The Adventures of Jim & Rhonda

Ok, some of you asked for it! Here is a list of what we’re taking in our packs. We each of a Northface backpack and even though they feel really heavy after weighing them we find we each have around 30-35lbs. Most of you will think we’re crazy to travel with so little, while the other RTW travelers will think we’re crazy to take so much! So, here it is…
Jim has:

3 pair of long pants (2 zip off)

3 pairs of shorts + swim trunks

3 short sleeve shirts

3 long sleeve shirts (2 button up/ 1 tee shirt style)

4 pair travel undies + long underwear
3 pair socks

north face jacket/ liner + gloves & stocking cap

rainpants

a tilley hat for the sun, bandana, and pj bottoms.

Rhonda has:

1 pair zipoff pants & 1 pair long

3 pair capris

2 pair shorts

swimming suit

2 long sleeve buttonup shirts

1 long sleeve tee

3 tank tops

2 short sleeve shirts

4 pair travel undies + long underwear

2 pair socks

Northface jacket/ liner + gloves & stocking cap

rainpants

tilley hat for the sun, bandana, and pjs.

We’re both bringing 3 pairs of shoes – which is more than I’d hoped for but it just (for now anyway) seems the way to go. We each have a pair of light hikers (Merrill for Jim/ Salomon for me), we each have a pair of chaco sandals, and Jim has chaco thongs while I have keen slip ons for the beach, questionable showers, etc.

Then, of course the toiletries and misc. We, of course, have headlamps, locks for our backpacks, etc. and the typical toiletries although very pared down. We’re only taking very minimal makeup and toiletries & will just restock on the road.

We also both have a couple of books, our guide on New Zealand & Australia (Lonely Planet), copies of our confirmations for everything already figured out  and my journal and little black book for making sure we stay on our budget. Oh, and we also have a travel towel each and a small pillow.

Jim is taking the ipod and we got a duel system so we can each listen at a different volume level so I’ll still have some eardrums left when we return:)

That’s about it. 2 30lb backpacks and 2 10lb daypacks to hold everything we’ll be using for the next 12-15months. It seemed impossible to do while we were living in our house but since we’ve been basically living out of 1 suitcase and in between 5-6 different houses for the last 3 weeks we’re feeling a little bit like gypsies already.

In the coming months we’ll let you know how much of it we really keep carrying around and what we didn’t take and wish we had!

It’s strange that we are now finally only 1 week out before embarking on our RTW adventure. We had a busy week getting some final things out of the way.

Last weekened we spent 2 days at the beach house with Jim’s parents and our nephews Andy & Baron. We all had a great time but man, what I wouldn’t give for 1/10th of those kids energy!

Tuesday we took a beautiful drive a couple of hours up the coast to Manzanita to visit our friends Kelly, Rick, and their family. They are some of our oldest friends but they live in California so we dont’ get to see them as much as we would like. We had a good afternoon playing on the beach with them and catching up on news. They’ll be in New Zealand as well, but unfortunately not until next spring so we’ll be long gone by then.

We got the boat in to the dealer to get winterized for storage and picked up my sleeping bag. Jim had gotten me a great bag for my birthday last year with a special zipper so I can stick my feet/toes out. (slight claustrophobia issues:)However, being a hip bag, the side zipper didn’t go down as far as I wanted. So,we got the zipper lengthened & it now extends the length of the bag. It was no big deal for weekend camping here but since we’ll basically be sleeping in those bags for 5-6 months in Africa I wanted to make sure it was as comfortable as possible!

I may have mentioned that my former boss is going to be in Cairo in Feb. so she’ll be bringing our sleeping bags/ pads with her and leave them at our Cairo offices so we can pick them up when we arrive later in the spring. Should work out great & now we won’t have to pay shipping or worry about them being lost. I dropped off the bag at work… It was great to see everyone but I don’t feel as if I belong there anymore.

We’re down to just getting any toilitries we need for the trip packed up and we’re pretty much set. We weren’t able to see quite everyone we’d hoped to see before we go but everyone else has busy schedules as well. Hopefully, we’ll get lots of encouraging emails and comments from friends and family as we go.

We had a minor problem with our goat Butler this week. When they were being brought in from the pasture Bug stepped on his leg and he had to have a week of stall rest and some anti-inflammatory shots. Poor guy is pretty sore but it looks like he’ll be fine, thank goodness, because a big vet bill right before we left was NOT in the plans!

In an odd twist of fate, Barb, Bug’s vet, is going to be flying into Sydney the same day we arrive!! She is teaching classes for 4 days but then has 4 days on her own so we’re hoping to catch up with her for dinner. We haven’t seen much of her the last couple of years and how strange that Australia will be the next place we might see her!

