Drum roll please ….

WE SHOULD NOT LET OUR FEARS HOLD US BACK FROM PURSUING OUR HOPES.

-Fortune Cookie

We'll call this ... BEFORE.
We’ll call this … BEFORE.

If the technology demons behave, this should be posting as a jetBlue plane begins a flight to Charlotte, North Carolina, carrying a new-born adult male (who has a face smooth as a manly baby’s bottom to prove it.) Approximately 2 and 1/2 hours of heavy arm flapping later, he will be met by a mysterious man known to some as … MAYTAG … who will approach the baby-faced man with the purpose of determining if there are any ax murderers in da house. IF convinced, Maytag will invite this travelling stranger back to Maytag’s home, where the two will do the final preparations for a great adventure.

Yep, the countdown has not quite reached zero, but the journey has begun!

[ujicountdown id=”IDIOTS AWAY!” expire=”2014/03/27 07:00″ hide = “true”]
The niece's artwork and a new good luck charm ...
The niece’s artwork and a new good luck charm …

I had a fairly busy weekend. I had a nice “see ya later meal” with family, having Chinese food in case I don’t get a chance for a while (resulting in the above fortune). I got some obligatory last-minute items, including a bracelet made by my niece to make sure I look like a PROPER nature type. I also decided to bring something of dad’s with me, since if he were still here he would have been all over this adventure. I did one last visit to the watering hole to say good-bye, thereby finally eliminating any delusions I had that anyone would actually NOTICE that I am gone. And I rearranged my pack and created a carry-on so I would not have to purchase an extra ticket just to bring my things WITH me (or get jumped as a terrorist).

Dad's signet ring ...
Dad’s signet ring …

Now all that remains is to somehow put my pack back together, figure out with Maytag everything we forgot, and then …

… HIT THE TRAIL!

Is anybody else excited?

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