Calgary, Canada - June 26, 2005

Departure date has been set: August 10, 10:00!!!

Hi everyone,

If you are checking in to see if we are still sane, we are hanging in (barely). I knew that there would be many details to be considered and done before leaving but I am overwhelmed with the actual number. It is a good thing that Brian and I are list-makers and enjoy marking off our progress!!!

So here’s what is happening so far. We have after much thought and debate, decided on what type of bags we will use for our stuff. We bought “suitcases” from Mountain Equipment Coop. They are actually convertible backpack/suitcases. This technology will allow us to have tidy bags on planes, trains etc but if we have to walk from a bus or train station to our hotel, we can throw them onto our backs. Also they are quite “squish-able”, so they will fit in the trunks of tiny cars! Sierra and I have MEC Sojourn bags with capacities of 58L and 64L, respectively. Brennan and Brian have MEC Walkabout bags that are 64L and 70L, respectively. That’s a little technical information for those of you who are planning a trip or just like to know the numbers. We’ll let you know on the trip if we made the correct choices.

The next decision was what to put into the suitcases. As they are really just large sacks, we decided to put our clothes in stuff bags and divide them up in different suitcases. So if one suitcase is lost, then one person isn’t going naked! Of course, Brian and I couldn’t agree on the type of stuff bag to use. He likes the solid, more waterproof nylon bags and I like the mesh bags because the contents are visible. So we are taking both types. We’ll see who made the best decision after a few months of travelling or if we are hit by monsoons!!! We each get two stuff bags for our clothes and that leaves lots of room in the suitcases for other items such as school materials, first aid kits, shoes and medicines. Brian, being the organized guy that he is, has planned that we each have a different colour stuff bag for quick identification. So we are colour coded!

Now for the clothes……. Let’s just say that we are not going to be fashion plates. We are definitely going for functional and practical over stylish. We have made slight modifications to our original list but basically we are going with the following items. With a few exceptions, we will each have 2 zip-off pants, 1pair of shorts, 2 long-sleeved shirts, 3 short-sleeved/sleeveless shirts, 3 underwear, 3 socks, 1 micro fleece sweatshirt, 1 rain jacket, 1 hat, 1 pair of hiking/running shoes, 1 pair of sandals, 1 pair of water shoes and 1 bathing suit. For the girls, we’ll also have 1 pyjamas, 1 skirt, 1 headscarf and 3 bras. This may read like a lot of clothes but it’s our whole wardrobe for a year. All the clothes are made for travelling or sports. They are quick drying and wick moisture from the skin. My plan is to do laundry every few nights by hand and let the clothes dry by morning. I don’t want to be looking for Laundromats all the time. It was relatively easy (but expensive) to find clothes for Brennan, Brian and I because we are all adult sizes. However, it took a while to locate travel clothes for Sierra. It also didn’t help that most of them are in “boys’ colours” to quote Sierra. That meant beige, blue and black versus pink and purple. We eventually found some XS ladies clothes and a few youth items for her. I must admit however, that she will be the most stylish of the four of us.

Regarding our house, after much debate we decided not to sell it and most of the contents. The main reason was that we needed a permanent address in Alberta for our health care; both the provincial and extended travel insurance. We have been very fortunate to find some wonderful house sitters. Our neighbours’ second daughter Jennifer is all grown up and married now. She and her husband are going to live in our house for the year. We have people in our home that we trust and they have a chance to get out of an apartment. Now Chad living next to his mother-in-law may not be a bonus for him…….Hmmmmm.

There are many details involved in leaving our house. First there are changes in and notification of house sitters, for insurance and utilities. Secondly all the little maintenance things had to be done such as furnace and fireplace inspections and cleaning, prepaying for services such as sprinkler blowouts in the fall, repairing foggy windows, etc. etc. Thankfully we don’t have to pack up too much stuff but we still have to empty closets, chests of drawers, some kitchen cupboards and storage space for their stuff. Of course this involves cleaning all said drawers, closets etc. YUCK! As well, I am removing all personal photos etc because I am sure that Chad and Jennifer don’t want to be looking at our “lovely faces” all year. I’m sure that I’m missing lots of other jobs but you probably get the picture.

