T Minus Two Weeks

April 16, 2022

We are just slightly more than two weeks away from resuming our world travels. The bike will arrive into Antwerp, Belgium in less than a week then be transported to Germany where we’ll meet up with it. The last of our gear is packed and ready, and we’re buttoning up loose ends. We have a few more things on our to-do list here before heading out, including some last minute prep around the house so our house-sitter won’t have to worry about the little things; some travel insurance issues; and a few places we want to book in Slovenia and Croatia, where we’ll head in the first couple of weeks in Europe. And we’ve already secured two house-sits in Manchester, England and Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Speaking of Croatia, we gained some great insights on Croatia and Greece travel this past week from an unexpected visitor. While riding through Mexico, Jake was looking for an interesting route from Grutas Tolontongo to Xilitla, and Googled it. One of the two hits was a post I had made on this blog from my 2015 trip, so down the rabbit hole he went, and eventually emailed us. A week or so later, and he rolled up in our driveway.

Jake and his BMW F800

Jake had recently returned to the States from riding in the Baltic Region of Europe, picked up his BMW and headed south to Baja then over to mainland Mexico. Leaving Mexico, he stopped by for a couple of days, and we had a good conversation, swapping stories of where we’d been and where we’re headed. We’re hoping to catch up with him some time in the next year or two in Europe or Asia.

Safe travels, Jake, and we hope to see you again.

Jake & Pat

T Minus 10 Days

April 22, 2022

My brother and sister-in-law invited us to a “Going-Away” dinner at their place the other night.

Let The Adventure Begin

Cake

It was a good chance to share some last-minute thoughts on our upcoming trip, and they shared a great travel book with us:

Forks

Since we both are big Foodies, this felt like the ultimate travels along a route somewhat similar to my 2015-16 trip, but with some great recipes included. I’m already looking forward to trying several of them. Note: Don’t even glance through this book if you are the least bit hungry, or I guarantee you will end up buying it!

Ten days to go. The bike arrived in Heidelberg, Germany today. We are wrapping up our house duties here in Texas, and preparing to hand over the reigns to our house-sitter, who left Denver today on a bit of a vacation route to here.

Now it’s getting “real”.