Oh My God.

Yesterday I went into work, armed with a marked-up calendar page of June 2010, and the request for 72 hours of PTO (paid time off), so that my daughter and I could walk the Camino de Santiago de Compostela together....

My mom is currently thinking what to say...creating a blog with her could be a bit of a conundrum since she is a writer and feels the need to write, re-write, then throw that out and completely re-write again everything that she wants to say. (this includes birthday cards, which have at least 3 drafts at a minimum. shes laughing while reading this...)

About five years ago, I read this great book: "Pilgrimage to the End of the World" by Conrad Rudolph. He walked a thousand miles from LePuy in France through Santiago to Finisterre, extoling the beauty and history through which he trudged while detailing his aches and pains and layers on layers of blisters. I was hooked. I shared this with a dear friend -- a like-minded, simpatico sister -- and we dreamt of taking this trip together...when we could find a spare three months away from work, home, husbands, kids...all that. But life happened, and that became impossible - a dream I let go.
Last summer, while walking Cayucos beach with my smart, beautiful, talented, big-hearted, 17-year-old daughter, I said "How do you want to celebrate your graduation from high school? We can take a trip...shopping in Paris, pubbing in Dublin (kinda kidding...)" and she replied: "Let's do the pilgrimage." Ah...smart, beautiful, talented, BIG-hearted, 17-year-old daughter!
Although - not a thousand miles. Sarria to Santiago to Finisterre...108 miles. That should be enough of a mother daughter walk.

And a great one at that. My family and I have traveled since I was young, to amazing countries like Italy, England, and France. My generous and loving dad had always organized the trip so we saw the amazing museums, resturants, wonders, tourist attractions, etc. which was great, but being a 17 year-old about to go off to college, jumping into a new city and lifestyle, I was craving a trip with a bit more, how shall I say...danger, uncertainty? (this is what my rebellious stage in life includes: a pilgrimage with my mom. haha)
Well, we thought this trip needed to be written down, since it not only includes a different way of traveling, but also a journey of 108 miles, hostels, a new language to learn, plus the physical, mental, and spiritual aspect of it. Alright, who's excited?!
I guess we should introduce ourselves. The contenders:

Caity: Theatre geek. Likes long walks on the beach, sunsets, and cliches. Can't imagine going 3 weeks without eating a ham and cheese sandwich. Learned three years of french in high school and can barely speak it. Now having to try and conquer SPANISH?!!?! (this will be an interesting and possibly stress-filled journey before the actual journey) Will be writing in this font for the duration of the post.

Cindy: Writer (formerly full-time, currently part-time). Musician (formerly part-time, currently full-time). 51 (so yes, this might be part of a mid-life crisis). Craving a journey on several levels... keen to share it with my daughter (who is NAGGING ME for taking so long to write anything, so I will stop now....) (Should be an interesting 108 miles....) (and she loves to use parentheses and elipses...haha)

So here's the catch: As another facet of my oh-so rebellious ways, I have convinced,
(ahem...arm-wrestled, forced) my mother to agree that the actual trip be solely our own. This means...no cell phones, no blogging from the road, no quick stops into internet cafes to check our e-mails/facebooks, and NO CAMERAS. Yep. But an interesting idea, don't you think?

We will have only our memories, and possibly what we write and sketch in a journal. As close to traveling like medieval pilrgrims as we can get in this day and age.

So this blog will track our preparations for the trip, and our recollections after our return. I absolutely love this idea. Hope you all do too. As for the blog, we're not going to try to be witty or funny or deep, just going to share our experiences, thoughts, and feelings. We both hope to be entertaining but we promise to be honest, with each other and ourselves. (which is a big part of this pilgrimage...)