12 Days to Departure

We ended our pre-launch trip by a classic pain in the ass drive home complete with  Ohio road construction and a closed freeway in Michigan. The drive took an extra 3 hours.  Listened to a disappointing book on tape.  I like Sci-Fi but come on---a geneticist directing a giant alien robot to start a war with North Korea? We had to skip the planned trip to Pittsburg, PA., to see good friends.  We got restless about last minute things we had to complete.  Back in Livonia for AV ballot, paying storage, paying water bill, etc., etc., etc., and then, now this is big, ordering our entrance tickets on line for Machu Picchu (MP) and the necessary round trip train ride to and from Ollantaytambo, Peru.  (a tongue twister). Pre-order is a necessity. The government sites are in Spanish, so we had to find a tutorial site and placed our laptops side by side to ensure accuracy. It worked-- we got our tickets sheet and receipts.  The train is weird. We need to take the ticket sheet to the station to get the actual boarding ticket. Since, the government site displayed that only 103 tickets were left to enter MP on October 8, 2016, our target date, we needed to get it right. We did –Teamwork is a great thing.  Also agreed on a motel Janet found near the station. We picked the early 5:30 am train.

 

15 Days to Departure and Still on a road trip

Frank Says, 

Can you believe it?  From Cinci we traveled southward to Maggie Valley, North Carolina to visit my HS friends.  I’m writing while sitting on their deck at a cabin overlooking the Smokey Mountains.  The vista is breathtaking. Thank you Brother for the invitation. The clouds slowly roll across the mountain peaks like an eerie alien invasion (or Hunger Games attack). When the sun breaks through, the brightness is intense. At night, the stars are brilliant.

With our host’s direction, Janet and I were able to hike up and down the mountain ranges in the Smoky Mt. National park and behind their home.  In the climb behind our hosts home, the cows were staring at you on the pasture trails.   This was funny, ie.: “Eat more Chikin”.  It was good to work the legs, raise the heart rate, and keep breaking in the new boots before the actual trip. We both felt confident after many months with our pals and of course the trainers at the Livonia Rec Center in pre-trip training.   I special  thanks to PT’s Deb, Wendy, Brad, Don, Holly, and also Harry (from way in the beginning)

But you can feel isolated; we are so far up the mountain. I’m very cautious of the steep winding road up or down the mountain. I need our friends tricked out jeep to get around here. They should visit here; as our friends with their Harleys. This place is loaded with friendly bikers and RVs, and winding country roads.  The local towns are also very cool. Many of us are familiar with Asheville (and Biltmore Estate), but Waynesville and Henderson are also quaint, kind of like Northville, MI.--with small shops and many breweries. The folks are nice. Someone suggested I read several books authored by Patrick Conroy in order to understand “U.S. southern culture”.  I’m pretty sure I did not insult anyone. I don’t think we talked politics or anything.  I think they were just trying to help me get more insight. Hope so! When you’re drinking-- you need insight. Remember, barstool talkers are always telling some truth it’s just that their solutions are wacked.

Most impressive, at least to me, was the “River Arts District” of Asheville.  Carved out of an old industrial area by the French Broad River and railroad tracks, many brick buildings extending to several adjoining streets have been gentrified, painted only like an artist could or would, creating artist work spaces and galleries.  Walk right in! I spoke to several artists about their processes and subjects. Two actually started at the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit, near my hometown.  One guy specialized in portraits and was painting a professional golfer. I found he was a personal friend with Russell Keeter, a famous artist in Detroit circles ( UM Professor too).  Our family has an oil painting of his and pencil sketches.   Other artists painted or carved or heat-treated all types of images and forms. This is a location for fine art of all types. No trinkets here.  You remember I spoke about enlightened mind and soul. This is another place of inspiration. This place has artists that soar and take you with them. It was great.

