J and I have been tweeking our trip itinerary. We realized that some of the things we've chosen to do is a definite stretch of our mission statement, but we were so excited at the prospect of doing these things that we couldn't let a silly guideline bog us down!
Major Changes
- Trip starts in London (a savings of $800 pp when compared to starting in Rome)
- Traded Madrid for Barcelona
- Added Buenos Aires stay to the itinerary
- Eliminated Singapore stop.
- Eliminated So. Cal segment
Trip Highlights
- South America cruise around Cape Horn from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Valparaiso (Santiago), Chile
- Extended beach house stay near Cairns, Australia
- New Zealand North Island vacation
On the domestic front, my freshman year roommate, IL, has graciously agreed to be a live-in house-sitter! This is a tremendous help for us - knowing that our house will be looked after while we're gone. IL will be starting at her new job at Microsoft in September. Watch-out you single Microsoft men!
My sister, M, is taking BubblButt (my car) while I'm gone. This will free up a garage space for IL to park her car while she's living here. My parents are coming for my Ph.D thesis defense in mid-September and have agreed to drive BubblButt cross-country to Boston. I think they're pretty excited about this road trip since they've never done it before. My mom enthusiastically told me about how she used the AAA website to create a detailed itinerary for their trip, but then later found out that she reversed drive and got a Boston to Seattle itinerary. We will also be transfering our Blockbuster Total Access to M which will help us keep our awesome grandfathered account - $18 for two-at-a-time, unlimited in-store exchange and one free game/movie per month.
Just one more month until my defense and two more months until we say "Good-bye, Seattle!"
