On Thursday, Jon and I arrived at 66 Steep Hollow in Glastonbury, CT, after driving through the night from Chicago. For the past few days we have been unpacking and re-packing…and making and re-making various to-do lists. We have been visiting with friends and family, who we will greatly miss during our travels abroad. And, of course, we have been trying to drown ourselves in the comforts of home, amazing food, a comfortable bed, and hot showers, before we embark on our journey.

Four short days from now, Thursday, March 23, we will leave Bradley International Airport in Hartford on a 5 pm flight to Santiago, Chile, connecting through Toronto. We will be armed with only 1 backpack each (mine may be slightly more than 20 lbs) and a spinach pie. We will arrive in Santiago on Friday at 9AM, where we will spend a few days exploring the city before traveling south in Chile to the Lake District. Our plans are only loosely outlined until April 4/5, when we have a date to meet our friends Katie and Jim in Mendoza, Argentina, a famous wine region of South America.

Jon and I are excited to begin this journey, the plans for which we began on a return plane flight from Costa Rica in March of 2005. We feel unbelievably fortunate to have this opportunity before us and we owe a huge thank you to our friends and family for their help and support. Without their blessings, this trip would have been impossible. Thanks to my Aunt Nellie and Uncle Gene, Jon’s Auntie Jane, and our friends who have shared with us suggestions and contacts for our travels. We look forward to providing similar assistance to those that follow us—and we hope there are many!!