This adventure all started when I “popped the question” to Pat over a romantic dinner and, yes, a bit of wine. “ Would you like to … join me … on a trip around the world”? The answer was “how could I, then maybe, then YES!” and thus started our last year of planning an itinerary, a budget, what clothes to take and so many, many other things I can’t begin to tell you about all that is involved in traveling for almost 6 months to at least 15 countries on 6 continents. This was last December and we have been planning our world class adventure every since.

The first decision on the list was: which countries do we want to visit, what is there to see in these countries, how long do we want to spend in each country and for Pat, “where can we go hiking”. After all, we only have about 6 months!! Once we made decisions on the countries, the dates, where to hike (trek), when we would we be there, and what to see while we were in some city (or mountain) few of us have even heard of, we began making reservations. We wanted a camper waiting for us when we arrived in Christchurch, NZ, we wanted to be sure our 4 day mountain trek in Machu Picchu was available and that there was a much needed pillow waiting for us in a hotel already reserved after one of those 11 hour flights. Other then some of those ‘minor details’ we will be on a ‘plan as we go’ program. We must admit that we decided to get a Red Carpet Membership because we know we’ll be spending many hours in airports and the flights won’t always be on time.

After investigating the different Round-The-World airline programs we finally mapped out an itinerary taking us in a western direction beginning with a Windjammer cruise in Fiji. Our travel plans will include camping and trekking in some of the most incredible places in the world. The Milford Sound, Chang Mai, The Alps, Northern Spain, the Cirque Terre of Northern Italy, and Machu Picchu in Peru will keep our legs sore. I’m sure there will be many other treks that we’ll find. We will keep you posted. Of course, what would a world class trip be without some beach time to relax? How do the beaches of Fiji, Vietnam, Thailand, the Greek Islands, Western Italy, and Rio de Janeiro sound? We may even find a few more!!

The budget part of this world adventure can’t be overlooked. Everything we will own for this adventure will be stored in our backpacks and a “carry-on” bag. Our daily budget will be about the same as what you and your significant-other would spend for dinner. Oh well, maybe the lamb chops are cheap in New Zealand. I’m sure the beer is cheap in Vietnam. And I’ve heard the spaghetti doesn’t cost much in Italy. Our library of travel books will tell us ‘where to go.’

The plans are coming together, the airline tickets have been purchased, the campers are reserved, we both had our shots, the visas are ready and SO ARE WE. It’s count-down time. You now have our web site address and we hope you will stay in touch with us as we will be staying in touch with you by posting our pictures and memories while having a beer over looking some incredible mountain, beach, pyramid or city. THE ADVENTURE BEGINS DECEMBER 26, 2007.

Stay tuned……………

Where’s Pat and Mike?