Details, details...

So we've made some plans! We booked our flights from Portland to Taipei to Bali to Perth to Sydney to Auckland to Christchurch and back to Portland! It is official! We are going. It is very exciting to think about. We are leaving Portland on September 24th and we'll return again on December 13th. Our main time will be spent in Western Australia (beginning of October to the start of November) and New Zealand (beginning of November to our return to Portland in December). That is a long time away from the States. But, it will be a lot of fun. This trip is kind of like something that you always think about doing, but, never really do. It incites a lot of talk and not a lot of action. A lot of daydreaming but not a lot of follow through, you know?! But, I now that we're actually going, I am just humbled by the whole idea. We are so lucky to be able to do this and to be able to do it together. I can't think of anyone I'd rather travel with anywhere than Peter. He is especially excited and I think that he's fulfilling a dream that he's carried around for some time. That is exciting to be a part of.
I am really going to miss my family and being in closer contact with them. That makes me think of when I went to France with Audrey, Chris, Margaret and Thomas. Tara wasn't very old and I remember carrying around a raggedy picture of her in her highchair with chocolate frosting on her rosy, chappy cheeks. I would take the picture out when I was missing my family - especially at night - and it would make me feel comforted. I still have that photo somewhere I'm sure. I should drag it out. Anyway, it is sometimes pretty challenging staying connected even from the West coast, let a lone an international dateline to contend with!
However, what a cool way to spend the first year as a married couple, right?! Speaking of married couples, we went to Tyler and Sara's wedding last night in Silverton, OR. It was gorgeous and it made me even more excited for our wedding day in August. It is fast approaching. I'm leaving for the Cape in about 10 days. Then, Peter will meet me in Vermont at the start of August. Thanks to the hard work of my Mom and Peter's Mom we've not got a lot to worry about as far as that goes. I'm looking forward to it. It should be a fantastic and special day for all of us.
Before all of this, we've got to finish painting the house (Peter's done most of it - I help in the trim and detailing aspect of things) and have the yard sale. That should be a blast...I hope!

Let the Blogging Begin!

Welcome to our blog!

I'm hoping that we become regular contributors to this blog as our travels take us around the world. I've never been great with journaling or stuff like that. I can't deal with the consistency and it becomes a chore rather than fun. However, I'm sure that the subject matter will be aching for us to detail every day. So far, we've begun planning our trip and that's about as far as we've made it. We are planning to be in Bali on Sept. 30th to meet up with our pals, Matt & Jen. We've spoken to a few travel agents via telephone but mostly via email and we've had a few quotes on fares. We've decided to try for a multi-stop fare (some call it an "around the world" ticket) and that seems to be the most reasonable way. After about 10 days in Bali, we plan to follow Matt & Jen back to their home in Perth, Australia and then on to Christchurch, New Zealand. We will be back in the States for the Christmas holiday. Following that, the second leg will commence in Mexico and then on to Central/South America.

The only travel that we're doing on this fine day in Hood River remains a trip on our bikes up near Mt. Hood. It seems that the tourist factor is high in our town today (this is my first July 4th here) and so the best way to get around is on two wheels. First, we must play a little tennis before it gets too hot. The high should be around 95 today! I think a swim may be in order at some point, as well. Peter is painting the exterior of our house - quite an undertaking! - and he is happy to have this hot day to just hang out. He's given his employee (himself) the day off for the 4th! What a fair minded boss!

Hope all is well for all of you and thanks for reading. I'll try to make it more exciting. Promise!