The route in to the Weyerhauser campus was well-signed and I quickly found the parking and was directed up to the start point.  The start/finish was outside the Weyerhauser building, with the Lions Club cooking breakfast and lunch.  However, there was no access to restrooms and only two porta-johns were provided for the crowd of about 1000 people.  I waited in line 15 minutes to use the porta-john.  No maps were provided and the workers were hazy about how far and how many restrooms were on the trail.

I said hi to Diane Evans of DC and to other old friends.  Then I headed out into the gray day on the lovely trails.  Under the tall firs foxglove bloomed.  We walked on various wooded trails and roadways.  At 3.5K the first checkpoint had two porta-johns, with a dozen walkers in line.  This checkpoint knew where the next restrooms were, so I headed on.  I walked pretty fast today, as much as natural trails can allow.  First a drizzle started and gradually it became more and more of a gentle rain.  I held out until the 8K checkpoint before putting on my jacket.

The checkpoint was at the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection and the Rhododendron Species Foundation Garden.  The bonsai were displayed against cream backgrounds but in the open air.  The rhododendron trail was lovely, although it is past the blooming peak in May.  The trail included an alpine species garden as well.

Arriving at the end, I ran into Duncan Bradley and Marv Stokes and friends and chatted with them.  Then I bought a bratwurst from the Lions and settled down next to Rick Gamble - the convention webmaster, and chatted with Debbie Miller, AVA Secretary.   Vic Shaff and his wife replaced Rick and his wife - Vic is the Region Director for the GREAT South Central Region and running for AVA Vice-President.  At last my hands were frozen as my body temperature dropped and I returned to my hotel.

My hotel is several miles from the epicenter of the convention, since I made reservations late.  I dropped by the hotel where the AVA Executive Council is staying and invited myself to join the AVA President Nancy Stenger and VP Shirley Lindberg and Region Director Patty Proulx and their spouses as they had dinner.  I also talked with Joe and Barbara Piffat of Massachussetts to hear all about their recent walking tour of Australia and New Zealand.  It was great seeing old friends again.