During our trip, Brennan will be in grade 9 and Sierra will be in grade 6. Brian and I intend to teach them as we travel. Traditional home schooling didn’t work for us because we couldn’t accommodate regular teacher’s visits. Virtual or on-line schooling didn’t work for us either because it would have required us to be on the internet at specific times for assignments and tests. We didn’t want to have to constantly rearrange our travel schedule to fit the schooling needs. So, we picked up study guides for all the core subjects for both grades. The guides have worksheets, answers and tests for all the required material. As well, we have the Alberta curriculum guides so we know which topics are covered in each course. Brennan will also take textbooks for science and math. As grades 6 and 9 are provincial test years, we can pull up old tests on-line and give them to the kids to see how they are doing with the subject material. Over all we are not worried about their education because we know that they will learn so much from the experiences they have on our trip. We have been told that the new schools that the kids will go to in September 2006, will take our word that we have covered all the material.

We started our vaccinations on June 7 th. This was a major deal around here because we have two members of the family who are not fond (i.e. hate) needles. We won’t name names but let’s say that it is the oldest and the youngest ones. On our first visit, we had a consultation with the doctor to determine what “hot” spots we were planning to tour. After that and much teasing of Brian, we all had meningitis and yellow fever inoculations. We also had to have a baseline TB test that involved another needle. When we get back in 2006, we will be tested again to check our exposure to TB. Brian also had a Hepatitis A and B shot. The kids and I had them several years ago before our first trip to Mexico but Brian wasn’t willing to take a needle back then. As well, three of us started the oral typhoid vaccine that night. It was taken 4 times over 8 days. Sierra couldn’t start her typhoid medicine because she was nauseous and vomited at the doctor’s office. She hadn’t been feeling in top form all day. With the anxiety of the needles and the heat in the office, she succumbed. So she has to do her typhoid vaccination in July. Apparently, it has to be taken at a certain time with respect to other medications. I almost fainted with shock when I saw the cost of the vaccines. Later in the week, we all had to go back for the reading of the TB test. For our next round of inoculations on June 28, we will start the first of three shots for Japanese Encephalitis and the first of three shots for Rabies. The Japanese Encephalitis virus is very contagious and very active in Asia. The Rabies shots are not a cure but rather a delayed onset vaccine. Without the shot if an animal bit us, we would have to get to a world-class rabies treatment facility within 24 hours. With the shot, we have 2 to 3 weeks to get to a hospital. Some of our destinations are remote, so we felt we needed that protection. However, this protection is not coming cheaply. We also have more shots on July 5 and July 19. Brian and I have to get boosters on our polio, tetanus and diphtheria vaccines. He is not pleased that he has to get the most needles!!! We really don’t have an option travelling with children.

We have most of our flights booked until we reach Bangkok in February. We went with a great travel company called Airtreks based in San Francisco. We worked with a super guy called Chris. He found us some amazing deals and worked well with our dates and destinations. This company allowed us more latitude with the direction of our flights. Other companies were very strict with the policy of continuing in just one direction. We are doing a little bit of zigzagging. We will likely book the rest of our major flights before we leave.

Brian and I have spent a lot of time in front of the computer in recent months. We have been researching destinations and booking accommodations for the first part of our travels. This will be the busiest part of our trip, so we don’t want to arrive in a city and be forced to take either very expensive hotels or less desirable ones. Our accommodations range from regular hotels, to apartment rentals, to a houseboat, to B& B’s, a dive boat and cave hotels.

Obtaining tourist visas has been a challenge for us. In order to get a visa for Russia, we had to have two official documents or invitations from the hotels in St. Petersburg and Moscow. As well we needed to be covered for the overnight train ride between the two cities! Then we had to send these papers, an application form, a photo, a current passport, a self-addressed return envelope and $75 per person, into the Russian consulate in Toronto. It was an anxious 3 weeks while we waited for our passports to be returned to us. I haven’t been without a passport for this length of time for years. I felt a little trapped. We still have to get a Chinese visa and an Indian visa before we leave Canada. Most of the other countries will allow us to pick them up en route. Australia will allow us to purchase one on-line. How is that for convenience? We are taking lots of extra passport photos with us, in case we lose our passports or we need them for visas at the borders.

The big question now is when do we leave Calgary? Well the date is set now and departure time is 10:00 am on August 10.

In case you are wondering why we are starting in Orlando, we promised the kids that we would visit every Disney in the world. We thought we’d throw some “fun kid stuff” in with the museums, hiking, scenery etc. I was also wondering what cultural influences we would see in Euro Disney, Japan Disney and Hong Kong Disney with respect to the North American versions.

Well if you made it this far in this extremely long update, congratulations for your perseverance and patience. Hopefully, it won’t take me so long to fill you in on all the news next time.

Thanks for joining us,

Debbie, Brian, Brennan and Sierra