Surprise Going Away Party

Hi All,

I'm truly blessed by good friends. Jes and Tracey, to the right and left of me respectively, along with my roommate Carolina, far left, planned a surprise going away party for me. I knew that we were probably going to go to dinner or something, but when I arrived at Jes's I found a group of about 10 of my friends here in CA waiting for me, all having signed a poster saying "Bon Voyage Kathy"

We spent the night cracking jokes, drinking wine and telling good stories. My biggest dilemma was still what to name my blog. Again, I wanted something fun and lighthearted but I was still having trouble figuring out what to call it. A few minutes later, Jes handed me a glass of wine with a label on the base: "Fly Girl". That's it. Fly Girl's Adventures in Italy. For the moment that's the name of my blog. I feel it fitting as each soaring flight is somewhat like a choose your own adventure book. From the very start of each contest flight, no pilot will make the same decisions, and therefore the result for each pilot is different. You don't get to know who made the "right decisions" until the scores are posted at the end of the day.

This party finally made it all sink in -- I'm really headed to Italy and I'm going to be flying in the worlds. Kind of crazy. Jes and Tracey gave me a locket with pictures of them on the inside, reminding me that though I am alone in the glider, my friends will be with me.

Now I'm frantically packing trying to get everything ready. Mike, Richard and I will all be meeting at baggage claim in Rome. Then the adventure begins...

Kathy