Sharing Kirin with 3 henro-san and an endearing 72-year-old hostess is probably the best way to end a journey on the Shikoku pilgrimage.  Today equaled 2 temples, 3 wiener dogs, 7 annoying crows waking me up at 5:30 from my picturesque lodging (tent), 1 tsue (walking stick) broken, 1 ofuro taken, 4 cups of coffee, 6 questionnaires, 14 km walked, and a lot of awkward conversations.  Tomorrow will be our last day of walking; hopefully the numbers will match up.

I’m very ready to take that long airplane ride across the pacific to stop in Seattle on my way home.  Only two weeks and I already miss the stereotypical American things (open spaces, Sunday intramural softball, and, most of all, cereal).  I also can’t wait to see Ruth again, I very much wished she could have joined me on this trip.  The tent was meant for a single person, but I bet we could have made it work.

I’ve added a few more pictures and some bits to the research section.  Feel free to browse.   Ready to return to begin the real work of making sense of the data and my experiences.

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