We’re back at the beach now but have to get back up to Portland tomorrow for a friends sons’ birthday party. We’re spending the night and getting the boat in storage on Monday, dropping the truck at some friends, etc. and then back to the beach for a few days for our last week here at home. It hasn’t fully clicked in yet that this is all really happening but it sure will soon!!!

Weather in Fiji is 83 and sunny this week so should be perfect when we arrive in about 10 days. We’re really looking forward to a “vacation” before we start our long trip. New Zealand will probably be a bit crisp but hopefully it won’t rain the whole time so we can get in a lot of fishing and hiking.

Next up, what we’re packing and why…………. stay tuned.

Sorry I haven’t posted in a couple of weeks but it’s busy being retired, albeit temporarily!

Last week Jim & I finished up the majority of our shopping for the trip. In a later post I”ll actually list what we’re each bringing but, believe me, it’s not much! We purchased all quick dry, lightweight travel clothes from stores like REI and Columbia and I think they’ll work out great. It will just be a new experience to have so little for an entire year.

On Wed. we had a potluck picnic with the fellow work mates which was good fun and they very nicely gave us a gift card to REI which is always appreciated!

Thursday we headed down to Eugene for our lasik surgery. What an amazing experience!!! We’re both thrilled we finally did it and although our focus is still adjusting we’re both basically at 20-20 now and Jim’s stigmatism is gone. Really fascinating what they can do with a laser and 10minutes of your time! Our vision will continue to adjust for the next couple of months and in 3 months should be pretty set at where we’ll be. Can’t wait to NOT have to bring glasses, saline, contacts, cases, etc etc on the trip and no worries about losing or breaking anything. We spent the night in Eugene for a checkup the next morning and headed back to Portland on Friday.

Saturday morning we headed up to Vancouver BC for a long weekend with our friends Mike & Malisa. They just purchased a great new house so we wanted to see them and break it in before we left! They now live about 25minutes south of Vancouver by White Rock which is a great coastal community. Lots of eating, drinking, and some long walks along the boardwalk.

Back home on Tuesday afternoon to get the apartment all packed up. We’re now officially homeless gypsies and are currently moving between family & friends houses until we actually leave on Aug. 26. We’re taking the boat over to the lake in Lincoln City today for a couple of days of useage before we winterize it to prepare to store it for a year.

We’ll try and be in contact with as many of you as we can before we leave but so far thanks to everyone for the great parties (Dana,Dallas,Ken & Wendy..thanks so much!!! Had a great time)

See you all soon and then we’re off!!!!!!!!!

It’s official, this is my last day of work at Grand European Tours! I got my desk completely cleaned out yesterday and am just going to finish up some tasks today and I’m officially retired (for a while anyway). It hasn’t really sunk in yet, and I’m sure it won’t until around Thursday next week when I STILL don’t have to get up to head for work.

We got our second series of JE shots yesterday and I’m feeling a bit off today.. I don’t think it mixed very well with the beer we had with friends last night:) Tonight we’re heading over to Dana and Dallas’ house for  a little pre-party before our big going away part tomorrow night.We’ll post some pictures of the big event and then the countdown truly begins. 30 days exactly from today and the adventure begins.

There are going to be a lot of goodbyes in the next few weeks and I want to thank all of our friends and family in advance for being supportive even though some of them don’t truly understand what we think we’re doing. But, thanks for being there anyway!

I love a good quote or an email that makes me take a step back and remember what is important in life. I got 2 of them today. The first one was:

Live Simply. Love Generously. Share Deeply. Speak Kindly. Leave the rest to God.

the 2nd I had gotten before but I’ve always enjoyed:

Life is Short. Break the Rules. Forgive Quickly. Kiss Slowly. Love Truly. Laugh Uncontrollobly. And never regret anything that made you smile.

That pretty much sums up why we’re embarking on this trip. To take advantage of what life has given us and living it to the fullest every day.

How weird is that??? I’ve been with my company 10 years in Sep. and I am cleaning out my desk for possibly the last time. Very odd indeed.

I only have 2 more days of work to go and am so looking forward to moving full force into trip preparation next week. We need to pack up the apartment as well because we have to be out by 10Aug. Then we will be officially homeless.

We’ve got a ton of stuff going on in the next few weeks, we’re really going to need that week on Fiji to just chill. Tonight we have our pre-lasik eye appointment, tomorrow we get 2nd round of shots and meet some friends for dinner. Friday we’re having a “pre-party” before our going away party on Saturday. Next Wed. we have my works going away party, Thursday lasik surgery, and Sat leave for Vancouver BC for 3 days to visit friends. Whew, we need a holiday!

