And So It Begins.....

As many of you know, Rick and Edith are embarking on a Round the World trip. As part of the experience, we are creating a blog to recount some of our adventures and forays. We will try to post something weekly, but of course that will be totally dependent on computer access. We are excited to see what will be available and what will transpire......

A great friend of ours, Carol, will also be on the entire trip with us. We have traveled with her in the past - trekking to Bhutan and Nepal, with a little side trip to Thailand. In fact, Carol was the inspiration for this journey. Her firm has a sabbatical policy where employees can take a 3 month sabbatical - how great is that!! So when her turn came up, we got a call about an earlier discussion on the round the world frequent flier reward. Well, guess what, it's happening!*!*!*!*!*!*



Over the next few months, we are going to record some of the preparations for the trip. Perhaps something for others as they prepare the same. Would love to hear what others have learned.

This blog and advance preparation is no brain spark - our godchild, Rachel, did the same thing when she and Dan, her husband, took their 14-month excursion in a camper on the back of their pickup truck. They cruised through Mexico, the U.S. and Canada. underagedrvers.blogspot.com - don't expect our photos to be anywhere as good as hers. In fact, we reserve the right to edit them upon return to photoshop access.

Just a little preview of our trip. As of now, we are going to 11 countries:

• Portugal
• Turkey
• Rwanda
• Kenya
• Tanzania
• South Africa
• Vietnam
• Cambodia
• Myanmar
• Laos
• Japan

Various friends will join us along the way. We are renting a house in Portugal and have chartered a gulet in Turkey to go around the Mediterranean coast of Turkey. We expect safaris in Kenya as well as seeing the silver back gorillas in Rwanda. Some lazy time will be had along the way with a few beach stops. Trekking and trains are expected in Southeast Asia. And the piece de resistance will be spending Christmas and New Year's with Edith's relatives in Japan. Please stay tuned as our adventure continues.