Tuesday, January 12:  Wow! I can't believe We are finally packed and whittling away at our pre-trip list ( these are just a few):

1. Stopping our local paper and the New York Times

2. Notifying our credit cards companies of travel out of the country (using only those with no foreign transaction fees)

3. Give instructions to our concierge who will be watching our condo and collecting our mail

4. Confirming everything is either pre-paid or electronic bill pay

5. Emptying out the refrigerator and giving away anything perishable.

6.  Putting Netflix, etc on hold.

7.  Renew anything that comes due while we are away

8.  Refilled prescriptions

9.  Etc!

In preparation for this glorious adventure, we've been doing a great deal of research about each country we will visit. We've read both fiction and non-fiction books, scoured the Internet, taken advice from friends and those who have traveled before us, and kept copious notes!

We also visited to our local Travel Clinic.  After going over the list of each port, and confirming what we were already been vaccinated against ( Hepatitis A and B, Tdap---tetanus, dyptheria and pertussis, Yellow Fever) we received:

1.  A polio booster
2.  The mengitis vaccine
3.   A series of  four capsules with 5 year protection against typhoid fever
4.  Malaria prophylaxis to begin 7 days before the first country with endemic malaria and continue for 7 days after we enter China.

Adding to all the pre-journey chaos is the construction that we are doing while we are away. We are re-doing both bathrooms and modifying part of the kitchen, so that meant selecting granite, marble, tile, fixtures, paint colors, meeting with the contractor, packing up everything on the bathrooms and part of the kitchen!  Yikes!  But at least we escape the construction chaos.

UPS came yesterday and picked up three bags that are being shipped by Luggage Concierge.  That left 6 bags: 4 to be checked (we are allowed 2 each) and 2 roll-ons.

We are flying out of Tampa on Amercan non-stop to Los Angeles on Friday, January 15 at 7:45 pm. We will stay in LA until the 21st, visiting our son, Ben, and old friends.  On the 21st, we drive up to Walnut Creek, where we are visiting with our good friends, Brian and Gary.  January 24th, Crystal's transportation will pick us up in Walnut Creek with a requested SUV, and deliver us to the beautiful Crystal Serenity!