And so it began ...

Day 1:  Saturday, 12 May, 2007 -- Fort Lewis, WA

Our own Fort Lewis Fire Department graciously hosted our departure ceremony, at their Main Station.  You can only imagine how cool it was to see their rigs lined up so formally in front of Station 1, with all the crews busily making sure everything was pristine for the roll out. Thanks to Chief Dixon & Chief Dalay, and their outstanding crews.  They truly made the day special!

 

We were honored by the presence of 2 of our favorite local Heroes ...Tacoma F.D. Chief Ron Stephens & TFD Chaplain Wilby Casey.  Talk about support!  We cannot say enough good about the way TFD, and Local 31 have shown their commitment to supporting our troops.

 

Sadly TFD Batallion Chief Jim Hannity was not well enough to attend.... We were honoring him via "Hannity's Crossing" for his support of HeroToHero.US -- He is the one who got us started on the overpass salute as we rolled out each of the past 3 years.  We wish him all the best, and keep him in our prayers.  We hope that he feels honored by our efforts and by those of our Puget Sound first responders.

 

Those honors included a full roll out procession.

 

During a brief ceremony, during which we thanked our sponsors & supporters ...

Starbucks -- Leann

Hertz --Tyson & Nie

Military Memorabilia -- John & Pam

CoinForce.com -- Jordan & Donna

Hooters of Tacoma -- Bill, Will & Jill

Tacoma Outback Steak House -- Joe & crew

Red Robin Restaurants *Operation Iraq'n'Robin

 

... For their continued support of our efforts.  (Please let them know how much they are appreciated.  These folks show what real community support is all about!  Kudos to all!) 

We would also like to thank...

USCG Recruiter Chief Steve Sisk

USMC Sgt Jonathan Coffey & Krystal Karpiak

319th EOD Mel Young

14th Engineers LTC Helmlinger

Photographer Jennifer L. West

Anthony Mladek; USAF

TFD Honor Guard Pipers Suzanne & Seamus

Keithley Middle School's Yellow Ribbon Club; Jennifer Thornton,  Cheyenne, DJ, & Cassandra.

Cookies by Design of Lakewood,

Kettle Falls Marina 

 

We want to thank ...

Tacoma Police Department Traffic Division -- The bikes rocked!

Lakewood PD Traffic Division --Thanks Mike & Steve - Perfect as always!

WA State Patrol - Niiice!  Appreciate all the help, Trooper Lewis!

Yelm Police - Representing Fallen Heroes

Gig Harbor Police - Det Fred Douglas (A member of our 1st multi-agency Color Guard)

The "Godzilla Gang"-- great Team work for us - AGAIN!  ( ;

AAFES - Way to support!

Xyience - Okay, we need some of that energy for the road!

The Ranger -- Looking forward to another great story!

 

We departed Fort Lewis at high noon with flags flying and light bars lit as we passed under the overpasses.  As we had hoped, nearly all 21 of them, from the Dupont gate to the Pierce/King County line were covered by Fire Personnel.   

 

For this honor we would like to thank;

The Bridge People Regulars of Freedom Bridge,

Lakewood Fire Department,

Steilacoom Fire Department,

McChord Air Force Fire Fighters,

Pierce County F.D. 17 & Cadets,

Bates Tech Fire Services,

Tacoma Fire Department,

Puyallup Fire Department,

Lacey Fire Department,

And yes, Milton, Edgewood, & Riverside Fire (Thanks for the efforts- someone gave them the wrong time).

 

The view as we passed under was spectacular, and something we will not likely forget.  A 20 car line up, plus bikes and rigs ... How do you beat that?!

 

The first photos are posted above ... there are MANY more, and we look forward to sharing them with you all.  Stand by, we are getting settled into our routine.  It is late now, we've crossed into Mountain time, and are feeling the miles starting to add up.  we'll adjust and get this all rolling. 

 

From the road crew ... Liz, Kathy, Kelly, Chief, Rookie --Who had to be intubated before we left the Fort Lewis FD (Our new pal, Joey, from the Tacoma Outback Steakhouse's) we would like to thank the Core Team/"Rear Det" ... Larry, Chani, Leta, Jonathan, JJ, Krystal, Juli, & Tara.  We couldn't do it without all of your hard work and we wouldn't want to do it without you.

 

And so we were off for another adventure of a lifetime.  As we departed, local gas prices hovered at $3.42 per gallon ... And we still have over 10,000 miles ahead of us, sigh.  Wanna help out?  We won't stop ya!

 

Oh, btw, you might also notice "guest appearances" from "Pocket Ellen" as we couldn't get "Cardboard Cutout Ellen".  We wanted her to get the opportunity to come see the road H2H style.  This is a Troop Morale campaign, and she has done so much for our troops and their loved ones ...We wanted to share some of the fun with her.  So Ellen ... This one's for you!  Holla!  *Even Oprah and Gail didn't have a road trip this big!

 

First up :

A "HeartStop" in Ellensburg at the Fire Department began our journey to our first stop in Moscow, ID.  And yep, "Pocket Ellen" made an appearance ... C'mon, it IS ELLENsburg, afterall!

 

It seemed only appropriate to go to Idaho for our first offical stop this time around soince our guest rider this year, Kelly Averbeck, is a Paid Call Fire Fighter and Elementary School Reading Teacher from Jerome Idaho.   It's always fun to see the road thru a "rookie rider's" eyes ... hehe!  ( ;  So, Moscow, Idaho was the first official stop on the tour.

 

We arrived in Moscow and were met at the local WalMart by Moscow P.D. at 9:30pm (Due to storms and lightning, our arrival was later than expected). We were escorted back to the station for some photo ops. The guys were great.  They are very supportive, and have pledged coats from their department, which will likely end up in Afghanistan on the next shipment, in March.  We had a lot of fun with them, and want to commend them for the way they represented with humor, humility & integrity.  The pix will tell the story!

 

Umm, by the time we departed the station, Rookie wasn't so sure he wanted to continue this tour.  I think we overheard something about jumping ship the next time he hears stories about gun shows or tazers.

 

But he seemed to really like the pretty pink bubbles coming from the local fountain -- WSU was having graduation events.

 

We had planned on spending the night in moscow, but with graduation and all, there were no rooms to be had.  Our day ended when we arrived in Couer D'Alene, ID at 1:30am.  Luckily we were able to sleep in a little to prepare for day 2.  

 

And we'll have to tell you all about it - right after this break!  (I feel like Howie Mandel!)

 

lj & the crew 

 

Feel free to leave comments for us ... they are motivating when the days get long!