Last day in the USA!!

Well, it has been a nice week in Montana! I have seen a ton, and learned a lot. Its a very slow paced state, where small towns are very abundent, unlike CA...which has large cities almost wherever you go. I guess this state still has less than a million people living in it....crazy to think about, especially with how much larger CA is.

Anyways, one of my favorite parts about this week was the fly fishing and the two 9:00am meetings I went to this week. 

It was my first time fly fishing and I managed to catch a fish! It may not have been a very big fish :), but it was a fish. 

Random lake we found while driving to the fly fishing spot

This picture kinda speaks for itself

The creek we fished at!

Our gear!

The creek again....

The two meeting were a different experience for me. They were very small, and I was probably the youngest in there by 20 years. One of the men in there mentioned to me that there larger meetings in Hamilton are between 10-15 people. However, the insight some of the people had was what I needed before leaving for this trip. I learned a ton about myself, and a ton about the dynamic of a small meeting, and recovery. 

As I mentioned earlier, I will be traveling ALL day tomorrow. Our plane leaves at 6am tomorrow (9-1-12)  from Missoula, and arrives in Spain 9:30~am Sunday (Spain time). Needless to say, tonight will be a night of packing and rest! 

We have a very long month ahead of us!

Montana!

Im finally here in the beautiful state of Montana! This is my first trip, and I am absolutely in love with what I see! I am staying in Hamilton, which is pretty smokey right now because of the fires going on in Idaho. However, the more north we traveled the more clear it got. 

At 5:00am, I was up and on my way to Glacier National Park. The drive would take three hours, but the view along the entire way was amazing. We were even able to stop at a small breakfast place in Big fork, MT. Best breakfast I have had in a while! Otherwise, for the most part I was passed out in the back seat most of the time. Travel sure does take it outta ya.

And so it begins!

Through tradition, your pilgrimage typically starts the moments you leave your front door. So, as of 11AM this morning, I have officially started this unique journey. Unofficially, I would like to say my journey started at 5:45am in Fellowship hall. A whopping 3 hours of sleep was achieved, because of how excited I am for this trip.

I met up with my spiritual director (like a spiritual sponsor) from the seminary, Father Raphael, and an old friend whom I've known through church affairs and school. We had pizza at a restaurant in redlands, and talked about what it was I needed to know about travel through Europe. Father raphael then gave me a patch that symbolizes the Camino de Santiago, and 50 euros to help me get started.

After lunch I went to Father Raphael's to catch up on a few hours of sleep. After struggling to get up, I went down stairs and figured I would take advantage of a thorough confession. Confession is something catholics do to help release whatever is heavy on our heart. It is definitely something that I have really come to appreciate in the past few years, especially in program, where this tool is so valuable. After that, we talked a little bit more about the camino, and how I can prepare myself it; after all, it is more then just a walk from one side of the country to the other. Finally, he invited me to accompany him in his private mass. It was a cool feeling, like it was my own personal mass, in which I was really able to connect with my higher power. 

Overall, this was a good start to my journey. I feel cleansed, happy, and blessed. I was sad to leave my program friends, but I know that they will be praying for me, as I will be praying for them.

I am going to try and be as detailed as possible, while keeping the posts as short as possible throughout the next 5 weeks. I will be walking a 500 mile route across Spain, and as a result, i'm sure I will be tired, sore....and who else knows what. Either way, I am looking forward to what this journey will bring, along with posting sweet pictures for friends and family! :)