 

17 Days to Departure and We Take a Trip

Frank says:

Some how, we squeezed in some time before our departure to visit Cincinnati. Janet is a professional tennis buff, or may be almost a fanatic, and a great tourney is held there. (To clarify-her actual fanaticism is reserved for Spartan sports.). I enjoy the athleticism of these international players, too.  Do you detect a theme here? In tennis,  soccer too, identifying the nationality and culture of the player is part of their personalstory and identity.  We dig it and the venue at ATP is grand.  Janet’s favorite, the Scotsman Andy Murray, was upset in the finals. Boo Hoo! I liked the underdog.

We also met new friends at our first Airbnb stay, Kyle and Aeriel Ashlee. They are younger then us, our kids age, but kindred spirits who have traveled afar. They applaud diversity, appreciate varied cultures, and have themselves made great effort in formulating a personal philosophy to live by that encourage themselves and us all to work toward social justice. Their insight is far more complex then I could explain, but as they state in their recently authored book— Vital:

“Sharing stories and bearing witness to someone else’s lived experiences are incredibly transformative practices…When we intentionally listen to other’s stories, our stereotypes begin to fade as we see ourselves in their lives.” (pg. 137)

In our travels we are looking to pursue the same transformative goal.

There is of course the powerful spirit of adventure in undertaking our journey, but also the search for enlightenment of our mind and soul through others is paramount.  This endeavor was never merely a picture, picture, & picture exercise. Our meeting Kyle and Aeriel was like an omen of good things to come.  Ps. They said we would love Morocco too.

See photos below of the tournament and Kyle and Aeriel's book Vital

 

Family and Friends Send Off

Frank says:

I finally got back to the keyboard.

What a hoot! Our neighborhood  friends gave us Bon Voyage party. We  joined together to share  inspiration and support.  Our hosts, opened their home for us and did a first class job. The food, décor, and presentation were 5 stars. (Is this the Four Seasons Restaurant?) Thanks to all that came to see us off. Thanks for the artsy signpost. We may cross paths again since the launch is still 26 days away.  Remember to keep our blog cards. We will be more consistent in our efforts.  No guarantee on content.

 

The family send off was equally fun. Our hosts my dear uncle, aunt and cousins, threw a great party with abundant wine and the best authentic Greek cuisine ( no tomato sauce). Janet was the designated driver, as will be her role often, especially in France and at other European vineyards. 

Frank's contribution 8/10/16:


Frank Says:

Well, we are almost ready to go…
Sure…I read "Miles from Nowhere" too, but no way did I envision such a whirlwind journey. My best dream was simply  to reach the heights of the ancient civilization at Machu Picchu, Peru. Now, I find that their is no limit to Janet's imagination( thank you), nor a limit to Janet's monthly tasks lists (thank you?). 

The lists required much action, with many sub-actions that occupied our time. I continually broke down and itemized my duties on hand written sheets (rather than excel). We were successful and will recount these activities again later.



P.S.  I want to thank Dr. Erickson for the year supply of my asthma inhalers and Two Men for the jigsaw stacking of our belongings to the rafters in the 10 x 20 storage unit.

My daily task lists

Posted by Janet August 10, 2016

Welcome to our travel blog.  In less than 30 days Frank and I will depart from Detroit, Michigan to Quito, Ecuador. 

Our adventure started with a discussion on what we should do with the next half of our life.  Our kids are out of college and no grand babies yet.  We are too young to retire but too old to keep doing the same thing every day. 

The monthly task list 

The monthly task list

 

15 years ago I read a book by Barbara Savage, Miles from Nowhere.  The book chronicles a married couples bicycle trip around the world and that was it, I was hooked, we need to go around the world (less the bikes).

I am the planner, for the last year I have tracked all the steps, from selling our house, the budget needed, visas, shots and on and on……. I have read lots books and blogs on every topic of long-term travel.

The master Plan

The master Plan

We picked our destination using flip charts and compromise between my list and Frank's list.  We have developed a 12-month schedule and contrary to my personality I am committed to remain flexible and open to change on where and when to go over the year.

 

The focus for our blog is to share our journey with our friends and family.  We are new to the blogging world, for now we are starting with the basics and relying on some technical help from our kids.  We hope you check back soon