So here we are . . .3,6003 feet in the air, halfway to Honolulu. This is the first part in our long flight to Palau, our home for the next year.  It all feels quite unreal. Only 6 months ago we were coming home after 1 month in Palau, fairly certain we would never be back. Funny how everything can change with just one  event or one thought.

We are excited and nervous and just plain unsure of what will happen next. We've shipped eight, 18 gallon containers filled with our personal items to Koror via the United States Postal Service. We've shipped 12 boards and other equipment via ocean cargo carriers. Though the plan is that we rendezvous with all of our stuff, inside we are a bit afraid that we may not get all of it, maybe any of it, or maybe not for months. This whole shipping internationally thing is all new to both Shauna and I.

Oh, did I mention that this whole "leave everything and travel half way around the world because of some crazy idea in our heads,"  is all new to us as well? But, why not? Why not take a chance? Why not try? Better to try than to play it safe and look back later with a sack of "what ifs" in your lap.

So far it's all gone well. We got to our bus on time (4:20 a.m.). Of course I had to add an element of excitement, making us leave at the latest possible moment. I had to check my email one more time.

At Los Angeles International Airport, our flight left on time, and we found the local entertainment amusing in a disgusting sort of way. A security guard was making his rounds through the airport terminal on a fricken Segway. Unbelievable! He wasn't moving any faster than he would have been on his own two feet. How does that make him more efficient?

Then a couple sat next to us, chowing down on the nastiest smelling, greasy, huge sausage dogs, complete with chips and soda ----- at 7 o'clock in the morning! Being the veganatics that we are, sausage dogs don't really appeal to us at any time of day, but that smell first thing in the morning - -  this ranks high on the gross-me-out scale.

Then there was the dad, who obviously had been entrusted with the care of his young, offspring, while the mother stepped away (probably to visit the bathroom of something - you know how us females can be). Each of the preschool age kids took the opportunity to head off in different directions, through the crowds. The youngest one was screaming his lungs out once he couldn't see his parent among the forest of legs. Dad played it cool though and got his brood back together just before mom reappeared. It was a close one though.

I'm sure someone else who was at LAX this morning is blogging about the entertainment I provided as well. I just had to sneak in some tiny bits of exercise before plopping myself into my window seat for hours on end. Some pushups, some planks, some Captain's Chairs, some seated ab work, and a bunch of general wiggling about.