Two very big thanks

First of all, the Hutch Leader ran a story about the trip today, very exciting stuff. It made the front page with some great pictures taken by Kay Johnson. I stopped by the Leader office earlier today to personally thank Kay and Doug Hanneman. They've been very supportive of the trip ever since I first came to them. I am very grateful for their support.

Second, Zella's restaurant has been enthusiastic about the trip since I began planning it. All my co-workers in the kitchen are pretty pumped about the whole idea and some are a bit jealous. The servers in the front of the house have also been very supportive, a majority of my t-shirt sales have been to co-workers so far. Thanks a lot Zella's crew.

Also, Tiff and Blake (the owners of Zella's) have been extremely supportive. Not only have they given a great deal of emotional support, they are very active in financially supporting the trip and helping to get the word out. Today I sold my first Gondola Granola, which would not have even become a reality without a lot of help from Tiff and Blake (it was actually Tiff's idea). It can't be easy to lose an employee, and yet they are still openly showing their support. Perhaps I owe my biggest thanks to these two.

On a different note, in roughly 2 days the ice cover on Otter Lake has gone from about 95% to 50%. The warm weather and high winds have opened up the water considerably. I have been on the river almost everyday for the last few weeks, but now I don't even have to drive to a spot: just another sign of spring.

Rudy