10/1/04-I'll never eat veal again...

I'm sitting in my seat on the Lufthansa Flight 648 from Frankfurt to Almaty. I think I'm beginning to know what veal feels like. Our flight to Frankfurt was long, but not bad. We were able to snag a bulkhead seat, so we had pretty decent seats, along with decent food and plenty of movies to watch. After arriving in Frankfurt, walked to a tram which took us to the next gate. After we finally found the gate, we came a line which can only draw to mind the words "cattle call". They were checking people into the boarding area, which was about 1/2 size needed for the people in line. Our opportunity to ask for an exit row or bulkhead was gone. A great opportunity lost…

Right now, we are an hour out of Almaty. It is almost 10:00 PM Almaty time. We are packed in rows and rows of humanity. Mary Jo could give the guy in front of her a haircut. And to make it nicer, her seat won't go back. (That makes Mary Jo a very miserable person.) The other pain has been the extreme temperature changes. Not outside, but in the airplane. Our plane to Chicago was a sauna, then I had a blanket on me in the next flight and now I hot again. After 20 hours of travel and no shower, let me just say that we are not a pretty picture.

But I complain enough. We knew this was not going to be pretty. That is all part of the package that makes up our adventure. Tomorrow, it continues.

9/30/04-The Adventure Begins...

The day has arrived. We head to the airport in 3 hours to begin a long journey that ends Saturday evening in Karaganda. Everything is packed (almost). We will check in with everyone on the road.

9/27/04-Travel Preparations

The anticipation is getting incredible. We are pretty much ready to go. We spent the weekend finishing our packing. We have it down to three large bags, but each is pushing the weight limits. I'm not sure how heavy it would be if we were actually taking clothes for ourselves. Apparently, I can only change my underwear every other day. But we're going to have plenty of pop tarts, formula and onesies.

I think we have everything we will ever need to survive. The key -- one large jar of peanut butter. (I have no idea what MJ is going to eat since she hates peanut butter, but I'm set.)

Just two days before we leave. I few last things to finalize at work, then we are off. Next thing you know, Thursday will be here. The adventure begins....