Almost All

It is a very odd feeling to be sitting in our empty apartment, with less than 13 hours before we fly out and move to the other side of the world.

Very odd.

Almost all of the furniture is gone, now. There are just a few pieces left that will be picked up by the Salvation Army later this morning.

Almost all of our possessions are gone, now. Some are in bins, stored away for the future; some have found new homes, both temporary and permanent; some have been discarded. There are just a few left, what we can take with us on the flight this evening.

Almost all of the last minute details have been handled. There are just a few left to be taken care of during actual last minutes.

Almost all of our goodbyes have been said. There are just a few more to say to Jen's family, whose home we are using as the staging area for our expedition.

And then, later this evening, after all of the furniture is gone, after the rest of our things are gone, after all of the last minute details are handled, after the last goodbyes are said, we will leave this world and enter the strange, arcane world of air travel.

On the other side lies adventure, excitement, strange accents, colorful money, excellent beer and left-side driving. What lies between, though, is always a bit of a roll of the dice.

Tune in next time to find out the answers to these burning questions: Will everything go smoothly? Will all of the electronic gear that I am bringing for work get me pulled out of the security line and taken to the "special" room? Will Jen's head pop from excitement when we land in Auckland? Can Northwest make air travel any less fun? Just how much of French Polynesia can one see in an hour, anyway?