There it is!!!

After a long relaxing weekend spent lying in the sun, writing addresses of loved ones down on address labels to be affixed to various postcards at various ports along my trip, and packing everything I could pack into my duffel that I wont need till I get to the boat, my passport has finally arrived! All it took was a stern e-mail to the us passport center and it was here via UPS urgent mail! I have to say I am very impressed. Now I can really focus on all the important things I need to do in my last 2 days here in Allen. I am having friends over tomorrow night instead of Wednesday night because my flight is at 7am Thursday morning. Looking forward to seeing everyone. I am in a little bit of a funk today as some people inevitably want to rain on my parade, whether it be an old friend or someone I don't even know, I hate being told what to do and it seems I remember reading, "Once you start talking about going on a [trip or adventure], you'll probably take some heat from other people. Most people don't want you to get away and be happy-they want you to stay with them and suffer. But don't ignore the losers who tell you that [it's] a frivolous escape. Just say 'You got that right. See ya!' ". - Cameron Tuttle
But of course, the compliments and encouragement I have received from friends and loved ones far outweigh the pessimism from others. I hear a lot of "If I was your age..." and "Don't pass up on an opportunity like that..." and the ever present "Shut up, I don't want to hear about your stupid trip anymore!" - Jessica :) These things remind me that if I don't take this chance I will spend the rest of my life wondering what would have happened if I had. I don't want to be the old lady who says "I wish I would have done something like that when I was young." I want to be the crazy old bag who smokes Cuban cigars and tells amazing stories about all the amazing places she has seen and the people she has met along the way. So, with only a few days left till departure I have a few things left to tie up around here, a bag to finish packing, a storage building full of junk, and I couldn't be happier.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.

Explore. Dream. Discover.

Mark Twain