Last Saturday was Camino planning day number one, the first of what we expected would be many. It started with Carrie and I making the drive from San Diego to Dana Point to meet up with her sister, Jo’l. We presented her with her puffy jacket (we found matching packable ones last weekend) and overheated a little trying them on in the Southern California heat. The next stop was a great Columbian restaurant for lunch and the first bit of planning. Mimosas and Cafe con Leches in hand we discovered that the first few days are going to be the longest, clocking in at 20+ miles each. Jo’l is very fit and ready to go for this. Carrie is in good shape and won’t need to do a lot to get ready. I came up with a training plan for myself that I hoped would keep us on schedule on the Camino; 3 nights a week of 6 miles per night with one weekend a month doing 15-18 mile days back to back to make sure my hips can handle the stress of long distance days. I’ve been doing a lot more regular activity over the past few years, but this needed to be more targeted.
From La Columbiana we headed off for a long walk in San Clemente starting bizarrely in an outlet mall parking lot before heading to sea summit trails, through the surf and sand below the pier, and back to the car.
We weren’t done dreaming and scheming so we got iced tea at a corner coffee house that claims to be the best and talked about the cities we would explore in our time before and after the Camino. Lisbon, Porto, Finisterre...
The whole day was this, when we get there, when we’re walking, while we get ready, because we’re going. We can practically feel the excitement of a new place.
When we got done in Dana Point and headed back down to San Diego, Carrie and I talked with our husbands who had been planning on their own for the shorter trip after ours when we’ll all meet up to go somewhere relaxing. Tropical plans and dreams of hammocks and beachside drinks were added to the aspirations for long days and sore muscles. The night ended with thoughts of passport stamps and albergues.
