Getting out of town!

Leaving for a 9 month around the world trip is not as simple as it seemed when I scheduled the flights.   Rent the house, arrange financial affairs, update vaccinations and assemble a medical kit, send for visas where required, choose a backpack, select clothes for 9 months and a variety of climates, notify credit card companies, get a new debit card, and yes, even arrange an extension for tax day.

With 220,000 miles, American Airlines allowed me to schedule a maximum of 16 flights within a 9 month period, flying business class!  Oh yeah, I will be stretching my legs on those 12 hour flights!  Departure will be August 16 and return date, May 2, 2011, with the following scheduled stops:  Portland, Dallas, Mexico City, Madrid, Johannesburg, Capetown, London, Mumbai, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Sydney, Melbourne, Aukland, Los Angeles, Dallas, Portland.  I will use these cities as hubs to visit surrounding areas and have already scheduled a flight from Madrid to Bamako, Mali and Casablanca, Morocco.  From Bangkok, I plan to visit Cambodia, Laos, Viet Nam and Myanmar in addition to various regions of Thailand.   Will keep you posted as I proceed.

In addition to keeping in touch with family and friends throughout the trip, my blog will be used by my grandson's sixth grade class as a social studies unit encompassing world cultures, geography and history.
Not only will I illustrate my adventures with photos, but I intend to visit schools and seek activities of 11 year olds that I can share with his class.

My grandchildren call me Papa Jon, and I have become Papa, or Papa Jon, to many of my friends and acquaintances around the world.  

Thus, ciao until next time,

Papa Jon