We're Off! Here's the Itinerary...

Hello, Bonjour, and Hola to our Friends and Family!

By now you've hopefully figured out that you've reached Kathy and Neil McDonald's electronic 'Trip Journal' or web site that will give you a peak into our adventures over the next 5 months. When we post a new entry, you will receive an email from Airtreks, the company that runs the Trip Journal area and from whom we bought all of our air tickets. Feel free to click through and read about our adventures or to email us back at knmcdonald2002@yahoo.com . We love getting email from the road!

We had hoped to share these memories with you sooner, but taking time out of our day to e-mail has been more difficult than we imagined. There's so much to see and so many life details to take care of.

After you read this email, you can click above to check out the other 5 entries we've posted so far.

Yes, when we left we were in a state of shock and bliss. We can't believe that we've left life in the US behind and will be on the road for 5 months.

Kathy and Neil McDonald's 'Love It Live' Adventure August 28, 2002 - January 16, 2003

Thanks to NBA Entertainment for the letting us steal the 'Love It Live' slogan. While it's not Bill Walton's journey, it just seems like a perfect description of this adventure.

August 28, 2002      We're Off! After a summer that included moving from New York, a 3-week drive across the USA, and 10 crazy days in Seattle, we depart for Brussels, Belgium, each carrying 1 large backpack/rolling bag combo. We are now in love with pack-it cubes and storage compressors. 2 nights in Brussels.

August 31 - September 7      Canals of France: Captain Neil will skipper our rented barge for one week through the canals of France with good friends Ben Smith and Katie Hollander. We will go through 30 locks.

September 7 - September 20 France, Spain, Portugal: 2 weeks driving from Paris to Lisbon with stops in Provence, Barcelona and down the coast of Spain to Granada and Seville.

September 21 - October 3 Kenya and Tanzania: 6 different locations in Kenya and Tanzania on safari. Hope to see Kathy's cousin's wife's family in Nairobi. We will fly in and out of Zurich and will spend one day there.

October 3 - October 15      Italian Riviera, Florence, Tuscany, Rome: We will pick up a car in Nice, France, and spend 2 weeks driving around Italy and will drop off the car in Rome.

October 15 - November 3      Greece and Turkey: We will take an overnight ferry from Brindisi, Italy, to Corfu, Greece, where we will meet up with Kathy's brother Steve, wife Fiona, and new baby boy, Basil. Kathy's parents, Dave and Susan, will also join the party. We will spend time with the family in Preveza and tour Northern Greece and Athens. We will visit the Islands of Santorini and Mykanos before sailing to Turkey to see the ruins at Epheseus, the seaside town of Bodrum, and the bustling city of Istanbul.

November 3 - November 12 Budapest, Vienna, Prague, Krakow, Warsaw: After flying from Istanbul, we will spend a few days in each of these old Eastern European cities.

November 12 - November 17      St. Petersburg, Russia, and Tallinn, Estonia: We'll spend a few days exploring these old, but emerging cities.

November 17 - November 21 London and Madrid: We'll spend a couple of days in each city en route to South America. Time to re-group and really wash our clothes.

November 21 - December 1 Brazil, Argentina, Chile: We start with a few days in Rio before heading to Igazzu Falls (on the border of Argentina). We then visit the cities of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Santiago, Chile.

December 1 - December 15 Peru: We will spend 2 weeks in Peru visiting the ancient city of Manchu Pichu, the city of Cusco, and then heading out to the Amazon river for a 9-day trek through pristine Manu Biosphere.

December 15 - December 21 Galapagos Islands, Ecuador: After visiting Quito, we will fly to Darwin's Playground for a cruise in the Galapagos Islands.

December 21 - January 16 Maui, Hawaii: After flying via Panama and Los Angeles, we land in Maui to spend Christmas with our families and New Year's with friends.

January 16      Seattle, WA: We're home! Time for a double latte!