We’re Off...

Alright, here we go!  The countdown tracker finally says zero and our backpacks are loaded. One of ours is loaded more than the other — I foresee having to point that out on travel days. Ha.  My pack is more full than I anticipated, but I think everything is necessary?  I’m hoping all the meds we’re bringing won’t be, however. Ha. 

Today we board a 14.5 hour Emirates flight to Dubai (I know, odd route. We’re flying on miles and are at the mercy of the airline offerings). When we traveled to Ethiopia 3 years ago we took the same flight and Maeve managed to watch 14 hours of movies... we’ll see what she manages this time. Since we arrive at night for a 14 hour layover, we’re opting not to leave and sightsee this time, and will stay at the airport hotel ( mostly because the cost was the same for the budget off-site hotels, so we decided to be fancy).  The following morning we board again for an 11 hour flight to Perth, Australia.  Can not wait to be warm 😊.

Thanks to all well wishes and fun last minute gatherings this past week. We are excited to embark on this fun journey...

And we will miss this grumpy old man...  but we know he’s in good hands while we’re gone.

Getting Set

Not that I'm counting, but we're officially 18 days until wheels up... and I'd be lying if I didn't say the excitement isn't building.  It has taken about a year of me prepping Maeve for this trip to get her from saying, "I'm not going", to "meh" to her acknowledging her slow growing interest -- and dare I say, anticipation?

For those of you just recently learning about this adventure -- Maeve and I will be putting on our backpacks and doing school of life for 3 months.  Our itinerary takes us to Australia to visit my sister and her family, and then onto Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.  This journey will take us 3 months and we will have to return to our real world at the end of March.  

I personally think travel is so exciting, and I believe it can be pivotal in life by simply experiencing and witnessing other cultures -- and it often forces you to be tolerant and flexible.  I do recognize that it is not for everyone.  I sometimes wonder if my current love of travel stemmed from my parents ambitious &/or crazy endeavor of moving their family (5, 6 and 9 years old kids) to Scotland for the year -- but prior to settling in Edinburgh, we traveled around Europe in this VW van.  I am not that brave.  Ha. 

I vividly remember the nightly rotation of kids and the coveted position was in the front across bucket seats.

I think my dad took this picture of me at the Vancouver airport taking off when I was 18 to join a couple of friends in Europe to backpack around and then work at Expo '92.  I was gone for 7 months and came home with a bunch of country badges stitched all over my backpack,  and fun stories to tell.   It was also a time when I had to grow up some and figure things out on my own -- this was prior cell phones or the internet, so it was a weekly collect call home to let our parents know we were still alive.

So, I am starting to pack us up now and I have endless lists and things to organize it seems, but I'm almost there.  I have never prepared more for a trip... there was something carefree about my previous trips (pre-child) where I had just figured things out on the go or opened my Lonely Planet on the plane.  I feel the pressure of needing to be more prepared when I travel with Maeve -- which is probably the responsible and right way to parent :-).  I guess because I think of it like a trip of a lifetime, I also want to get things right and go where we want to go etc..  

I am excited to explore a small part of this vast world with Maeve, and see the excitement and wonder through her eyes.  I know that this will also be a bit of a challenge for her initially as she can be nervous about new things.  She's had a couple of big trips in her life in past -- Mexico and Ethiopia, but I think traveling at 9 years old will be a great age for her to take this all in.  I'm also excited to spend one on one time with her too... though, don't get me wrong, I'm hoping to find other families with kids on our travels to help during the times that we'll have a bit too much one on one with each other.  Ha ha.  

Anyway, people have started to ask if I'll be blogging during the trip and this will be our venue to share what we see and do if you'd like to follow along.  We leave on December 28, 2018..