I am here in Kathmandu now all alone.  I had a wonderful time in Nepal and the Himalayas.  The base camp trek and Kala Pathar climb was amazing.  It is such beautiful, diverse and rugged country.  I can understand now why people want to live in the mountains.  To wake up each day and breathe the mountain air and see the spectacular vistas is something I won't soon forget. It was also great for me to "walk a mile" or about 100 kilometers in Scott's shoes.  He did most of the trek we did in November while climbing Ama Dablam and right now is repeating the trek we just did. It makes me feel closer to him while he is away knowing exactly where they are and what he is experiencing.  Since arriving in Kathmandu from Lukla the last 2 days were spent meeting all the members of Scott's expedition and doing lots of last minute running around to get the final things for Scott before he left. I really appreciate the expedition leader Ryan and the other climbers Angus, Alan and Al letting me sit in on their expedition meetings and even attend the team dinner.  It gives me another level of comfort knowing the people Scott will be spending the next 2 months with.  The team left this morning at 5:30am for Lukla.  The fact that they have not reappeared at the hotel yet gives me a good idea they made it out of Kathmandu this morning and should be on the trail right now.  Pujan and Michelle, the owners of the Hotel Courtyard where the expeditions were staying, had a touching send off this morning presenting each climber with a real marigold flower lei, a prayer flag and card to wish them luck on their journey.  It was an emotional good bye for Scott and I. I will be following along with the expedition on My Everest now as well!  I wanted to let all the readers know that we really appreciated and enjoyed reading all your comments and good wishes while we were away.  Scott and Alan Arnette worked very hard before they left Kathmandu to fix the technical problems we were having with our satellite phone and pda.  They were not able to figure it out yet but will continue to work on it and hopefully will resolve it soon.  Scott will be in Namche Bazaar tomorrow and will be able to do a posting then at an internet cafe.  Please continue to follow along on Scott's climb of Everest and keep sending your positive thoughts and good wishes for a safe and successful climb for him and their team.
I leave for home in a few hours and cannot wait to see Amy and Colin!
Thanks, Susan