10 Days and We’re Off

What a busy last couple of months we’ve had.

Pam’s last day of work was March 3.  We immediately got on board a flight to head to New Jersey (yes, we intentionally went to New Jersey) to visit an old friend of mine from college that I haven’t seen in over 20 years.  The last time we got together, he had a brand new son.  Over the years, he has added an entire new adult to his family.

We spent 4 day’s with Raj, Neena, Neal, and Nisha getting reaquainted.  Neena cooked us wonderful authentic Indian food.  Raj is the person who got me started eating Indian food over 30 years ago (am I that old?–my god, Pam’s even older!)

As soon as we got back from Jersey, we had to start getting ready for one last vacation before we begin our work of hiking for the next few years.  Pam’s dad is turning 80 this month, so the family decided to celebrate by going on a southern Carribbean cruise.  I was ready for some down time after getting ready to hit the road.

Some people like to lament about what a hard life they have.  Listen to this, we had to hit 5 ports in a row with no down time in between.  If it wasn’t for the continuous flow of food into our bodies, we wouldn’t have been able to pull off such a fete.

We did manage to get a day off from excursions here and there.  All in all, we had a fantastic time even with all the whining of kids not getting their way–after Pam disciplined me and put a pacifier beer in my mouth, all was well.

Since we got back from the cruise, we have had no down time trying to wade through all the crap we have accumulated.  We have managed to sell almost all of our furniture and give away loads, but we still need a 20′ U-Haul truck to transport everything we still have to store in my brother’s-in-law basement.

My time with Ilana is coming to a close.  She has been my best friend for 11 years.  It makes me sad to think that she might not survive the first leg of our travels, but she has promised me that she will wait for my return.  Nonetheless, I try to cuddle and spend as much time with her as I can.

I also had one last requirement to complete before Pam would agree to go hiking with me.  She insisted that I get a colonoscopy before we take off.  I put it off almost as long as the other pain in the ass still hanging over my head–taxes, which I have to do this weekend.

I will be so glad to get on the plane so I can sleep sitting upright instead of on a lousy air mattress.  Our odyssey is about to begin!