Rivendell!

Admit it: you can hear the theme music.

Just before dark, the rest of us finally arrived at Rivendell, the first major milestone in our journey. We've come over 458 miles, and I can't believe we've made it this far. It took longer than I expected, but we made it.

There's a light on in the last homely house. I'm going to have a glass of wine and put up my feet for a while.

(I know I'm missing a lot of entries. I'm going to try to fill those in as best I can over the next few weeks. Sorry to keep you all waiting!!)

Total miles so far:

458

I think that I shall never see, A thing so eerie as a tree

So, um... note to self:  the trees are dangerous...

 

Finally met the infamous Tom Bombadil. He's quite a merry fellow. Love those boots. He invited us to his house for a bit of dinner. It's just up ahead.

Total miles so far:

95.28 

Three things I hate this week

Three things I hate about the journey this week:

1. Being attacked by flies
2. Being attacked by trees
3. This darn exhaustion! I'm tired and sleepy and just want to lay my head on the tree roots and go to sleep. 

This path is so crooked and twisted, I'm not convinced we'll ever get out.  


Total miles so far:
92.83

Out of the Shire; Into the Fire

Why he had to wake us up at 4:30 AM, I'll never understand, but Merry was insistent. Fatty was kind enough to lend the hobbits some ponies, so everyone's spirits are a little higher today. I'm still running, but my speed is pretty slow. We're keeping up each other's pace very well.

Fatty led us to a huge gate in the hedge. We passed through it, the door clanging shut behind us, and were all reminded that we had just left the boundaries of the Shire. Home is behind.

It's very unnerving here in the Old Forest. I have to keep reminding myself that Trees Don't Move. We keep losing the path to the Bonfire Glade, even though it was just there a second ago, I swear it!


Total miles so far:
79.23

Crickhollow: We'll leave the light on for you

Five miles of running/walking today for me! I'm starting to feel like a proper adventurer.

(Not the actual High Hay Hedge, but close.)

Parallel to the road we find ourselves on is the High Hay, a huge hedge (say that 10 times fast!) between the Old Forest and the land of Buckland. This is a strange place, and while it's not exactly creepy, it's certainly not the place for a picnic. I'm rather glad I don't have the baby with me today.


The hobbits spent the night feasting and gossiping with Fatty Bolger, who made them as comfortable as possible. Frodo wants to retire here. It's too foggy and freaky for me. I keep thinking I see movement in the forest. It's probably just my imagination.


Total miles so far:
74.23

The hobbits cheated a bit today...

I started running this week, training for a 5K race. The hobbits are having none of it, and somehow managed to convince Maggot to take them to the Buckleberry Ferry landing in the back of his wagon!

All those guys do is EAT! I don't know where they put it all!

I managed a good bit of running while those lazy sods were munching on mushrooms:
June 18 - 2.5 miles
June 20 - 3.75 miles
June 22 - 3.75 miles
June 23 - 3.75 miles

Total miles so far:
71.73

A Short Cut to Mushrooms

The woods are behind us now, and the land is becoming increasingly more tame. This is the edge of the Marish, and you can see how the fields are sectioned into farm lands.

Frodo freaked out a little bit when he realized we were at the edges of Farmer Maggot's field. Something about dogs, I think. Apparently he's afraid of them. Baby and I saw a couple of small dogs along the way, but nothing to be concerned about.

Maggot met us at the gate and gave us some beer and food. There was talk of "That Baggins Chap" and a shadowy figure asking around about him. Hobbits aren't in the habit of talking to foreigners, so I doubt he learned anything. Did I mention hobbit food is delicious?

All these mushrooms made me think of this:
http://americanfood.about.com/od/saucesdipsanddressings/r/Mushroom_Gravy.htm

Total miles so far:
64.23