All the planned worked....almost

So here I sit in our little house in San Carlos Panama after three long days of travel. We drove a rented van from Aromas to LAX so we could carry all our stuff and still not have a car on the departure end. So we saw friends along the way, spent 2 hours at the shippers location to get both Grayson the dog and some boxes of goods shipped down. And did I mention it was 95 F that day. Anyway we also rendevoused with a friend, Pam Hillman, who landed at LAX a few hours before our flight and had a fast talk and hug before she went home. Then we had to wait until 2:00 am before we left on the flight.

At the Panama City end all our luggage was on the carosel before we were through Immigration. But getting Grayson bailed out cost another hour and some bucks! Our property manager met us at the gate and had driven our car so we could fit all the baggage .

So here we were sleep deprived with a car full of baggage, a freaked out dog and a cat asleep on the floor driving through Panama City. We only missed one turn and got across the bridge pretty smoothly. The two bridges across the canal are the point where driving becomes very relaxed compared to the city and we whizzed home in what seemed like a very long hour.

Getting to our little house was a joy.....until we unlocked and learned that the power had been turned off. Linda melted down and I was pretty hot myself. That meant there was no AC or even fans and, or course, no lights. As a result we move to a hotel that night, paid by our apoligitic tenant.

So today was much better. I am writing you on a DSL connection in an air conditoned room after going to the beach twice, having a $12 Chinese dinner across the street and ice cream cones for dessert.

The image I have for the first day was a hummingbird that crossed my path. It was so irridescent green it seemed made of electric silk. I could not help but thinging this little bird had likely flown all the way from somewhere far north and had none of the trials we did in getting there. Yeah it is more of life and death journey for hummingbird!

Now I gotta sleep

The night before we leave

We are now at the edge of our lives on the Central Coast of California. After spending almost 10 years in the same house in the same town at the same job, we are now jumping off and jetting to Panama on Wednesday nite. So let's see do we have everything we need?
passport, some money, shorts, vitamins, etc. We are taking so much stuff that we are shipping two big boxes 'cause it is too much to check as luggage. And because of that I had to make an inventory of the stuff. Here is what was in one of the boxes

Box 2 of 3
18 bottles of vitamins and supplements
4 dog leases
3 dog collars
1 small pillow
2 men’s shirts
1 plaque
3 pr sandals
1 GPS holder (no GPS)
2 kitchen knives
2 bags dog food
1 container spice call Spike
1 bag dog grooming tools
1 pkg disposable razors
6 settings of silverware
1 straw hat
4 tennis balls
1 electric timer
1 hurricane lamp
1 scissors
1 fiberglass repair kit
2 packets hair coloring
1 silk tapestry

There were some books and intelectual stuff in the other box.

So tomorow morning we close up the trailer, cover the cars and trucks, lock everything up and drive away from our life as we knew it.

Oct 9, 2008 We are moved out of the house

Since you are coming in on the middle of this adventure and because it is late and I am tired I will only say that we have moved all the big stuff out of our house into the garage and will sleep in the 5th wheel trailer for the first time tonight. In 10 days we leave for Panama and there is still a lot to do.
Gotta sleep

Wednesday Oct 8th

I start this blob not knowing how it works or who will read it but it will be the only record of our journey from middle class middle America (even if it is on the Left Coast) to a little house in a little town on the South Coast of Panama.



Most of the big things are done: I retired, Linda sold her business, we have a reliable tenant for house, we got Mother moved to an adult living place near my brother.



But who thought the economy would melt down and leave us with a lot less than we had saved for. Nevertheless we are moving forward and may just not come back



We are in the middle of packing out of the house and moving into a little trailer until we leave for Panama on Oct 21. And last night we had to put down Sarah our 15 year old Aussie. It was time and she was ready but it is so final to have her looking in my eyes (as she always did) one minute and to be totally still the next. We buried her last night.