We always say 'Guess who's Birthday is it?" Well the number one running partner ever is celebrating his today. What a celebration we have coming up for him and more. We dozed off and on during the night in anticipation of the big event. We have plans to leave here @ approximately 8:30 a.m. and finish by 10:30-11:00. It wouldn't be right if we didn't have to finish with a start uphill and to add to the excitement 'A BRIDGE" :) We had a few more calls last night from J3 and company letting us know what was happening along the way. We were going through all of the items we have hauled from north to south. What may have been essential and providing the very thing to keep us alive, well, now it was time to purge and clean up and toss out. We wanted to keep the integrity of the cart as much as possible or we could have just packed up everything and ran without it. But some of those things like extra water bottles and such.....well not needed for the few miles we would travel today. We are taking some of our precious items right to the end because they did start out with us. The 882's last used as the 'wet' running shoes, the green vinyl poncho that kept me dry as well as warm during those rainstorms. I used some orange flourescent tape to keep it closed as the wind blew. Out they go with more to go yet. J3 calls and tells us that they are soon on their way, so trying to keep our eyes open we wait for the knock on the door. OH WHAT A SURPRISE !!!! knocking on the door and jumping in as only he could was our youngest son Mike. He had flown into Gulf Port!! His brother and sister-in-law had been waiting for him to come in and went out to pick him up after they had flown in themselves, to Jackson. Seeing John and Heidi make us smile so. I cannot resist to touch our newest addition to the family and Heidi is good spirited. Eli is growing and her belly shows how much. How much bigger she will be, 3 more months to go. Our family has perfected the Surprise Category. We always wish everyone could be together, Our children will tell you I say that all of the time. Getting any or all of us together is a happy day for all. We visited, discussing where we were meeting in the morning and the final plans for the ending spot down by the lighthouse. It didn't seem to sink in that this was the night before the last day of running. Everyone has had a full day already and must get some rest, as tomorrow will be even fuller. We say good night. What had been planned for so long ago had now been achieved and was soon ending. When we open the door to greet the new day, the sun is shining and the sky is very blue. We have been given a wonderful gift to finish in the same weather that we started in so 82 days ago. I had so hoped we wouldn't have to finish in the rain. Well who would?? J3 and Mike arrive to see what we have packed up and gotten ready for the final run. We show them the pile of things not going and the cart that is tidy and ready to roll. Photos and more photos and then some. We are ready to go, out the door we go. There is a police car down there, but not to escort us across the bridge this time. There is a minor situation going on and we are not a priority. We have to get to the finish at a certain time, so it is almost as if we are running this last leg as a road race. We have given ourselves plenty of time, so there won't be much hurrying. As we head toward the bridge, we are discussing what we should expect on the bridge itself. The pedestrian walkway (runway) is located on the outside. The interesting thing is that on our side of the bridge the highway will be on our right and the Bay of Biloxi on the left. The highway side is completely fenced with barriers so no one can climb over and get onto the highway. The Bay side has a simple iron railing waist height giving a good view to a vista that is unbelievable. The drop down there is approximately 100-150 feet. But the surface has been paved and I won't have to avoid looking down and run on grates. Photo opportunities are awaiting us as we cross and we are pleased to see the smiling faces of our sons waiting for us. They will assist their dad and lift up the heavy cart to put it on the other side of the cement barrier. I sing Happy Birthday to You along the way. Michelle has called to wish her dad a Happy Day and the boys have already presented the card that talks.....letting you know in a Forrest Gump voice, the many ways you can eat and serve shrimp. The breeze is comfortable and we know that once we cross we barely have a couple of miles to go. Did I mention that the bridge is also a draw bridge so it has the ability to move and shift. FUN TIMES There are boats about and people fishing. Everything looks so normal and inviting until you see entire bridges that only pieces exist jutting out of the water. Then you know that something bigger than you has visited this area not too long ago. I tell John we have to move along a little faster, the boys are on the other side waiting to move the cart onto the road. We see them in the distance and of course, it is a photo opportunity. We have an option of going down stairs or going up and over. Up and over we go. They leave and are going to the finish to wait for us. We are getting to the final destination and making pretty good time of it. We see Katrina damage mixed alongside homes in various stages of repair. The area is attempting to bring itself back bigger and better than ever. It is apparent, but it is a long and slow process. We turn onto a street that has a playground on it and cannot resist the chance to take photos and swing for a bit. :) Across the street sits a fenced in lot that holds a big beautiful swimming pool with pool furniture and a ball floating on top of the water. The house that was once part of this picture is no longer there. Huge machinery and trucks must have been there one day scooping up materials and memories. And so we run. J3 calls and says we can pick it up a notch if we want to. We are on Porter St. which will bring us right down to where we want to be. Over the RR tracks we can see a yellow building in the distance near the waters edge with some people moving about and waving. Can it be we are there??

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