36 days to go!

Hello everyone! We are in the midst of packing and moving items into storage before the big journey. Of course, we picked the hottest weekend of the year to do this! Bring on the iced tea. We have discovered the miracle of shrink wrap, and have wrapped everything we own in it. We have movers coming Wednesday to assist us with the big items. We look forward to hitting our favorite spots in the Pearl this weekend: Powell's Books, Mio Gelato, Fratelli's, and Fuller's Diner. Minnie (the chihuahua) has been enjoying lording over Jamison Square and is spending quite a bit of time there. We recently joined a group called servas, www.servas.org, and have received information with possible hosts all over the world. We have begun contacting them in SE Asia - Laos, Vietnam, and Thailand to see if we can stay with them. The idea is that you can stay for up to two nights with the host, in his or her home, while they introduce you to their country and culture. One more shot to go, the final in the Hepatitis series, a big shopping bag full of great sale items from REI, and that's about all that is left to do! Miracle.

45 days to go!

We are now 45 days away from leaving for our around the world six month tour. We have our one way tickets to Budapest, Hungary and have secured our first four nights at www.budabab.com, a nice american hosted bed and breakfast. Our itineray is tenative and as follows: October 2-7, Budapest, Hungary October 7-10, Slovenia October 10-20, Croatia October 20-Nov. 1, Bavarian Alps, Germany with Melissa's parents. Nov. 1-15, Prague, Czech Republic Nov. 15-30, Madrid, teaching english Dec. 1- 31, Thailand Jan 1-15 ,Vietnam Jan 15-30, Laos February, March, Australia and New Zealand March 31, Portland, Oregon We are making all the final plans...after reading an article in the Oregonian about techie travelers we have decided to purchase an IPAQ pocket pc that will allow us to transfer our photos and update our blog site wirelessly. We have almost finished our rounds of shots and exams, tetnus, hep a and b, malaria, etc... and have set our move date out of the penthouse in the pearl for August 30th. We will be staying with friends for the month of Septemeber. Any takers? Minnie, the adorable chihuahua, will be well kept in Hillsboro during the six months, and cars and belongings will be stored. We purchased the plastic compression bags for our backpacks after we did a practice packing activity and found very little room left in our backpacks. Six months and one bag each, ugh. Melissa's parents have decided to join us in Germany and will fly from Nashville, TN to Munich on October 20 until October 31. We will be there for Oktoberfest! Prost! While there, we will be staying in military housing.