to post as frequently as I have information, thoughts and pictures of this amazing journey as it is unfolding.

Until then, know we are completely submerged in love, thankfulness and support with the deepest gratitude and appreciation for all of you.

The Thruhiker's Wife