And so it begins, another journey of life!!

Well, I'm off on another journey.  This year, alone and for three months.  I plan on starting in Quito, Ecuador and head south, that's about it.  All I know is I have to be in Buenos Aires on March 14, 2011 or I won't be leaving...hmmmm.  Sarah, my favorite and best travel partner, will be in frozen Minnesota and will be missed on this journey.  So, that leaves me to update this blog, wish me luck.  I will try to do it as great stories arise, or when amazing pictures must be shared.

A little story on how I got to Florida.  It all started innocently, my close friend Mari-Lize and I went up to Minneapolis on Friday night for a last night on the town before I left Saturday.  Well, as most people know, a monster blizzard hit Minneapolis about the time we left the bar.  We woke in the morning to snow flying sideways, roads closed and of course the airport closed!  So, there we were stranded in Minneapolis, what a shame!  I finally got out of Minneapolis on Sunday afternoon, headed to a connection in Philly.  We sat on the ground for over an hour because the potable water pump on the plane was frozen - go figure.  Once it was fixed, we could not leave the gate because of snow plowing traffic behind the plane, it never ends!  Finally, we arrive in Philly, only to have to wait for gate B11 to be cleared.  I look at the clock, my connection has already left, awesome!  I go talk to the agent waiting for all the folks that needed help.  He hands me a hotel and meal voucher, I laugh at him, he looks at me a says that this is all they have to offer, I laugh at him again.  The laughing works, he finds out the original flight I was booked on was sitting at the gate with mechanical problems.  "Run fast to gate C24 and you'll make it!"  If anyone has seen me hit a double in softball can see where this is going!  A ran like the wind for the first 500 feet, in my hiking boots and a day pack on my back.  The rest of the way was a stressed lumber, like a lineman running an interception into the endzone.  I made it, and made it to Ft. Lauderdale an hour late, not bad for what I went through!  One last punch in the stomach - my pack didn't make the connection.  Got that the next day, and I am once again wearing clean cloths, maybe for the last time!

So far, it has been a eventful trip, there is no telling what is going to happen next, all I know is that at 8:30 PM EST I will be in Quito, Ecuador.  You will all be missed, even the snow!  Have a safe and happy holiday and keep in touch!!

Love all of you,
Hobbit