Muir woods

Yesterday, Alex R., Sondra and I explored Muir woods.  Before starting the trail Alex told us that some of his friends informed him there was a German house in the woods that had a beer garden once in awhile.  We wanted to find this house.

The woods were foggy that day, my friend.  Our initial foray into the forest was unsuccessful and we turned and looked for a new rout.  Sondra found us a path and about a mile into the forest we could see the peak of a German style house.

The house rose out of the forest like a Beer Garden Neuschwanstein.  A line had already formed  in front of the gate.  The line contained about 50 hip San Franciscans and our ragtag group somehow jimmied our way to the front.  About 45 minutes later, a nice old woman of probable German descent opened the door and let in 200 beer crazed hikers to buy their German beer at $20 a pitcher and play games from scrabble to battleship.

Good times were had.  The hike out was much stranger than the walk in, due to the rapturous drunk voices emanating from the forest like obnoxious ghosts.

Ready, set, go (away for 7 weeks)!

The adventure finally begins! After saying goodbye to the pups (they were in good hands with my parents last night and will be watched by Alex F. for the whole trip) and getting hugs and kisses from my parents, we took off from JAX airport. With a short delay in ATL caused by a rainstorm, we landed in SFO at 7 PM pst. 

Alex R. met us at the hotel, with 3 big bottles of beer and 2 brown paper bags. He almost talked us into walking the street with open containers but the concierge told us it wasn't actually legal! We ate a delicious dinner at Baretta's in the mission district (Alex's hood) and checked out his apartment and roof top views. 

Today, I took the plunge for comfort...

After hearing about "arch support" from my mom, Danny and Michael, I gave in and bought a pair of real sandals. As many of you could expect, it was a tough decision

 to buy something not purely for fashion. With Michael's help I decided to purchase the Abeo Bahia in walnut. They are from the store brand of The Walking Company. I chose them because they have soft straps, cushiony soles and adjustable Velcro straps to adjust to my awkwardly narrow feet and long toe fingers (I definitely did not get the model feet gene that my mom was blessed with!)

 

I'll let you know how they stand the test of 7 weeks of walking, hiking, and strolling through 6 countries!

Ciao!

Sondra

Planning to Make Plans

Although Michael and I share many traits, he is on a whole other level with his planning skills. As I write this post, Michael is working his way through our 7 week trip and planning daily itineraries. Whether its making sure we check out a highly recommended sushi joint in Tokyo or mapping out the train route to Mt. Fuji, Michael has it all figured out. When I travel sans Michael, I tend to get overwhelmed with the planning process and end up having to "wing it" because of a lack of planning. Although this may make for more of an adventure into the unknown, I would waste so much time thinking about what to do next.

Within the next few weeks, Michael will have a daily plan for the first 5 legs of our trip done (SF, Japan, Cambodia, Thailand and Istanbul)! My sole responsibility is Italy, which should not be so hard...
Here is the skeleton I am working on so if you have any tips or recs let me know!

Venice - Aug. 9-11

Varenna on Lake Como – Aug.11-14

Monterosso - Cinque terra – Aug.14-17
Hiking,

Siena- Aug.17-18
-Day trip to Florence, Late dinner in Sienna on 8/17

Sorrento – Aug. 18-20
-Amalfi coast, Mt. Visuvius, Pompeii

Rome – August 20-22
-aqueduct bike tour, coliseum, Sistine chapel, etc.

Another Big Step

Our Japan rail passes have arrived! At a mere 90,200 yen we will have unlimited rail travel for two weeks anywhere in Japan. This includes the famous Shinkansen bullet trains. We can't wait shoot all around Japan.

Choosing Luggage: a Serious Proposition

We read a lot of travel blogs. One of the subjects universally blogged about is what to you need to bring on your voyage, and what you need to bring it in.  The advice ranges from small backpacks, large frames backpacks, rolling luggage, to duffel bags. We decided to go with bags that do all of the above.
Here is a picture of our bags side by side:

I decided on the economical but durable High Sierra 26 inch bag (Here) on the left and Sondra, in true Sondra fashion, splurged on the good stuff and used her 

Chase Credit Card Points at Amazon.com  We will see if it made a difference when we return!   

Despite pretty much every blog saying that a good traveler will buy a small bag and pack light, I decided to 

completely ignore the experts advise and bought a huge bag to allow plenty of room for souvenirs on our 

travels.

Here is a pic of the fold out backpack straps:

The idea for a roller with backpack straps is that we can easily wheel around in nice areas with concrete 

or hotels (Japan) but still be able to carry on your back for cobblestone streets (Italy) etc. 

I am so excited I have been practicing carry the bag around fully loaded.
Here is my bag in action. Full turtle mode activated.

We can't wait to live out of these things for 7 weeks!

The Itinerary in a Nutshell

We are so excited to announce our itinerary for our amazing once-in-a-lifetime trip!  Michael's parents, Mary and Alan, generously gave us the miles we needed to make this trip a reality.

1. Friday, July 5th - Monday, July 8th: we will be in San Francisco learning how to be cool with my brother, Alex.
2. Monday, July 8th - Tuesday, July 23rd: we will be touring Japan and visiting our friend Naoki in Tokyo.
3. Tuesday, July 23rd - Friday, July 26th: we will be visiting the ancient temples of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
4. Friday, July 26th- Monday, August 5th: we will be visiting the islands of Thailand and checking out all of the places recommended by Martina and Kyle!
5. Monday, August 5th- Friday, August 9th: We will have a quick taste of Istanbul as we travel to the other side of the world.
6. Friday, August 9th - Thursday, August 22: We will spend the rest of our time hiking, touring, and relaxing in Northern and Southern Italy.

If anyone has any questions on how to purchase and arrange for an around the world ticket through Delta SkyTeam, please feel free to ask Michael or me.  It is actually pretty reasonable when you use miles and the website makes creating the itinerary pretty easy!

Delta SkyTeam Round the World Planner