We’re getting a few fine details smoothed out as well. One thing we’d been trying to figure out was where to send our sleeping bags/pads to so we would have them at the beginning of our Africa portion but so that we didn’t need to haul them all over the South Pacific, SE Asia, and India. Suddenly I got a brilliant idea (it does happen occasionally!!!), why not send them to my companys’ Cairo office so we’ll feel more confidant they’ll be waiting for us safely. Abdel, the manager there, had an even better idea… insteaed of shipping them and paying custom fees we’ll just have my boss check them as baggage when she heads to Egypt in late Feb. so they’ll be there waiting for us when we arrive. Check! One more thing off the list of TO DO’s.

We’ve also decided that we are going to fit Turkey and Greece in between India and Egypt. It’s not out of the way at all and Turkey is one spot we really want to spend more time in (we’ve only spent 3 days there so far). Then, mom & dad D said they might want to come meet us in Crete in the spring and friends Ron & Dario had already mentioned meeting in Greece so…looks like we’ll add those 2 countries to the itinerary. I think then we can also take a boat from Rhoades to Alexandria and avoid buying an airline ticket. Things are coming together really well and we’re getting so excited we can barely stand it.

Break is over and back to work… ha ha… only 2 more days of saying that for a long while! 32 days to go and we’re off to see the world. Hope you all come along by blog for the ride!

We went to the travel clinic yesterday and had high hopes for not having to get too many shots since we’re already up to date on quite a few things. Boy were we wrong!

We knew we both needed yellow fever and that Jim also needed the typhoid injection since the pills didn’t work for him. The Doctor at the travel clinic, however, had other ideas in mind. She said we also needed japanese enchepilitis, rabies, and meningitis. Even though I am still questioning in my mind whether we truly need a couple of these we decided to go ahead with the recommendations since many are good for several years and we’ll be  covered next time we take off. I also needed to have blood drawn to see if the rabies vaccinations I’d had as a kid were still good or if I needed a booster. All in all a very painful (5 shots for me, 6 for Jim) AND expensive day. Our total yesterday came to $1181.00 and we still each have 2 more JE shots each and 2 more rabies for Jim (plus the possible rabies booster for myself) Yikes!! $2300 for shots was NOT what we’d expected but , the price you pay for traveling for so long I guess.

I’d seen plenty of forums on the web with people questioning whether or not you really need some of these vaccines.For many budget travelers it really is a question of money and the true odds of whether a rabid animal is going to bite you. There is no right answer, of course, and everyone has a different outlook on the subject. I, personally, felt that the doctor we saw was pretty paranoid about the subject  so I am STILL (even after the first go round) not sure if I really need them all.

We also had to discuss the malaria pill question that weighs heavily on every travelers mind when they go to developing nations. Because so many areas have mosquitos that are resistant to one type or another of malaria preventatives it can become really difficult to determine what to use and when to use them. Because of the length of our trip, the many countries we’re covering ,and the fact that the information changes so rapidly the clinic said they felt the best thing for us to do was not use any malaria preventative medication (but, obviously use bug spray freely, cover up at dawn/dusk, etc etc!) but take along malarone tablets and if we believe we have malaria then to do the postemptive treatment. I am still doing some research on this option and how easy it would be to get malaria pills en-route if we decide to do that. However, considering how almost fanatical she was about getting us vaccinated for every possible thing this may be the best route to go.

We did get a couple of more elements of our trip taken care of. I got our travel insurance for the first 6 mths booked through a company Bootsnall boys recommend called World Nomads. They have reasonable pricing and great coverage. We also booked our flight from Christchurch, New Zealand to Sydney, Australia for 5 Oct. We hadn’t originally planned on booking this prior to our arrival in New Zealand however it appears immigration is getting tighter these days and they want proof of an on-ward ticket before they’ll let you into the country. This is an issue in some areas of SE Asia and Africa too but there they seem content to just verify you have enough funds to complete your travels and probably are just more interested in a small bribe.
Only 1 more week of work for me and I am having a tough time being very motivated to actually work! I’m sure by this time next week I’ll be in agony while watching the clock SLOWLY move along.

37 days to go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, we’re finally doing it! We’re both getting lasik eye surgery on 2 August! We’ve been talking about it for some time and, as with everything in our lives right now, we’re going for it!

The 4th of July holiday (which I made into a 5 day weekend so we could spend it at Jim’s parents house at the beach in Lincoln City) was wonderful. Very relaxing. Jim’s parents Jim & Gail and Ken & Wendy hung out most of the 5 days too and we did lots of boating on the lake, walking on the beach, and – of course- eating & drinking.

