Jan 29, 2009 16 Comments After a long and hard night of sleeping in airports and on planes, we finally made it to Panama! We flew from Salt Lake to Los Angeles at about 8:50pm, had a 3 hour layover, and then left for Houston at about 1:00am. When we got there a few hours later, we had 3 1/2 hour layover, and then we finally boarded the plan to...
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Jan 28, 2009 6 Comments When I woke up this morning, I came downstairs to find Emily drawing pictures. Emily loves to color and draw, and today she was drawing pictures of what we would see in Panama. I thought I’d post them here for you. Emily is 5 years old.
Jan 27, 2009 4 Comments Our bags are mostly packed, our reservations all made, our maps and itinerary are printed (and digital), and we’re getting ready to go to Panama! Jen likes the house to be clean before we leave for a trip, so we’ve also been vacuuming, doing dishes, and organizing (I actually did the vacuuming and the dishes!) :). If we can get everything all ready to go...
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Jan 25, 2009 5 Comments Last week I was able to book the last places we’re staying in Panama. Actually, there are still four days we don’t have a place to stay, and that’s intentional because we’ll have a bit of flexibility on those days and want to check things out first to see if we want to extend our stay in some areas or move on (got to have...
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Jan 22, 2009 6 Comments How do you pack for a six-week trip to a foreign country? Well, you have some choices. We have chosen to pack as light as possible, and will not be checking any luggage. Each of us will have our own roller carry-on bag, and I’ll be taking a laptop bag and a backpack. How can we possibly fit everything we need for six weeks in...
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Jan 20, 2009 3 Comments Those of you who know me well, know that I am fortunate enough not to have a “job”, but have created a business that generates residual income. So I am to a large degree, in control of my own schedule, but I’m still required to work a few hours a day to keep things running smoothly. This doesn’t mean I’m filthy rich, or have loads...
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Jan 18, 2009 1 Comment Our thoughts about what we might do on this trip have changed and will most likely continue to do so throughout our time in Panama. Our main purpose is simply to experience a new place and culture, and enjoy time together as a family. The ways to accomplish this are endless. We have entertained several of the following ideas for activities, in no particular order:...
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Jan 17, 2009 3 Comments One of the biggest challenges with traveling to a foreign country, for many people, is the language barrier. And since I don’t know very much Spanish, I’m expecting to have less than perfect communication with the Panamanians. Fortunately, I can rely on Jennifer a lot for getting us around, since she does speak Spanish, which she learned on her mission to the Canary Islands. In...
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Jan 15, 2009 4 Comments One of the other questions we’re frequently asked about our trip is, “What are you going to do with your house while you’re gone?” For a while, we entertained the idea of renting it out as a vacation home for someone who wanted to come and ski during those weeks, etc. We thought about using services like vrbo.com or sublet.com to list our home. But...
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Jan 13, 2009 5 Comments Wow, it’s a lot of work getting ready for a six-week vacation! I guess it doesn’t have to be, but I’m such a planning freak, and like to learn as much information as I can before making a decision (that’s both a strength and a weakness). This week, one of my main focuses has been booking all our accommodations in Panama. But rather than finding...
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