Livin’ the Dream

all combining to a grand total of aprox. 35 lbs!

(written by Steve)
Well, time sure is flying by in ultra-fast mode. I always knew there was going to be a lot to do before I’d be able to pick up and leave for 6 months but damn, was I grossly underestimating all the work. Needlesstosay though, I think I’ll make it ontime for our flight Sat. morning but it’s going to be close. Waaaay too close. Props to Jen for composing that massive entry below. How the heck did you find time to do that? I was always that guy who wrote the minimum required length for his high school English essays. But I’m sure as we begin our adventure, I’ll have lots to share and more time to write. For now though, it’s back to packing and preparing.

(Written by Jenny)

We officially have only 4 days left till take off! Ok I’m not going to lie a
massive panic attack has set in, but we are making progress.

Work: I have officially left Care2 after a 1.5 years to a fabulous
send off of chocolate cake and pad thai, ironically that is exactly how I
started my time there.

Medical: I finally over came my fear of shots and when to the
doctor to get all my happy vaccinations. While I can’t lift my arms to put
on a sweater I can now rest assured that I am protected against polio,
tetanus, and pretty much everything short of yellow fever. Going to the drug
store was great fun nothing like picking up malaria pills and typhoid
vaccine to draw attention to the fact that you are going somewhere cool!

Volunteering in Thailand: Steve and I got accepted into a
volunteer program in Thailand, which will be awesome. For 2 weeks we will be
teaching English in Ko Chang http://www.travel-to-teach.org/thai/koh_chang.html
The third largest island in Thailand right on the border with Cambodia.
While they are expecting tourism to take of there it sounds like it is
still incredibly well preserved environmentally. I have no doubt that
it will be an incredible experience for us, and hopefully we will able
to help local people be able to capitalize on tourism as opposed to
only outside investors.

World Cup Tickets! Oh yeah baby we have tickets! We are going to
see a World Cup game in Berlin seriously a dream come true. Ok so we are
watching Ukraine vs. Tunisia, I’m not sure who we will be cheering for yet
but who cares we’re going!

So now Steve just needs to finish his last day of work today, move out of
the house in Santa Barbara, and drive up to the Bay Area after getting his
vaccinations. Then a couple more trips to REI and Longs and we should be
ready for take off on Saturday.

Oh and for all of you wondering I will post my final packing list later in
the week. Yes I’m proud on myself; I’m bringing less for 6 months going
around the world than I’ve been know to bring for a weekend in Lake Tahoe.

I repeat…tickets have been purchased! The trip is on! OK so not ALL of the tickets have been purchased but we now have officially (ehem, financially) committed to the trip.

March 4 – Oakland to Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii (Aloha Airlines)
March 10 – Lihue to Auckland, New Zealand (Aloha Airlines & Air New Zealand)
April 6 – Christchurch, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia (Virgin Blue)

So that’s it. A few one way tickets and we are outta here. Oh and for those wondering about the rest of our trip here’s todays itinerary.

Bali, Indonesia
Bangkok, Thailand (and surrounding areas including Vietnam & Cambodia)
Haifa, Isreal
Instanbul, Turkey
-over land to-
Greece, Albania and Croatia
Germany
Iceland

a sample from our most recent trip in August – Mayan Ruins in Tekal, Guatemala