Most Valuable Players

I have been reflecting on our trip the last few days.  I want to make an award to the Most Valuable Players of this trip.  They were The Brothers Alba (as the young Bucknell alumni referred to them), Jake and Jess Alba.

Everything that Bucknell and Penn alumni and friends saw on the internet/website was the direct result of Jake and Jess.  For starters, Jake and Jess averaged less than four hours of sleep per night for the entire trip!  They were always the last to bed.

Most of the pictures you viewed were seen through Jake’s eyes and heart.

When Bruce got real sick in Colorado, guess who drove Bruce to the next hotel immediately so Bruce could get back in bed in the next city (Alamosa)?  Jess Alba.  Then Jess turned around and drove back 160 miles to support the riders.

When we started the trip, few of us knew what a blog was.  Jake set them up for us, and told us we could do it.  He helped us regularly so we could then add pictures to our blogs (all his help).

As I have mentioned in my previous blogs, I have experienced some very strenuous activities in my life (eight weeks of infantry basic training at Ft. Benning, 22 day trek to 19,000 feet near Mt. Everest, 12 days in a tent in Boswana, 2 days of backpacking up and back the snow covered mountaineers trail on Mt. Whitney, triathalons, etc.).  Jake and Jess Alba put out more on this trip than anyone else did on this trip and the others tough trips/training I have experienced before.  I thank you for this monumental effort.  And, I thank Lillian (Jake’s wife) for sharing Jake with us for this long.  It was not easy on Lillian either.

So when I think of true friends and people who give through love without an expectation of getting something back, Jake, Jess and Lillian Alba fall into this category.

You are true friends who Drew, Jennifer, Lucja, Sara and I love very much.  I know Walt, Pat, Kyle and Jay feel the same way and they have only known you for three weeks.