Gearing Up

Yesterday we got our itinerary from Air Brokers.
We finally did it! We’ve finally taken the plunge and booked passage to Thailand, Bali, New Zealand and Tahiti! We’re leaving March 8 and returning June 8. This has been a huge decision for us, with much angsting and tearing of hair, in no small part because we’re giving up our rental house and packing most everything up before we go.
Krista’s folks have generously agreed to let us ‘move in’ to her art studio (which has been built out of their detached garage) for the week prior to departure and a few weeks after our return before we head up to Eugene for the Oregon Country Fair.
I picture us setting up our beds, a few dressers, a desk and computer, maybe the ol’ TV. It’s about 400 square feet but it has really great north light! This will give the poor cats a place to hang, with familiar furniture (to pee on). Very cozy.
My guess is that we won’t actually rent a place again till August. And this lack of rent sort of balances out the airfare, amazingly. We’ve scored “around the pacific” tickets that let us choose how long we want to stay in each country. At this point Thailand gets 6 nights, Bali about a month, NZ a month and a half, and Tahiti (or rather the neighboring island of Moorea) a relaxing 8 nights, so that we can come home rested, tanned (or sunburned) and happy to be alive. I hope.
We also get to claim that we’ve visited Taipei, Singapore and Brisbane Australia!! (Well, their respective airports anyhow). How cool is that?
If we’re really lucky, it looks like Joyce (Krista’s mom) may drop in on us in Bali and/or Thailand for a week or two. She’s wonderful.
I have high hopes that while in Bali we’ll be able to get 3 or 4 of Krista’s designs made into sarongs. Hopefully hundreds of sarongs. A new business venture for Deva Luna. If I can pull it off in time we’ll have them to sell at the Oregon Country Fair and can possibly help pay for this absurdly expensive trip.
We’re debating taking our new laptop with us, but even without it I expect we’ll be online throughout our journey and will be able to post photos along the way.

And by the way, we really aren’t planning to move to NZ. We really are coming back. But still, I’m kind of hoping that while we’re gone Bush and Cheney will be impeached, we’ll pull out of Iraq, and that the US will somehow embark on an aggressive new policy of renewable energy, environmental restoration and global economic justice. Take care of that for us, will you?

Love and Hugs,
Rob