Leaving town and a Christmas Celebration

Merry Christmas!

We finally made it out of Idaho on Saturday, December 22nd. Just a week after we had originally planned. So we were feeling pretty good about it! We got a pretty late start on that night and got out of town around 9:00 pm. The road conditions were full on winter travel, with bad ice and snow. And with Blake pulling a U-Haul behind our van, it was quite the slow going trip. Nothing like pulling an extra 15 feet behind you on a sheet of ice. At one point I saw the van go sideways on the road and the trailer continued on the other way! Whew, a close call that kept us on our toes for the rest of the trip. We got just to the Oregon border around 3 am and decided we had to stop to catch what sleep we could.

After a few hours of shut eye, we went on to Cove, OR to see friends Dan and Michelle Cregger and to drop off our dining room table for them to babysit for year. And of course for a much needed cup of coffee! Thanks again Creggers, hopefully next time we can stay for longer. We knew our friends Shane and Becky Kinman were in the La Grande area as we came in, but didn't know they were going to be right across the street shopping as we filled up on our way out of town. We got to meet up with them and give them one last hug before we got on the road again. It was very tempting to stay the night with them too, but had to get in front of another storm that was on the way. We drove the rest of the day to finally get into Spokane, WA 24 hours after we left Hailey. We've had a couple wonderful days relaxing and now celebrating Christmas day with Blake's parents. We'll be here for a couple weeks as we put some more work into getting ourselves and the van fully ready to go!!

One month out

We are now one day and one month from our go day! Where has the last month gone? We still have a lot of things to get done, but some things seem like they are falling into place. I leave this coming Saturday to head out East for a few weeks to visit friends and family for the Thanksgiving Holiday. I'm really looking forward to having some time to see everyone before we set out, but at the same time am having a hard time leaving Blake with so much still to do. The week I get back is going to be crazy! We are trying not to stress on finding a renter and thinking about moving all the stuff we have somehow acquired in the last few years. There have been a few stressful moments, but we have to keep reminding ourselves that things will continue to fall into place!

This picture was taken by some Hailey friends, Chad and Becky Brown, after a yummy slow-cooked dinner over at their house. And they offered up their surfboard as a donation for our trip! They are asking us to keep it "happy and well traveled" for them over the next year. Thanks again, Browns!

Our First Entry

Hi Everyone,

We are a little less than 8 weeks out from our set departure date of December 15th!! And the countdown is going fast. As we are trying to check some things off the list, we are getting our blog going to be able to easily stay in touch with and update everyone on our travels through Central America this coming year. We have talked to so many of you about our trip and can't wait to share our travels and pictures with you through this blog!!