We have loaded up the truck. Everything is in the back and on the roof rack that needs to be and we only have a few items that need to go in the cab of the truck. It all fits and we don't have room for anything else...so, that works. I haven't, however, packed my clothes yet. We saved a space in the truck for both of our clothes. I am limited to whatever can fit with Jon's clothes in that allotted space. I'm a little nervous. No matter how many times we have traveled and even if it was a recurring destination where I knew what to be prepared for, I still over pack. Now, I don't know what to be prepared for and I hate to be unprepared....I feel like I need to pack extra because I won't know all the possible circumstances we will encounter. But, I won't be able to over pack. There just isn't room for that.

Also, another aspect of concern has popped itself into my head as I look at the picture of the truck we are going to live in as it sits in front of the house we have been living in for the past year....does the size ratio of living space concern anyone else? Maybe it's just me... Well see how it turns out. ;) Check ya later.

Departure Date

I believe our date has been set for Departure. We plan to leave MA in the new year around the 2nd of January. We'll stop in Ohio for a week or so to visit family and friends. Then we are off. We'll be visiting places across the US first, which will give us a feel for living in the truck and being on the road. We plan to visit Nashville, Memphis, Jackson, MS, New Orleans, the Ozarks, checking Arkansas off our list of states we need to visit because really-what's not to do in Arkansas? That only leaves me to visit Iowa and Nebraska-two more states that also sound really exciting. After Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada and back to California. We have a lot of places we want to visit on our 5th(me) 6th(Jon) trans-North American trip. We have a few places that we want to re-visit such as our favorite hot springs near our old home in Twin Peaks and other Southern California destinations.

We'll cross the border and begin our old familiar route through Baja then take the ferry from La Paz to Mazatlan. After this point it will be new territory for us. So, I think the adventure will really begin there. We are planning to attend 2 weeks of language school in Mexico City then just drive South. I hope to post pictures and locations along the way so that our family and friends can stay informed of our experiences. Stay with us and enjoy!

Marcie

Home Sweet Home

So, this is going to be our home for the next 9-12 months. We are very busy preparing. The bed has been built. The fridge/freezer is in. We have a solar shower, kitchen setup, and a pop-up sun/bug screen tent to play dominoes in and eat our meals when we set up camp. It's going to be small but it will be all we need really when the world is our house. Things are coming together and it is only a few months now until we leave. This weekend we head to Nova Scotia with 2 great friends for a week of Canadian Fun! It will be a nice pre-roadtrip to get us back in the feel of traveling. We plan to visit Acadia, Bay of Fundy, Cape Breton, and then on the way back to the states we'll hit up Uncle Nick's place in Maine at Sebago Lake for the infamous Labor Day Weekend Get-together. Cheers! Marcie

Onward!

A few things have changed and we are starting our adventure this fall. We are leaving Massachusetts in September heading to a wedding in Charleston on Oct. 1st, making sure that things are secured at the Homestead, heading to the Ohio Valley to visit family and friends for a few weeks, then another wedding in WV on Oct. 22, then we finally will begin our adventure. We have decided to break up the trip by only overlanding in the Americas in about 9 months starting Oct. 23rd. Then we will return home, secure our vehicle and backpack across Europe, Asia, and hopefully the Pacific countries. It became clear in our research and planning that it would be really difficult to drive around the Middle East, through China and then we couldn't figure where the heck to ship from Asia to the US again. So, we have decided to drive starting in Massachusetts, across the US, down through Baja, ship across from La Paz to mainland Mexico, then down through Central America, shipping to Cartahegna, Colombia, driving down to Chile and back again, shipping back to Panama, driving back up Central America, and again across the US. We expect to take around 9-12 months. We have shifted into high gear for preparations. They are exciting but I constantly feel that we are overlooking things. It is a challenge to decide what things we really need to get and take with us and what things we won't need. We can only take what will fit in the truck but I'm sure that I won't think that is enough. Check back to see how our prepping is going as I should be adding blogs more frequently. Marcie

Overland Expo

Hello Folks,
We are still waiting on Mister Palm to write his first blog I see. So, I thought I would give you a little update. We have just returned from a wonderful Valentines Day/Anniversary Trip to the Florida Keys. It was my first time to the Keys and I enjoyed it immensely. It kind of reminds me of the French Quarter in New Orleans...probably because of all the debauchery. But it is also beautiful and has a vast array of different cultural groups. I heard so many different languages being spoken. I also enjoyed the fine specimens of trees that they have there. My favorites were a Banyan Tree and a Kapok Tree. We also enjoyed a trip to the Dry Tortugas National Park which is 70 miles off the coast of Key West on an island. You have to either go there by plane or ferry and we took the ferry because it was a little bit cheaper but it was a rough ride...most of the ship was getting to know their wax-lined paper bags very well. I have to admit that I did hold on to one of the bags but was able to keep my complimentary breakfast down. What an amazing place though. It was a great trip all together.

Now, however, we are home and our next step in planning our Overland Adventure is to attend the Overland Expo in Arizona this April. We will be flying to Phoenix, renting an SUV, attending the Expo while camping and possibly squeezing in a hike or something. The expo can be researched at http://www.overlandexpo.com/ The point of attending this is to take some important classes, meet some fellow travelers and learn some invaluable skills for traveling around the world by automobile. The expo is in Amado, Arizona which is near Tuscon. I am very eager to start planning and making decisions.

I think I'll sign off now but I'll be posting more blogs in the upcoming weeks before the expo to discuss hobbies and interests on the adventure.

Cheers,
Marcie

This is the Sunset from Mallory Square in Key West

The Great Kapok Tree

Our Banyan Tree Room

It begins.

So, this is Marcie Palm.  I have never written a blog before and I confess that I am not the type of person who likes to keep a journal either but my husband and I are making plans to travel around the world by Overland Travel.  This is a daunting task considering we don't know anyone who has done this and it is such a massive endeavor.   Therefore we decided to create a blog to record our travels and keep our family and friends abreast of our whereabouts but also to meet other folks who have done some sort of Overland Traveling or would be willing to offer advice to us about our locations or preparations.

We intend to leave the Southern United States in the Fall of 2012.  We will also be attending the Overland Expo this April in Arizona to become acquainted with the tools of the trade.  Everything is quite preliminary right now but the following is our tentative order of countries.

1)        USA 

2)        Mexico

3)        Belize

4)        Guatemala

5)        Honduras

6)        Nicaragua

7)        Costa Rica

8)        Panama

Boat Darien Gap

9)        Columbia

10)     Peru

11)     Bolivia

12)     Chile

13)     Argentina

14)     Uruguay

15)     Brazil

Boat Atlantic

16)     Portugal

17)     Spain

18)     Morocco

19)     France

20)     Italy

21)     Germany?

22)     Slovenia

23)     Croatia

24)     Montenegro

25)     Albania

26)     Macedonia?

27)     Greece

28)     Turkey

29)     Georgia

30)     Azerbaijan?

31)     Russia

32)     Kazakhstan

33)     Uzbekistan

34)     China

35)     Vietnam

36)     Cambodia

37)     Laos

38)     Thailand

39)     Malaysia

Boat Pacific

40)     USA

As you can see we will mainly be driving a vehicle and that vehicle is a Toyota Tacoma extended cab outfitted with a cap which we will be making like a camper.  I'm going to leave that blog for my husband because it is more his department.  We would love any advice from fellow travelers and hope to meet some new folks on the road.  Cheers.