5 Weeks and Counting!

Finally, we have a signed lease, plane tickets, insurance and backpacks purchased, and are now possessed of the blessed certainty that, barring any disasters, on August 1 we are departing!  Our renters actually move into our house July 1, so we have just one week left to pack up all of our personal items and move out, thereby becoming itinerant nuisances to our friends and family for the month of July.  This will enable the kids to finish a summer school class and attend their beloved church camp.  It will also hopefully help us save up a little bumper for our tight budget.

Now that I'm not so focused on trying to make sure we are actually getting to go, I've noticed myself dwelling on things I know I will really miss.  So as a bit of an ode to both the people and things I love, I've decided to catalogue them here.  And no, they are not listed in order of importance :)

1.  My cowboy boots (what do you mean I can't take them?)

2.  My besties! (This is going to be a really tough one)

3.  Our shower (it NEVER runs out of hot water)

4.  My double wide (lounge chair, not mobile home)

5.  Our kitchen (granted I don't cook in it much, but it's lovely to hang out in)

6.  All of our pets (1 dog and 3 cats) but especially my personal familiar and certifiably crazy cat, Peso

7.  Our family (both sides) - no picture - too many of them!

8.  Halloween - guaranteed best party of the year

9.  High school football games!

(picture to follow)

10.  Our church (complete with the world's best acappella song leader - Willie Norwood)

I don't have much time however to moon about who and what I will miss.  The list of things still to do is very loooooooong.  And really, if I can't live without a few creature comforts then I don't deserve to go! Still, it has been decades since I've traveled in such a low budget (read low comfort) style.  I hope I'm not too old and spoiled to appreciate it.  Wilder, citing times when I've pouted when the weather was bad camping or the view from a hotel room didn't suit me, expresses concern that I may not be up to the inevitable discomforts and sacrifices of our journey.  I tell him the passion I have to make this trip happen, to see the world together as a family and to learn and grow together in the process, will get me through.  I only hope I'm right.

FINALLY! TICKETS ARE PURCHASED!

Map of Flights

After four months of destination and flight research, I swear it feels like I just gave birth.

We purchased 4 One World 5 Continent Explorer tickets for the major flight segments of our trip.  The link above shows the flights on a map.  If you scroll down it also spells out the destinations.

We depart August 1 and will return approximately May 1 of 2012.  We will supplement the big flights with some cheap ones (like Madrid to Morocco)  as well as Eurail passes in Europe.  We also booked a low cost cruise out of Athens and into Rome with stops in both Israel and Egypt.

We now have the basic skeleton of our 9 months.  The rest we will have to fill in as we go!