Travel Agent Deb

I had a conference call with TAD on Wednesday and it went great!  I had a lot of questions and she had a lot of answers.  I gave her the new, improved itinerary (we call it Itinerary 2.0) and here it is:

Costa Rica (2 months)

Buenos Aires, Argentina (2 months)

Barcelona, Spain (2 months)

Greece (1 month)

Thailand (2 months)

Australia (2 months)

New Zealand (1 month)

 We eliminated Ireland just because we weren't really into a whole month there and we had to also eliminate Turkey because of ISIS (I'm sad about that one, esp since I already bought the travel book).  We added an extra month in Thailand (I was wrong about not being able to stay longer than a month there) and we added New Zealand, which we're super cheesed about (HELLO, Lord of the Rings Tour!!).  We are happy with this itinerary, but it's still subject to change depending on a lot of different factors.  

Deb has priced the Around The World plane ticket against individual plane tickets and it turns out the Around The World ticket is the way to go, so that's the plan.  We cannot book, however, until we know exactly when Aaron is coming home from Hawaii, but we have said January 15, just because it's fun to have a date (and that's our 5 year anniversary).  We're also going to open a frequent flyer account, in which we can earn miles (points) every time we fly.  Sweet!

Deb has also informed me that since we are renting apartments, she cannot book those for us because she can't book things she can't vouch for.  She can do hotel rooms, but not other people's houses.  Makes sense, but it's a bummer because now I'll have to do that stuff on my own.  

She also recommended that we think about trying some all-inclusive tours in places we want to see everything (e.g. I want to travel the length of Argentina as well as Australia).  Rather than go by ourselves with no car and no knowledge, why not go with someone who knows everything and have all food and board paid for with one flat fee.  We aren't super into the idea of being on a tight schedule with random people we don't know, but for maybe a couple weeks out of the year, I guess it's worth looking into.

She also told us about this company called MedJet that provides a private chartered jet if we need to be evacuated home for any medical reason.  It's less than $300 a year and she recommends not traveling without it, as it is not covered by health insurance (medical evacuation through health insurance won't ship you back to the U.S., just to the nearest hospital).  Pretty nifty!

Overall, Deb is great and I sleep much better knowing we have her help.  

So, I went to the Dr. and got two of my immunizations today.  Anyone who knows me knows I'm deathly afraid of needles, so it was a big deal for me.  I didn't cry, but I'll admit it wasn't one of my proudest moments (I might have cursed at the nurse a little, BY ACCIDENT).  I was feeling very brave after my near-death experience at the Dr., so I decided to go on a health kick until we leave, just to lose some weight and build up my stamina.  I called up my brother and basically forced him to go on a hike with me.  We went to Wildcat Canyon in San Pablo with the bratty boos and it was not easy, but totally worth it.

Here's me and Capone, so far behind that we're tiny specks (we did eventually make it to the top though).  Here's my brother once I finally caught up:

It was an amazing trail and super pretty view from the top.  Although, we only got to stay at the top for a couple minutes because it was starting to get dark...yikes!  Looking back on today, I'm feeling very accomplished, although tomorrow (when I can barely move a muscle) will be another story.
Lastly, I looked online and found a picture of the house we're buying.  It's honestly a terrible picture, but I'll take a better one next time I happen to see it in the daytime.

It really is a horrible angle; I can't tell if I'm looking at a house or a barn at this point.  Whatever, I guess we bought a barn.  My dogs will be very happy there.
More travel plans to follow!  Things are really happening!!!
P.S.  I'm catching up on my Hobbits, since the last one is coming out soon.  Who else is unable to contain themselves??
P.P.S.  Last episode of Sons of Anarchy EVER is coming on tonight!  No one better speak a word to me about it (esp if you want to keep your tongue) because I won't watch it until tomorrow (I'm too old to watch a 10pm show).  What's sad is not that it's ending (because they've been building up to it for awhile), but that Aaron and I have watched EVERY episode together and we won't get to watch the finale together.  How bummy!  Oh well, I sure ain't waiting a month!  Hope everyone has fun watching tonight!