Nine months (give or take a
month) of Round-the-World fun hopefully beginning June 1, 2003. I
(Amy) dreamt up this crazy idea in February 2001 while sitting at my desk at my
new job. I was staring at a map of the world and thought "How cool would
it be to go all the way around?" We had already discussed the idea
of a 3 month trip to Southeast Asia following my graduation from my master's
program. Shortly after my Mom reminded us that there was a meeting in
Spain we were invited to in June 2003. What to do? So as I was
looking at that map the idea of beginning in Spain and slowly making our way
East to Australia became a possibility. We would take as few planes as
possible. Here is our "working
itinerary".
Update: June 20, 2003
(For more recent updates,
check the travel log located on the homepage.)
We have closed on the condo and
leave tomorrow! We originally planned to leave June 1st but were a little
delayed with the sale of the condo. So far we have made many arrangements:
- Got most of our shots...ouch! Hep A, Hep B,
Tetanus. We only have and second Hep B and the Typhoid to go.
- Found a temporary home for our
cat Biggin - He will have the pleasure of staying with Ryan's parents, Rich
and Jane in Atlanta. We hope he doesn't acquire a Southern accent!
- Bought various electronic
equipment - digital camera, teeny tiny video camera, GPS for Geocaching, MP3
player for 14 hour bus rides in India.
- Finished school on
time...graduated and everything!
- Renewed passports. Asked for
extra pages!
- Sold condo!
- Researched our plane and train
tickets. AirTreks arranged all of our flights...what a process that was!
They did an amazing job! As for our train pass in Europe, we will be
buying the 2 month, 17 country, unlimited, 1st class pass. Hop on, hop
off!
- Arranged all of our accounts:
check cards, savings, IRA contributions for '02 & '03, Mileage programs.
- Found a home for our fish -
Amy's brother Tim is taking them...they traveled via UPS overnight in a
special "aquatic box"...only one casualty :(
- Took many carloads to
Goodwill
- Bought stuff - lightweight quick-dry clothing ( All of my clothes, excluding shoes, weigh 7 pounds!) money
belts, new tent (good thing my clothes only weigh 7 pounds!),
- Move! - Ryan will no longer be leaving
MN in a Budget-Rent-a-truck pulling the Honda in Mid-May headed for Portland...the
original plan. We will now be storing our stuff (including our '92
Accord) in MN in a 40' sea container. Maybe we will have it all shipped
off to some island.
- Say goodbye to our many
friends in MN...we will be back in a year to pick up our stuff...we hope to
see you then.