After two full days off with little or no running but with a busy schedule nonetheless, we were back on the road again early this morning. There were a few personnel changes as we start heading back east. We were sad to say goodbye to our good friend Goran, originally from Yugoslavia/Serbia, who served us well for six full weeks. He was a dedicated runner who put in lots of miles and a hard worker who put in lots of hours helping us to keep our systems running smoothly. Salil was to spend his last day with us on this stretch since joining us in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Besides doing his part on the running teams each day, he also works on the international organization and the U.S.A. website. I am sure he will be back as soon as possible.

The girls team was very enthusiastically greeted by Rudy Askman and family at their local business All About tile. The girls were very moved by his receptivity to the ideals of the World Harmony Run.

There was much preparation to get all the systems in gear once more as we headed for the foggy and green mountains and forests of western Washington. We had a great time on our short but sweet days off, with valuable help from some of our Seattle friends who put us up, fed us and even did some shopping for us.

We had a very scenic run today which took us from the running and biking trails of Seattle to the mountain passes and forests of this beautiful state. We had no planned ceremonies today, although a few newspaper reporters came out to cover us.

When we arrived at the beautiful Best Western Icicle Inn in the Bavarian style town of Leavenworth, we were greeted by a number of friends and strangers alike. Pipasa and Nandita drove all the way from Seattle just to run through town here. Their dedication paid off when we were blessed with the presence of Allan Retasket and his wife Rose and son Allan, Jr.

The Retasket family has been greeting us in this section of Washington since the 1989 run. They always run with us and even Allan, Jr. who was about 3 years old then, still runs with the Torch as does his father. Rose walked the Torch at the end of the town and we were all thrilled that they were all able to join us for dinner. Pipasa’s dad, Sam Glass, also drove quite a way down to join us for the evening. He could not run due to a knee problem, but was helpful in driving through town, following the runners as we made our way to East Leavenworth.

Our new members, Sarah and her daughter Anna who joined us from Seattle today, cooked a great meal along with Sevati. The meal was nicely supplemented with some greeat pizzas from the Leavenworth Pizza Company—thank you so much. They ended up feeding about 18 people as we had a nice gathering in the parking lot of this wonderful Inn. We also had to say goodbye to Salil for now as he left with Jitavrata who also came out for a day to carry the torch for some time. We are so grateful to our Seattle friends for caring for us and then coming out to run some of the 109 miles today.

Sarah, Anna and her brother Ethan will stay until the weekend to enjoy the World Harmony Run ‘life on the road’ and offer us valuable miles and help in our daily chores and responsibilities as well.

Pathik, from Bethesda, Maryland, also just arrived and helped us run up the very difficult Steven’s Pass today. We are glad that he could stay for about a week but we wish it could be more.

A few local people also came by to offer their goodwill and support this evening at our informal meal in the Best Western parking lot. Some of them heard us on the radio this morning and others stopped by out of curiosity. Barbara Mills and family as well as the Andermans all made our day even more delightful as they came with their smiles and kind hearts to meet the runners this evening. We will carry their goodwill with us as we proceed tomorrow.

Gratefully,

Arpan and Team Harmony

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