So this is a half-hearted post, but a post nonetheless! It’s a letter I wrote to a bunch of people today who were kind and generous enough to sponsor me on a 35 mile bike ride I did on Saturday, May 12. My two roommates, my sister, her boyfriend, and I all did this together, and raised over $1000 in sponsorships for our trip to Kenya in the fall! And I thought I’d try to start filling my Vox friends in on my life too cuz I love you guys! I’d like to say I’ll write more soon, and I do promise to seriously contemplate that endeavor!

Hello everyone!

Here’s a brief update and a HUGE thank you! My 35 mile bike ride was awesome on Saturday… it took me through the heart of Thousand Oaks, hugging the mustard clad hills all the way, down through Oak Park and Westlake, across the 101 freeway, wrapped around the lake of Westlake, cut through a small mountain pass to Lake Sherwood, and then on through Hidden Valley which was pristine and full of multi-million dollar estates and ranches. I think the Lake Sherwood/Hidden Valley part was my favorite, as I had never seen that lake before and I LOVE going through Hidden Valley — this time I got to do it on my bike, taking time to smell the alfalfa drying in the fields, the pungent aroma of the animals, the flowers, and to soak in the colors of the sky and the emerald green grass.

I’m deeply grateful to all of you who supported me in so many ways… thanks to your generosity, I have a good start to building the fund for my Kenya trip. If you want to be involved in further fundraising, we are planning another garage sale (at the last one we raised a record $1000!) for June (looking at the 9th). If you live locally and want to clean out your closets and garage, please give me a call or email and I will be happy to pick up just about anything and haul it away for you. Anything that is not sold at the garage sale will either be saved for the next one or taken to the Goodwill.

Thank you again for your support and love. Please keep me posted in all of your endeavors!

P.S. Couple pics from the ride, with a lovely watermark to go with them!