The Countdown Has Begun!!

This is my first blog ever, so please bear with me.

After over a year of planning, our trip/adventure is about to begin. In 12 days, we begin a four month journey westward, never turning back ...only going towards the setting sun. So many feelings are competing for my time. There is obviously excitement and joy, but also a fair share of anxiety, nervousness, and a little fear of the unknown. This trip started in my mind as a young kid thinking how cool it would be to go around the world. Like a lot of childhood thoughts, you put them away, realizing that the real world has no time for them. Only as an adult, and especially as a father, did I realize that "life is what you make it". So here we go!

Sally and I appeciate all the support and inspiration people have given us as we have detailed our trip to them. For those that don't know the details, here they are.

Leave Va. Beach, Nov. 23rd for a five day stay in L.A. and Palm Springs for Thanksgiving to see Sally's cousin. Then five days on an outer island of Fiji (Melololailai) celebrating my 45th (damn I'm getting old!). Arrive in North Island of New Zealand on Dec. 5th and spend 3 1/2 weeks Campervanning both North and South Islands. So much to do and see in this country. We finish by renting a house in Queenstown for week of Christmas and Mat's 15th birthday. Fly to Sydney, Australia on Dec 28th and spend New Years Eve week in Sydney - look for us at the Harbor party - we'll be the Americans!!! Drive up the coast for two weeks stopping in several surf towns. Fly up to Hamilton Island for five days on the Great Barrier Reef.

On Jan. 20th, we fly to Capetown, South Africa. Stay a week there in a small beach town on the Cape of Good Hope. Spend two weeks driving up the "Garden Route" and then finish with a week in Jeffreys' Bay. My brother Chris meets us here and stays with us for the next three weeks. We fly to Johannesburg and have a four day Safari booked in Kruger National Park and then fly to Cairo for a five day guided tour of the City and desert. Spend last four days of February in Athens and then fly to Naples, Italy. From here we have a 3 1/2 week Eurail Pass and plan on stopping in Rome, Venice, Munich, Geneva, Barcelona, Paris, London, and finishing in Dublin, Ireland. We return home on March 23rd, 2010.

Yes, I know what you're thinking .. "Holy S***, that's alot of traveling." When I see it in print, it makes my palms sweat. But these are places that both Sally and I have been hoping to go to for quite some time, and we realized that if we didn't go now, we may lose the chance to do it as a family forever. I look forward to sharing our experiences with you and am eager for any stories you might have about these places. To comment to our Blog, just sign in and get a password; it's free. Or you can reach us direct at: jimmyreeve@cox.net or sallyreeve@cox.net.

Jimmy

P.S. Click on the tabs to the left to see some ongoing pics from the road. These first pictures are mainly from Costa Rica, because I had to start with something. You can also click on the picture for a bigger image.