Calgary, Canada - August 8, 2005

T-2 Days - Total Chaos and Panic Ensues....

Well here we are. It's almost the eve of departure. Its been a frantic month of tearful goodbyes with family and friends and building excitement.

We finished our shots and managed to sell our SUV before heading off to BC on our "farewell tour". Our first stop was Vancouver (in the rain) to drop off our visa applications at the Indian Consulate. After a long wait and some animated discussion, the clerk saw the wisdom in Brian's argument and agreed to issue a 1 year tourist visa. This was important because it is not possible to pick up Indian visas at their airport and we really didn't want to have to be trying to do all this in Cairo or Nairobi.

From Vancouver, we sprinted out to Horseshoe Bay and caught the ferry to Nanaimo. Then it was up to Quadra Island for a few days of R&R before the big push. The island was wonderful as always and we enjoyed staying in the Maryka's cabin again. It's such a relaxing place. Brennan was in heaven making campfires (and eating marshmallows) every evening. We would all sit out and watch the cruise ships sail by.

Next we took off for parts south, heading down to Victoria for a goodbye dinner with our friends Debbie and Bill Palliser. Enroute we checked out various locations we might like to come back to either after the trip or later for retirement. We really liked Comox, Sidney and parts of Victoria.

From here it was onto the ferry again and across to Vancouver to pick up our visas. Luckily they were ready and just what we wanted. We visited Ron (Deb's brother), Chris (sister in law), and Samantha (2 year old niece) in Whiterock. Sam took to Sierra like a shadow but was a little skittish around Brennan. He has gotten considerably bigger since she last saw him. We give Brennan credit for being persistent though. He was exceptionally patient with her and was finally rewarded with a big kiss goodbye as we were leaving the next day.

From Vancouver, it was across to Oliver for a few days with Deb's folks and a quick repair job on their computer. It was a wonderful visit with lots of great food. We left early in the morning a couple of days later to lots of tears and oh yeah, the new Harry Potter book release. Brennan was thrilled to be the first person waiting outside the store to make the purchase on the day it came out. We headed off to Cranbrook and arrived around 5 hours later. Brennan bolted for the basement and hermited for the next hour. He emerged just before dinner having finished the book in an amazing 6.5 hrs. Its got to be some kind of record!!

We hung around Cranbrook at Brian's parents place for a couple of days. We caught up with Brian's uncle and aunt from California (Larry and Dorothy) who we hadn't seen in over 22 years. We had a lot more food and headed out early the next morning for Calgary. Our whirlwind goodbye tour was over. So much for rest and downtime before the big trip.

The last couple of weeks have been packed full of non-stop days: selling the car, finishing off at work, and getting everything ready to go. We also had a bad run on appliances of every sort. On top of everything else we had to do within a 4 week period, we managed to have a mix-master break down, our mower bit the dust, our in-house vacuum system seized up, a toilet broke and the garage door and opener broke down. We managed to get everything up and working and the house packed up for the house sitters. We also found some time to get Brennan in for his driving learner's permit and get him out for a couple of lessons. He is doing great. We are not sure which is more surprising at this point; his natural ability or Brian's level of patience in teaching. Hopefully both will continue.

The packing dry run was quite the adventure. Having committed to one pack each (with accompanying day pack) we were just a little concerned when we finally saw how much stuff we really had. All the medication for the kids and all the electronics was surprising. Add on clothes, toiletries and school materials and we were in shock. It took a full day of packing, sorting, pruning, and purging but we finally managed it. Everything for 1 year now fits into 3.5 bags with a little room to spare. The bags weighed in at 45 lbs (Brian), 35 lbs (Debbie and Brennan) and 25 lbs for Sierra. We were a little worried about Sierra and had visions of her getting stuck on her back unable to get up. We'll see as we go along if the packing gets easier or harder and whether or not we start to shed or accumulate stuff as we travel from place to place.

Both the kids managed to get a rather rude surprise their first day of holidays when Brian started them on next year's curriculum. Sierra has been busy spending the last month working away on a socials studies project for Greece while Brennan has been pushed to finish his Grade 9 Science curriculum. We intend to keep teaching both of them for the next year but this avoids us from having to carry at least one heavy text book. After a month with teacher Brian we aren't too sure that the kids are viewing this 1 year of parental teaching as such a great deal after all.

That's about it for now. Everybody is getting excited about leaving in 2 days, as well as a little scared. We are going to miss everybody but what a thrill. We have pretty much done everything we can to get ready for the trip and we hope the work pays off. Next time you hear from us we will be on the road.

Ciao Everybody!!!