New Year's Eve

We are still in the desert on the cusp of our Journey to the East. It has warmed up this week with beautiful azure blue skies and 70 degree days in contrast to last week which was brutally cold with 50mph winds. We have been trying to relax a little but this has been hampered by nasty colds. I understand why they call it a rhino virus because my nose feels like a rhinoceros'. horn. We are hoping to shake the beast before we fly on Saturday.

I hope everyone feels better than we do.

It has been an interesting year for us It started with a trip to Antarctica and South America followed by some of the best skiing I have experienced around Mt Shasta and the Wallowas in Eastern Oregon. The year took a turn for the worse with the death of Deb's Mom and our beloved dog Woody. On top of this we, along with everyone else, experienced some pain from the financial crash. However, we are very optimistic about the impending Obama presidency and are hoping for a new day for our nation and planet.

We will leave you with a heartfelt Happy New Year and wish all of you the best in the coming year.

Look forward to our next missive from Bangkok, Thailand.

Peace and Love

Deb and Richard

We are looking forward

Christmas in the Desert

After a short stop in Los Angeles to see our daughter Kate in a play in Hollywood we have landed at our cabin in the desert somewhere near Joshua Tree National Park. The desert in the winter can be very brisk but the air is so fresh you can taste it. On the trip out to the cabin we passed through Yucca Valley to experience a rare occurence-snow. In the same storm that shut down Las Vegas, Yucca Valley received about 6" of snow.

Last night was our first night in the desert. A chilling north wind created the need for a cozy fire in the fireplace complemented by eggnog and brandy. Our Christmas tree is a branch off a desert bush decorated with a few ornaments. We can dream of a White Christmas as we view Mt. San Gorgonio 60 miles distant with its mantle of white. Note the spirit dog in the photo.

We plan to be out here through the New Year until our flight to Bangkok on January 3.

Our internet accessibility is very limited since we are 20 miles to the nearest town so we take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukkah, Happy Kwanza and whatever else you want to celebrate.

Our mountain home at sunset

We were last seen in Cusco, Peru

Embarkation

This is the next chapter in the blog titled "Journey to the End of the Earth" that many of you received last year.

Today we are frantically packing and getting the house ready for a prolonged absence. It is snowing like crazy to give us a farewell on our voyage to warmer climes. After today, we will probably not see anything that looks like snow for many months.

This is a joyous time for us as well as a very sad time. A few days ago we sent our dog Woody to the big doghouse in the sky. Woody was a faithful companion for over fifteen years. It was a difficult decision but he has been hurting for a while. We decided to let him go before his quality of life deteriorated any further.

We are off on a voyage that I have been dreaming of since I saw Ankor Wat in a National Geographic magazine when I was a mere lad. We want to share our tour with you of Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Cambodia, Viet Nam and Laos.

We will try to post a new entry at least once a week if not more often so please check back.

We hope you all enjoy this blog.