Last Days in Montana

We are now in Montana completing our final preparations for departing for Jamaica. We arrived June 19 after a very nice trip across the country during which we were able to see quite a bit of family. We are now down to three days before we leave for staging in Miami. We aren't stressed yet, but we feel like we should be. We haven't spent much time packing or sorting our stuff yet and we are starting to run short on time. We have had time to paint my parents new deck, play some golf, play cards, and spend time with family. Not much else to say. We are both looking forward to our adventure. Hopefully the posts will be more exciting once we actually leave the country.

Out of Philadelphia

The trip has started. We are packed up and out of Philadelphia. The first two weeks of June have been interesting as we sorted, packed, got our lives in order, etc. Especially the last week ("Where do you want this to go?" "I don't give a #$^. Put it in a $*&%@& box" or "Why are you keeping that?") We both got a little short with each other in the last couple of days. We did have a lot of help from friends (thanks Nicole and Andy) and family (Daimon helped us with the final cleaning of the apartment) and that made a huge difference.

We were able to get out around 9:30 Thursday morning and got into Clinton, Indiana around 11:30. Friday afternoon we drove up to Crystal Lake, IL and spent some time with Carrie's folks.
Tomorrow we are heading out for Montana with a stop in Rockford, IL and spending a night in Minneapolis. Then off to Billings before the farm. We are looking forward to finishing up the driving as we have two vehicles (1 Uhaul truck and the civic). The gas milage has been interesting (10.5 in the truck, 57-60 in the civic). And it's tough not being able to talk much.

Not much new to report on the Peace Corps. We have made our reservations finally. We depart Montana on June 30 for Miami and leave Miami July 3 for Jamaica. Other than that, we will find out more in Miami.

It's official!

We have our plane tickets to Miami for staging, flying out on June 30^th from Great Falls, MT. Somehow I feel a little bit better about quitting jobs, ending lease, etc. now that we have our tickets in hand. If only we had reassurances that our passports aren't delayed in the current passport debacle.

I've had mixed feelings during most of the packing and closing up we have done over the past two weeks. There was a somewhat appropriate commentary on NPR's All Things Considered as I was driving home from work during my last week there. Granted, I'm not in my mid-40s with a family during these times of change, but it's still all about taking risks and just not knowing how it will turn out. I find it to be a wonderfully liberating experience, even though it is partially filled with trepidation and uncertainty.

Geez. If this is what I'm talking about during moving from PA to MT, just wait until you see what comes out once we get to Jamaica.