Week 1 of BZ adventure

December 20th 3:30pm

December 22 3:30pm

December 20 - 27, 2013

We drove with my brother aka "the Grump" to Florida to see my parents. Took us 21.5 hours non stop with no problems. Got there in 30 degree weather, hit the pool, casino, shopping and most of all rested.  We knew we needed some rest before we started own other adventures. My parents are doing great and we celebrated Christmas with so much fun.

This is our gazillion time coming for Christmas and that way my parents don't have to fly home for the holiday. It's nice to have a second car to bomb around in and that way the boys can go fishing and golfing with the car and we are not suck at the house. We also can bring lots of stuff with us and are not limited to the weight restrictions of an airline.

The best of this week was that we got to eat and rest a lot. Our eating and sleeping habits at home are terrible and my parents make sure we get 3 awesome, healthy, home cooked meals a day plus sleep in past 9:00am. My mom is an amazing cook so we enjoyed all our favourites plus consumed lots of fruit and veggies.

We also are beginning our training regime for the Kilimanjaro hike by walking kms a day.

Great start to our holidays and sabbatical.

True To My Word...

When I was 8 years old, my grade 3 teacher had us do a project on any country in the world. Not one to be too studious, I grabbed an encyclopedia and flipped through it and under my finger hit a country.  My finger landed on Tanzania, Africa and from there I have always wanted to visit to climb it's volcano; Kilimanjaro, on the top of Africa, the tallest free standing mountain in the world.  

I have told many people that some day I will climb that mountain.

Lennie and I as teachers had the opportunity to apply for a self funded leave allowing us to have 6 months paid leave starting in January till June. We applied, were accepted, and contributed 20% of our pay for a couple of years into a fund that we will access while off in January.  

I have told many people that some day we will do a self funded leave.

In 2007 I met a really cool teacher named Kristine in my Principal's courses.  We hit it off right away and she returned in 2008 to complete the second course with me.  She was from London but was living and teaching in Singapore with her family.  While she was here I borrowed a book from her and promised that some day I would come to Singapore to return the book.  

I have told many people that some day I would travel to Singapore to see Kristine, her country, family, and return the book.

We are finally here.  9 days away from our adventure.  Lennie and I are going on a trip around the world, literally, 50,000+ km, stopping in Central America, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, California, Seattle, Victoria, then home.

Got our shots - they hurt

With lots of amazing things in between, we are checking off many things on our bucket lists.

• Go on a cruise


• Summit Mount Kilimanjaro


• See a giraffe eat from a tree and zebras run in the wild on a safari


• Return a book to Kristen Greenslaw in Singapore


• Swim in the infinity pool at the Marina Bay Hotel, Singapore


• Have a Singapore sling in Singapore


• Snorkel the Great Barrier Reef


• Hold a koala bear





International driver's licences - check

• Complete the Sydney, Australia bridge walk


• See the Charles Sturt campus in Wagga Wagga, Queensland where I completed my MEd


• See water flow counter clockwise in a toilet


• Paddle board in New Zealand


• See the Hollywood sign and take a TMZ tour - yes we are that cheesy


• Drive the Pacific Coast Highway

etc etc etc

Stay tuned for our adventures.