The Least Crowded Place on Earth

Whittier (sort of)

Good: 

Disneyland on a weekday in January.  See Pirates 'wait' sign.  It was like that everywere-but Finding Nemo.  We did ride it-perfect last ride of the night when you want to be lulled to sleep.

Bad:  Little tension getting out of the house.

Surprising:  Eating delicious grilled vegetables (squash, pepper, onion, potato) in D-land.  This is not your father's Disneyland.

Sasha and Hannah meshed perfectly with our family.  It was a wonderful day.  Warning: Pee before you see the ferris wheel ones.  I nearly wet my pants from laughing at Kalin, Rinda, and Hannah.  Find 'Love Duck' in two of the photos.

Pretty Toes

Whittier:  Day Three

Good:  New sunglasses for Maya and me, and a pedicure with Mimi.  Glad to have pretty toes since I imagine I will wear my sandals in Thailand.

Bad:  I could use a vegetable or two in my diet.

Surprising:  How quickly the day can pass when we are doing not much of anything.

Tomorrow-The Happiest Place on Earth with Hannah and Sasha!!  Yahoo!

Here is a picture of our 'love duck' with me and my Dad.  

More getting ready in Whittier!

Rinda here.  I've been slow to post - too much to do.  And I think I will tend to post less frequently than other members of my family anyway.  Maybe once a week or so.

We've been here in Whittier with "Baba and Mimi" for a couple of days, and leave on Sunday for Thailand where we hope to meet up with my friend Alice Bonner for a few hours in Chang Mai (Alice is leaving just as we arrive and we hope to get good tips from her and her husband and traveling companions).  Whittier is a very gentle way to begin our adventures, as it is familiar, friendly and very relaxing.  We can unpack, figure out what we've forgotten and decide what to leave behind after all.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) through Friday we'll "do" Disneyland - a beloved activity for all of us.    Yesterday I spent most of the day gardening in Baba and Mimi's big southern California yard.  Very satisfying.

I want to thank everyone who has helped us to get ready in large and small ways over the past few days and weeks.  You know who you are, and we are more grateful than you know.  We feel embraced by our amazing community as we leap into our adventure.  A very wonderful feeling.  Until Next time....   be well, everyone!

whittier water

Good: Hanging with my Dad.   We shopped, cooked and chatted.  He put Rinda to work in the yard while the sun was shining.

Bad:  Mimi, my step-mother, is having a hard time keeping any food down because she has a stomach ulcer that is blocking her intestine.

Surprising:  The water store in Whittier was a trip.  You take in your old bottles.  They squirt it out with a high pressure something, then refill the bottle for $.25 a gallon.  What a bargain.

  

  good, bad, and surprising

  good:  Um... well, nothing REALLY good happened.  I'm really happy to see Baba and Mimi.  We also got here safely.

  bad: I don't want to sound negative or anything but the flight was FREAKY.   First of all the plane was so skinny and small. Also the turbulence (wind and clouds and rain etc.) was blowing and hitting the plane. So I was terrified. But as I said, we got here safely!

  surprising:  Well there weren't any big surprises except we are watching TLC (a T.V. show) and they showed a bunch of people with really rare diseases. 

  see if you can figure out the code:

a=a  b=b c=c d=d e=e f=f g=g h=h i=i j=j k=k l=l m=m n=n o=op=p q=q r=r s=s t=t u=u v=v w=w x=x y=y z=z

  i am having a great time

  bye! it was hard work posing this up so i hope you enjoyed it!,

               maya 

We're on a big trip!

Good about my day:  We did it.  We got out of the house; whatever wasn't done cannot be done now.

Bad about my day:  I do not have my sunglasses.  For the life of me, I cannot imagine where they are.  Probably in some random box in Maya's room.

Surprise about my day:  Poppies lining the runway at LAX.

This morning I pulled out this travel contract I worked on over the year.  Good thing we all signed it.  Don't know what I would have done if someone refused.    Somehow I forgot arguing mothers on the list, but fortunately the girls remembered.  Here it is if you want to know what we've agreed to:

I am choosing to go on a trip around the world starting on January 27th, 2008 and ending on July 2nd, 2008.  I understand that had I not chosen to take this trip other members of my family would take it without me at a different time.

I understand there will be many hardships including, but not limited to:

-yucky food

-dirty bathrooms

-heat

-cold

-walking

-waiting

-rushing

-long airplane rides

-obnoxious people

-strange customs

-stressed parents

-boredon

-uncomfortable beds

-shared bedrooms

-annoying sisters

-bickering daughters

-arguing mothers

I understand that I will need to carry my own backpack.  It will be small and I will not have a huge variety of clothes.

I understand we will try to have internet access, but it is not guaranteed at all times.

I understand we will have 'home' schooling for at least 3 hours each day or however long it takes to keep up with school work.

I understand that if I really hate this trip I can go back to Berkeley to live in the guest room by the preschool.

I understand that I will have amazing experiences that will change the way I understand the world and myself.

I understand that my family and I will have fabulous memories that will last a lifetime.

All packed up

Laila says:

Good about my day:  Our fabulous friends-Karen, Kathy, Sheri, Dan, and Gogi-cleaned our house today.  Wow!

Bad about my day:  Exhausted from working so hard to get us packed up and the house cleaned.

Surprise about my day:  Feeling jealous of our neighbors who will get to know our lovely renters-Florence and Bob Fogelin-while we only getting to meet them once.  We sure scored on the renters.  Yeah craigslist.

It is nearly midnight.  Maya is going to bed on the couch since her bed is covered in Rinda's clothes.  Kalin can't quite believe that absolutely all of her things are out of the bathroom.  I can't quite believe I haven't forgotten something major.    This is the last night I can recite the chant that has been running through my head all week:  "We're going on a big trip. We're going on a big trip".  Because tomorrow-We will be on our big trip!  Wow.  Five years in the making, and now it is here.   

Spiritual Practice of Readying

Rushing around frantically.   I keep finding myself rushing through everything I do, not quite completing most tasks.  I call it my ADD mode.  I can sustain this for a few days-but weeks of this?  Not a good idea.

I am taking on a new spiritual practice.  Getting ready without the frantic activity.  Breathe.

Preparing the house for our renters is the biggest pressure.  I want it to be a nice home away from home.  I feel like I am staging a house to be sold-declutter, fix the door nobs, make sure there are no drips in any faucets and get good lighting.

Oh well, even with bad lighting, we will be turning over the house in 18 days.

Laila

Getting ready to go (second try!)

Step one:  learn how to use the blog!

I Can't believe that we leave in less than 4 weeks!  I have finished my time at Franklin Middle School (already miss them!) and now we're frantically working on trip preparation.  I'm actually taking a few days off to visit family and friends in Minnesota; taking the red-eye tonight.   I'll check back in soon.

Getting ready to go!