Now I’m back at work trying to make the days go by faster and Jim is spending the next couple of weeks painting his parents house and helping out with some yardwork.

I see my regular doctor this week, we go to the travel clinic next week, and we get our lasik surgery in 3 weeks. WHEW. I will be DONE with doctors for a while after that. However, it’s going to be great heading into this trip up to date on everything so, God willing, we will be safe & healthy for the next 12-15months. We are really looking forward to not having to worry about saline solution, contacts, etc for life in general but it will certainly make traveling easier.

13 days and counting for work. Ken & Wendy along with our friends Dana & Dallas are all hard at work planning our going away bash for 28July and my work going away party is 1 Aug. so we’ll be leaving with a bang.

Right now we’re still planning on visiting our friends Mike & Malisa in Vancouver, BC the first weekend of August, moving out of our apartment by 12Aug, spending time with friends from California who will be in Oregon visiting around 13-15Aug , and then we’ll live with Jim’s parents or at the beach house for 10 days or so and then we’re leaving on a jet plane on 26 Aug!

We got our flights booked departing 26Aug and arriving Nadi, Fiji on 28Aug. We’ll be staying at Jim’s parents timeshare for 9 nights and then flying 6 Sep to Auckland. We plan on just staying there 1 or 2 nights to get situated and then we’ll pick up our camper van and start heading south. We’ll probably spend about 1 month in New Zealand and fly to Sydney around 1st week of Oct. but that we’ll just play by ear.

This last weekend I spent it alone in our new apartment because Jim was off bass fishing in Eastern Oregon with our brother in law Ken.

My sister in law, Wendy, and I did take Friday night to get pedicures and wander around NW Portland but the bulk of my weekend was spent in trip prep mode. In recent days we had received our campgrounds guides for both North & South Island and (woo hoo) I was the grand prizer winner on Travelfish.org, a website specializing in SE Asia and so received for FREE all 8 of their travel guides. Also delivered was the DVD “A Map for Saturday ” that I had ordered. It is a fascinating documentary by a round-the-world (RTW) traveler from NY who interviewed many other travelers in his year away. It was very interesting to hear everyones’ feelings regarding their whole experience… some traveled for 6 months.. some for 3 years but all shared many of the same views on why they left and if they’ll ever return to life as they knew it before.

Now that our life is back on a normal plain I’m thrilled to once again get inspired about learning more about the places we’ll be visiting on our trip. I tend to be a planner, sometimes perhaps an over-planner, and I am determined to do a lot of reading before we leave on the different destinations but to not actually have a set itinerary. We are truly going to just go with the flow and see where it takes us.

20 more days of work and boy am I counting down. It’s getting more and more difficult to be here everyday while Jim is at home or out & about and knowing there are so many more exciting things I could be doing! But, I’ll putter along here getting everything all situated for my departure. I’m not sure if I’ll come back or not but it is a very nice place to work and my boss has been wonderful about at least saying they would try to find a place for me if I do want to.

2 more dentists appointments for me, 1 other Dr, and the our travel clinic appt. and we will be as good to go as possible. Jim does have to go back in for another bloodtest to see if his Hep B booster took. We got my response back (I’m good to go) but not his so I called and they said they’d done the wrong test and could he come back to have more blood drawn…you’d think they could have at least called us wouldn’t you?

Anyway, lunch is over so back to my personal corporate wasteland for now. I will soon be marking one more day off the work calender!

It’s official…we signed on the house and are now officially back to apartment life. It’s been 18 years since we’ve lived in an apartment and although this one seems fine.. I’m certainly glad it’s only for 2 months! I already miss my deck and lawn and seeing our pets wander about the pasture.
Right now I’m so sore my toes even hurt! We got a top floor because we didn’t want noisy neighbors above our head and it will be for the best but by the end of moving things up 3 stories yesterday I was questioning our sanity! We didn’t take too much to the apt. since it’s just a little 1bdrm,1bath but it’s probably a great thing for us to start downsizing our life now anyway since we’ll be living out of a backpack for 12-15mths!

A big positive (other than our new hefty bank account!) is the new commute time for me (12 minutes this morning compared to 55min!) and the fact that for the first time in 18 years we’ll be living within city limits and can order pizza delivery!!! I know, I know, scary what gets me excited.

In looking at airfares this morning, I did just find a fare from Portland to Auckland w/ a stopover in Fiji for  $868pp. A pretty good deal since the best travel industry rate I’d found was $760pp out of LAX with us still having to get there. I think we’ll book it next week, have our departure date set and REALLY start planning & getting excited about our big adventure!