28 October 2008

Name Our T@B!!!!


Stewart and I have decided to name our little trailer. The problem is we can't decide on a name. I like the name Peregrine, which means wanderer. Perry for short. My case for this name also invokes the image of Peregrine Took, or Pippin from Lord of the Rings, who was certainly a wanderer - and a faithful friend to Frodo Baggins. We certainly hope the T@B will be our friend (i.e. no flat tires, broken hitches, etc.). Stewart likes Tabatha, which means gazelle. Though it is cute - Tabatha, T@B - it is probably the name of a million other T@B's. Gazelle is a lovely word, yet hardly expresses the spirit of our journey. In fairness to his choice, we would have a better chance of finding a key chain or coffee mug (or mini license plate) with Tabatha than Peregrine. OK, folks. It's up to you. What would YOU name our T@B? We are taking suggestions, and will let you know the winning name soon.

Here is picture of Peregrine, I mean T@B, for inspiration.

27 October 2008

Preparing for our Journey

Welcome to our blog. Over the coming months, we will update you all on where we are, where we've been, and where we're going. But first, we have to leave home. Our days are presently filled with chaos, clutter and excitement. OK, so maybe excitement is overstating it. Exhaustion is probably a better description. I don't remember shopping, so where did all this stuff come from to pack? Gremlins have invaded our home and left all their stuff - especially stuff that is almost impossible to pack. Have you ever tried packing a cement mixer? I thought not.
Jeffrey and Emma, our two soft-coated wheaten terriers are so excited. Of course, they don't understand exactly what is going on, but they sense something is up. we have a T@B trailer that we will be pulling, and we all slept a few nights in it just to check it out. We learned that dogs snore (especially Emma), and they will need regular baths.

We have ordered an E85 conversion kit for our Chrysler 300M that should arrive tomorrow. It is important to us that we are responsible citizens of the earth even while we indulge our adventurous spirits. There is a great website that shows you the closest station selling E85 by zip code. It is fairly inexpensive to convert a vehicle (under $500), and the fuel is cleaner AND cheaper. For any of you looking to buy a new car, but want to wait for the next generation technology, this might be a good interim way to go. We'll let you know.
Anyway, we close on the house Friday afternoon. Saturday, our odyssey commences. First stop Walden, Colorado, population 658. If you are interested in learning more about it, here is a link http://www.colorado.com/Walden.aspx. Of course, we'll be back in civilization for the election next Tuesday. We wouldn't miss helping out at GOTV and the victory party for the world. Check back with us. We will update and include pictures as we go. Please send us your ideas for places to go, as well as things to see and do. Maybe we'll stop in along the way. Promise to call first. Signing off from post one, Mara and Stewart