So Much to Do!

Wow, there is so much to do and the time is going so fast, only 5 more weeks till we begin our adventure. Case is busy at work and so far has no one to begin shouldering the load he is carrying. He hopes for someone to step in to begin covering his position, but he may be working full steam right up till the day we leave. I, on the other hand have begun tapering off on work and trying to pick up all the details that must be finished around the house before leaving for a period of time. All of these little projects such as getting the final home inspection completed from Case's long remodel project, getting the trees in the yard trimmed (especially the one angled toward our roof), having a lock smith re-key the house from the remodel, combining all of our insurances and modifying coverage for the year ahead, arranging for bills to be paid, finding people to look after the house and the list goes on, but you get the point!

Last Friday we came upon a travel store in Santa Barbara(www.nationstravelstores.com) that was very useful; the owner graciously gave us tips and helped us find important items we'd need. We found waterproof, sturdy maps of South America, backpacks with detachable day packs included, and, (Jolene's favorite) travel underwear that is advertised as "2 pairs, 6 weeks and 17 countries." At that rate we may need to burn the underwear at the end of our travels!!

Friday, on our drive out to Santa Barbara, we received a phone call from Brooke, our source of work for the next year. She informed us that a locum is needed in Alaska on an every-other-month basis beginning early 2007. We were excited. Case loves Alaska, while I have never been and have always wanted to go. So, Case is patiently waiting for word on whether they'll take us, and I am anxiously waiting to hear more.

We do know that our sabbatical will officially begin October 30, 2006. We will begin with work to support our travel habit. Case and I (and our beloved cat Jack) will be driving to Klamath Falls, Oregon where Case will be working locums through November. I found it a bit expensive to get a license to work for one month so I will find other things to occupy my time, maybe an odd job in town, running in the beautiful outdoors of Oregon, or planning adventure/play time for December and January.