Time has moved at warp speed since the start of the new year. Easter is two weeks away, and so is our sabbatical trip departure. Any free time I can find during Lent is filled with last minute travel details. In the past couple days, I've ordered a "Tillie" hat for sun protection in the desert, filled an anti-bacterial prescription, paid ahead on my life insurance, and arranged for a car rental in Cyprus. Today we're briefing the family renting our house for three months on the quirks of the heating and cooling systems. A week of vacation requires a lot of planning; prepping for 3 1/2 months away is a bit overwhelming!
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| Next task: packing! |
Thankfully most of the BIG arrangements are complete. We will stay in twenty-eight different rented places between now and mid-July. Most are private homes or apartments rented through Airbnb.com. We've arranged for fifteen air flights, several boat trips, a few car transports, and some train travel. The hot air balloon trip and gondola ride are the next level of detailed planning to work on. :-)
It is exciting to contemplate the adventures ahead. I will share stories and photos from afar, assuming technology does not fail me (and I do not fail to use it correctly!) Thankfuly, most of the places we are staying provide wireless access. I am typing this post on my Ipad to make sure I am able to blog from the tiny computer that will be my constant companion while traveling. Leroy will be my constant companion, too, of course, and his company is much more enjoyable than the Ipad!
I will be off Facebook for the entirety of our trip. Other than family members, only a few people will have access to the email address I've set up for the sabbatical (for emergency purposes.) It's strange to think about disconnecting to that extent from my daily life here in Western New York, but that is the essence of a sabbatical and it is an expection of the Lilly Endowment in providing the clergy renewal grant.
