Safe and Sound and Hot in Rio

Viva summertime! It is hot here.

We landed safe and sound at 8:15 this morning (5:15 am Atlanta time). As the airplane descended the first thing that struck us was how beautiful and green the mountains are. Then as we got closer we noticed the thick green layer of smog hovering over the city. Nasty! The setting is very beatiful though....gorgeous beaches and terrain.

After a long line at immigration we got our bags and were quickly accosted by all of the guys trying to make money off the foreigners. The pasty blonde and redhead don't exactly blend in here.

We managed to get out of the airport alive and found a nice English speaking bus driver who helped us find the right bus. We ended up missing our stop (no signs, no announcements) and had to take a cab from Copacabana to our hostel. Still, we ended up spending about 1/4 the cost that a taxi from the airport would have been. So we're very proud of ourselves and now we have enough money to gorge ourselves at a churrascaria tonight :-)

Our hostel is very basic. But at least it's clean and so far the people at the front desk have been friendly and helpul. The bathroom is dormoritory style...this is an adjustment. We took a long nap after we arrived, showered and then headed out for some sight-seeing (and some emailing).

More to come later....just wanted to let everyone know we had arrived safely.

--Jen & Matt

Christmas in Atlanta

We've been in Atlanta for over a week now and we've enjoyed spending time with family. It's been a few years since the whole Ford family gathered in Atlanta for Christmas, so it's been especially nice to spend this holiday season here.

This Christmas takes on added importance because there is a good chance that it will be the last my family celebrates in my childhood home. My father announced to the family at dinner on Christmas Eve that he will be retiring at the end of the year and they will be selling the house next year and moving full time to their mountain house. My dad has worked at the same law firm for almost 30 years.....that's longer than I've been alive.

It's hard to imagine coming to Atlanta in the future and not coming to Ragley Hall Road. It's always been home to me and through the years, as we all moved away, it's served as a gathering point for my family. I know I will still have family in Atlanta and my parents will be close by, but it just won't be the same. I will miss this house.

With the news that the house will be sold (and therefore must be cleaned out), everyone has been spending a considerable amount of time sifting through the 23 years worth of memories that linger here. My parents don't throw anything away and this is a big house, so there have been many fun trips down memory lane.

Jenny has been to Atlanta many times, but has never seen much of downtown. So we took a day this past week and went downtown to see what we could see. We visited the High museum of Art with my parents, ate lunch at the rotating restaurant on the 72nd floor of the Westin Hotel, visited my dad at his office, walked through Centennial Olympic Park (we found the commemorative Olympic brick I bought 10 years ago, but had never actually seen), and we finished off the day with visits to Underground Atlanta and the forgetable World of Coca-Cola museum.

Uncle Matt got to spend a lot of time with his two nieces (ages 1 1/2 and 4 1/2) over the past week. It's truly amazing to watch them grow up and it was nice to spend some good quality time with them.

Well, that's the recap of our time in Atlanta. We leave tonight for South America. This trip has been in the works for so long that it's almost hard to believe we are finally leaving! I hope that all of you have had a happy holiday season so far, and our next post will be from Rio!

Matt

Saying Good-Bye to Sophie

It's true, our dog is like a child to us. We spoil her, we snuggle her, we are happy when she is happy. She wags her tail when we walk in a room, she gives hugs and kisses, she makes our life better. Some people won't get this but it's true.

Sophie is spending the next seven months with my friend, Mike, in Wisconsin. On Monday morning we packed up her crate and drove to the airport. I was on my way to Chicago to visit friends and Sophie would travel along with me. Even though she was in the way back of the car behind the crate she managed to squeeze her way forward, always wanting to be near her people.

At the airport we were sternly told to "put that dog in the crate. It can't walk around the airport." Sophie obediently walked into the crate but gave us those sad eyes. She's never used a crate and could not understand what was going on. After we finished all the paperwork I had to say good-bye and head toward the long security line. Matt stuck around and watched as she was picked up by the porter. Confusion was written all over her face....this was not her usual Monday morning.

As I boarded the plane I wondered how she was doing and asked the flight attendant to make sure she got onboard. Right before we backed away from the gate he came by and told me my "little one" was on the plane. Little one! If he only knew. I felt relieved though, knowing she was ok.

When we landed at O'Hare I rushed to baggage claim. Mike was waiting for us and I eagerly waited at the oversized luggage for her kennel. After an eternity she showed up and I was so happy to be meeting her "on the other side." She was glad I was there but I could tell she wasn't pleased with me! She confirmed this by riding with her head on Mike's lap when we left the airport. Mike dropped me off at Kim's house and Sophie and I said our good-byes (I tried not to cry). I could tell she liked her new friend Mike already. He called right after they left. He had put her in the back seat of his truck and she had jumped over the seat so she could rest her head in his lap again. She's going to be fine. Hopefully her Mom will be too.

One Week 'Til Departure!

One more week until we leave for Rio. We are in Atlanta spending the holidays with Matt's family. Everything is packed up and ready to go. On Monday I'll fly to Chicago with Sophie and leave her with my friend, Mike, who will keep her until we get back this summer. We'll miss her so much :-(

We're still waiting for Matt's first posting. He promises it is coming soon....

Our Blog

For anyone new to our blog, this is the story of our round-the-world trip. Matt and I are taking off on a journey from South America to China to India to Russia to Europe and a bunch of stuff in between! We will be leaving at the end of December and returning after the 4th of July. We'll update our blog every few days so check back to find out what we're up to next!

Bon Voyage!

Two More Weeks!

One week 'til we leave for Atlanta and two weeks 'til we leave for Rio! Time has really flown by the past few weeks. We've done our test packs but still have a few things we need to squeeze into our backpacks. We may have to do some downsizing!

Last night we had my "farewell" girls night out. Ger, Christine and I hit the town hard. We acted like we were 21. Hehe. It was a great time and a fun send-off. It's a good thing you only get one farewell party though.... :-)

It's finally starting to sink in that we are really doing this. I'm thrilled but at the same time worry about my business losing momentum. I have to keep reminding myself that the bags will be there in 6 months (and they'll even be sewn) - the opportunity to do something like this will not. It's crazy and wonderful and amazing all at the same time. I am so looking forward to all of the new experiences and also the time with Matt. I know we'll have our moments (I get pretty annoying after 24 non-stop hours) but think it will be so great to try new things, push ourselves physically and step outside our comfort zones...and doing all of it together. It will be a great bonding experience and will serve us well when it's time to be parents. I can't wait.

-Jen