We are literally hours away from our big trip that has been 26 months in the making. We are currently camped out at the Hyatt Hotel near SFO (Priceline special!) and will board our plane at approximately 6:30 AM tomorrow morning, 1/29.
Everything up to this point has been well planned and completely under our control. Now, as we are about to board the plane, we are venturing into the unknown territory where things WILL be out of our control regardless of our meticulous planning. We are officially in the execution phase of the project, and it will take the team (Marc and I) to pull together to ensure as close to perfect execution as possible. I think we are ready for the challenge--I guess we better be at this point!
We know there will be challenges along the way--illness, missed flights, canceled flights, lost luggage, etc.--but each challenge will result in a story we can share with our friends and family along the way.
The emotions have been intense the past couple of weeks saying "see you soon" to all of our friends and family, some who made excuses to see us just one more time. After we went through the packing list one last time today, did some final touch-up cleaning, we placed our packs in Mike Swartz's rental car, and set out for the airport with red eyes (Thanks again Mike). We couldn't really describe how we were feeling--it wasn't sad, or scared--maybe it was good old fashioned anxiety.
We both know we are about to embark on something very special. We believe the anxiety that is running on high today will slowly dissipate when we land in Quito, Ecuador, and continue to diminish as we reach the coast of Ecuador for 7 days of complete relaxation on the beach.
We will miss everyone, including our City. We heard a new lady at Cafe Trieste yesterday say, "I moved hear from Cleveland, OH just a few weeks ago. I really like it because I feel like I am on the same wavelength as everyone else here. I was really tired of being perceived as a freak in Cleveland." Her new friend responded, "Well, it is San Francisco."
We don't think we will find a City we love as much as San Francisco, but that is part of our quest. That and a cup of coffee that can stand up to Cafe Trieste.
Please feel free to email us at mjheckman@yahoo.com or lssassafras@yahoo.com.
The Big Trip
- Marc & Laura
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Two kids who grew-up in small towns in the San Joaquin Valley of California (Hughson & Carmichael) during the 1970’s and thru the 80’s. We still have family living there and visit our home towns with regularity. We’ve lived in San Francisco for the past seven years; both working in wireless telecommunications… a far stretch from the days of raking almonds and grading peaches in the Valley. Living in S.F. allowed us to see things we never really understood growing-up, and at times never imagined… culturally, socially or economically. We’ve really come to love it here. In the process of visiting many countries over several years (Nepal, Fiji, Thailand, Peru, Guatemala, France, UK, Netherlands, Turkey, Greece); mostly by backpack and on a budget of $100 a day or less, we realized we must see more. In 2004 we put a plan together to allow us to see the world. After 26 months of saving, planning and counting the days, we’re on target to leave on Jan. 29, ‘07. We intend to spend time in South America, New Zealand, Australia, South East Asia, India, Eastern and Western Europe and Africa. We hope you enjoy following along.
2 comments:
Marc & Laura,
Was up working, and couldn't resist checking your blog to see if you guys were still a "go" :-)
I'm glad all things worked out to this point and am sure you'll have a blast over the next few months. Once again, best wishes and bon voyage...
JT
Guys...your Quito videos were great. Kevin and Lisa also really got a big kick out of them, especially the equatorial christening. we look forward to continuing to follow the Big Trip Adventures. Love you guys R and P
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