Getting Ready

Tom and me with our kids in DC this past fall.

Hi Everyone -- Welcome to our blog!. We plan to share these posts with friends at Weight Watchers, our friends and co-workers, our family and with any other folks who care to follow our travels.

Its hard to believe that we have been away from our home in Idaho for almost five months and that in one short month we leave for Europe.  These past five months have been productive and rewarding for both of us.  Tom is in the final stages of his online classes.  He has been busily fixing things for his mom and others in his family.  My work on my community property book has progressed well and I am about to complete my first draft for publication.  We both have enjoyed spending time with family and friends in Cleveland.

In addition to work, family and friends, these past months have also been taken up with some fun activities and travel.  Tom was interested in visiting some civil war history sites, so in September we took ten days and traveled and camped in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia.  We visited Gettysburg, Antietam, Harper's Ferry, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, the Wilderness and Menocacy.  We camped in Shenandoah National Park also.  It was a lovely trip and we both got so interested in the history that we read James McPherson's wonderful two volume tome -- Battle Cry of Freedom!

At the end of October, we went to Florida to visit my parents.  We stayed with them at a lovely little resort hotel just north of Daytona Beach and enjoyed swimming in the Atlantic Ocean.  We also had the opportunity while there to visit my Dad's cousin and learn a bit more of his family history.  Then we traveled  to my parent's home in Venice FL and enjoyed a couple of lazy days of visiting.

In addition to these two longer trips we have made several shorter trips to Erie to visit my sister, to Washington DC to visit the kids, to Bowling Green to catch up with my friend and Idaho colleague Maureen, and to Penn State to see a play that was stage managed by one of my nephews.

This fall we also have been ringing handbells and curling.  Tom's sister Mazie, brother Chris, and nephew Eric, ring with a very good community bell choir -- the River Valley Ringers.  Tom has been subbing on the low bells and I have been a utility player!  The choir's concerts this fall will feature the "Brandt Bass Section!"  We also have taken the opportunity to curl at the Mayfield Curling Club on "real curling ice."  I also found a great WeightWatchers meeting in Shaker Heights and have been attending regularly.

Having said all of that, we are definitely ready to be on our own and to move on to the next stage of our sabbatical adventure.  We are both beginning to feel slightly antsy living at Tom's Mom's house.  We have worked hard to blend into her life (although I know we have disrupted it in a major way).  I suspect she will miss the companionship and activity but will also breathe a sigh of relief when she does not have the two of us in her hair!  We also are looking forward to the time together.  We have been working hard not to plan anything for the London portion of our trip, preferring instead to wake up each day and figure it out as we go!

We are busily making our reservations and getting all of our last minute things.  We have our round trip tickets, a flat in Greenwich in London for the first three months, an unlocked phone that will work in all the countries we are visiting, our Eurail Passes for the Spain and France portions of our travels, and reservations for our bike trip.  We are getting our packs outfitted for our walk on the Camino.  We're scoping out self catering places in Ireland and logistics for the rest of our spring travels!

Liz