(Not quite) The Final Countdown!

A simple check of the calendar shows 37 days between now and when our plucky adventurers Andrew and Becky begin their week-long trek to New Zealand. Only 37 days until NZ day - it's hard to believe. It seems far away now but is likely to pass with lightening speed. So many questions will be answered in the next month: What will Andrew get for Christmas? Will Andrew sell his car ? (And if not, how does his dad feel about buying it from him, selling it at some near point in the future, and splitting some of the profit?) Will the current political situation in Fiji result in a full military coup before our visit? How bad will our ulcers be that result from the previously mentioned military coup? Is there a Guinness record for eating potato filling on consecutive days for which Andrew is eligible? I'm exhausted just thinking about these exciting possibilities!

As far as our trip goes (Kassy, hopefully you recognized that as a transition), it doesn't actually take a week to get from PA to NZ these days; we just thought we'd stretch out the trip and stop a couple of places along the way. When we started looking at booking the trip to NZ, the cheapest flights have you making stops in California and Fiji, so we decided to stop for a few days at each place. By taking extra time, we actually saved a couple hundred bucks per ticket, which should pay for our expenses at each stop.

First, we're headed for Los Angeles, La-la Land, home of the Clippers and the Chipper. Josh, if you're reading this, I know no one in LA calls you that. Unfortunately, college nicknames last a lifetime; condolences bud! Anyway, Becky's never been to LA, so we thought it'd be a good chance for her to get her picture at the Peach Pit and try to see some kids from the Real World at the bars in Hollywood. Also, there will be stops at In-N-Out Burger.

After a couple days in LA, off to sunny Fiji ... I've already mentioned the impending political chaos in Fiji. For more info, ask your buddy Google. For now, Becky and I will be thinking happy thoughts, especially about Fijian military chief Commodore Bainimarama. If you're reading this, we'd ask that you mentally send him your thoughts of "Don't overthrow the government." Power of positive thinking, people! Actually, we probably shouldn't take any stand in this argument, as who knows what will happen, and I have a suspicion that we'd make terrible political prisoners. Officially, we only support whoever lets us on and off the island peacefully, especially if poi is involved. My other goals are to try some Fiji Bitter and perhaps score a t-shirt, and to take pictures so that I can add Fiji to my Flickr map. After a couple days in hopefully sunny (and peaceful) Fiji, we're off to New Zealand. But I don't want to ruin all of the surprises already, so I'll save that for later, toodles!