Less Than One Week!

We're now down to less than a week to go. Pretty crazy...
The gear and bikes are ready to go. We hope to start packing the bike boxes tomorrow. Today was spent sorting and packing "stuff" to store away for the next two and a half years. I'm amazed at the things we're keeping, but at least we have it down to a closet, one dresser and a 20'x7' area in my parent's crawl space. Not bad...
The most emotional part of the last week has been the beginning of the goodbyes. I guess it's bitterweet. It's not like we going away forever but it will be over a year until we see most of our friends and family. I'm sure it will seem like just a blip once we're back next November for a break.
I'm really excited to share that my 91 year old grandmother is reading one of the books I read as preparation for the trip. She's been engrossed in "Miles from Nowhere", a hilarious tale of bicycle touring around the world in the early 80s. My grandma also has plans to hang the world map we gave her above the couch so she can track us as we travel. She was a major influence in my becoming a geographer. I can't tell you how many times we've stared at maps together...