We’re a family of long and often multiple goodbyes. Most family functions include so many people that it takes a good 30 min for someone to do a proper farewell. If out at a restaurant, there will be the typical goodbyes said at the table, once the meal is complete, there will be the goodbyes as we all walk out of the restaurant and to the parking lot, then there will be juuuust a bit more conversation before someone finally breaks down or gets the group together for one, final, lasting, culminating …. “see ya later, alligator”.

Annie and I have bee saying goodbye, it seems like, for a month and a half. We’ve been talking about our trip for a while and have seen a lot of folks multiple times since first discussing the trip. Everytime the topic comes up, Annie and I both light up and people really seem to enjoy hearing about it. Then the conversation typically meanders through to the ultimate question "When you leaving, again?" ... "Aug 19th" ... "Oh shoot, well I'll see you before then. See ya later." Annie and I are ready... ready for the "alligator" part.

That being said, the last two and a half weeks since leaving Boston and Medullan have been great. A week in Vermont with family and friends, then a week on Block island, pulling together a wedding (Annie's cousing Jessica and her Beau Paul)...all the while enjoying the sights, sounds and of course when meeting new people, talking about the trip.... talking through our plans (or lack there of), learning about people's experiences with the places we may visit, and hearing about the friend, who knows a guy, who knows a guy, who lives near the area that we may visit. So with all that talk, comes the further yearning to get going, to start the adventure and start walking the walk.

One thing Annie and I have both been able to do recently, before taking off, is visit our grandparents. My trip to see gram was last, happening just this morning. I was lucky enough to roll in to find my dad's sister, aunt sue there (she takes care of gram a bit during the week). We had a few laughs while catching up on all the big doin's - she got a great perm (!) and is doing her best to enjoy the company she keeps at the elderly group she meets with three times a week, and that she prefers the walker to the cane (keep pushin her Momma!) . It was one of those invaluable 20 minutes, the perfect "see ya later, alligator".

So now we're ready to go and I KNOW that people are ready to see us off. So although it may have been a long goodbye, even by my family's standards, it seemed about right to me and the perfect send off to this adventure of a lifetime.

It's interesting to be sitting in our apartment that we've spent three years furnishing and making exactly the type of home we wanted to spend time in and now it's all packed up and moved away. You go through life with different missions- there was no buying of accent pieces or kitchenware this weekend. That phase it over for the time being. This weekend was spent in REI and EMS- a new focus on life. We leave for our trip in less then a month and it's finally starting to hit me. To travel around the world is something people talk about and dream about but to actually pick a departure date is another thing. I feel pretty lucky to say "we're traveling around the world"? THE WORLD IS HUGE- or is it?

So, t-minus 5 1/2 weeks before the we take off outta Canahdaduh... and it's gonna fly by. I don't have another chill weekend (in Boston) from now until go time. Gonna be great though, making it a point to meet all sorts of folks I haven't seen in a while before we take off. The most interesting finding ... I'm meeting up with people now who I haven't seen in over a year, seeking them out like I will not seem them FOREVER, but in reality.. I won't see them for, most likely, the amount of time I have already not seen them... you know what I'm sayin? I don't.

So we're finding that we're doing a lot of hiking... yeah sure, makes sense, we love to do it. We thought it'd be neat to put together a page that lists all of the hikes, walks, treks, climbs, etcetera that we do over the course of the year... so here it goes.

First blog post in the 50+ combined years that Annie and I have been alive. I love that term x+ ... it has so many answers.

So, I'm hoping this becomes a place for annie and I to share experiences, our thoughts, our advice and most importantly our adventures with anyone and everyone who could benefit. This web 2.0 stuff is pretty fantastic and I'm interested to see how our own experiment with it takes off.

So more to come, but that's all for now. Speak soon.