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Journal
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Journal
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WOW… my first Journal entry!!!
We just booked our flights!!! That means this trip is actually happening! We are working on getting everything in order for our departure. All of our furniture is up for sale, our apartment is up for rent, Dave is already set with his shots, and we found a temporary home for Lucy! Now all we need to do is actually sell our stuff…Dave’s car is currently our biggest worry! I am scheduled for a travel consultation with my doctor, so I will feel a lot better about this trip once I have all my shots and my questions answered.
Does anybody need a 2000 Ford Focus??? 1997 Land Rover Discovery??? TV??? VCR??? DVD Player??? |
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Today, I went to Global Travel Health, a medical clinic in Denver that specializes in international travel. After reviewing our travel plans with the doctor, I decided to get vaccinations for Yellow Fever (as it's required for several countries we'll be visiting), Typhoid Fever, Hepatitis A (I've already Hepatitis B vaccines) and a Tetanus booster as it had been a while since my last. I finished my shots and received the 4 pills for Typhoid. As a nice little bonus, I think my health insurance through work will cover some of the vaccinations as they will be needed for some international business travel before I leave!
Additionally, we had been struggling over the decision of whether to take malaria medications. We had heard from travelers who strongly recommended it and some that strongly discouraged it. After consulting with the doctor we've decided NOT to take malaria medication (in the developing world, Central and South America sound like the only places where malaria medication is not necessary). Instead, we will do our best to cover up after dusk and use plenty of repellent. -Dave |
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We're feeling much better with the changes we've made to our trip. First, one of our concerns early on was that this trip was going to be an unjustifiably long and expensive vacation. But now that we're using our trip as way to raise money for the American Cancer Society and plan on doing volunteer work along the way, our trip has purpose and is much more than just a vacation to us.
Second, we are very excited that we will not be taking the Land Rover. Although it would have been sweet to take the Landy, neither of us are that into four wheeling. (Also, I calculated the amount of carbon dioxide we would release into the atmosphere and it was the same as a family of four would release over an entire year!) We will be forced to interact much more with others, testing our Spanish skills (or lack there of!). We will meet many more people and will have a more authentic experience of the Central and South American cultures. Even though the Landy is no longer part of this trip, we both fell in love with Land Rovers and the idea of overland expeditions over last year. Although it isn't feasible for us right now, we still dream of completing an overland expedition through Africa someday. -Dave |
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After reevaluating everything that needed to be done for this expedition, we decided it would be in our best interest to postpone the trip until December 2006. We are planning the trip of a lifetime and we want to be absolutely sure that both the truck and we are as best prepared as possible for the trip. It was difficult to postpone the trip, but even with the 3 extra months it will be difficult to complete everything that needs to be done both in terms of time and money. -Dave
The other weekend we had my office camping trip near Buena Vista, CO. After climbing Mt. Princeton (one of Colorado's 54 peaks over 14,000 ft tall) my friends from work, Breanne, and I went four wheeling. The landy performed very capably and the scenery was spectacular. I had to engage the locking center differential for some step and rocky climbs, which the landy then conquered without hesitation. -Dave
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Wow, our first journal entry! The last few weeks have been very busy with putting a logo together, deciding on a name for the trip, and putting this freakin' sweet website together. Now we have a place to post updates to friends and family as to our progress. With the website finally together, it's starting to sink in that this trip really is going to happen! Yikes! We have so much to do in the coming weeks that it is almost overwhelming. Be sure to check back often as our progress will be updated on the journal and preparation pages. -Dave
