The Prep. Volume 7: Our ride's here.......

The Only Way Home is Forward!

This rather severe-looking gentleman is Hernando (aka Hernán) Cortez, the conquistador who conquered the Aztecs for the King of Spain in the 16th century.  Among his other accomplishments are the introduction of the Catholic faith (and probably smallpox) to what we now know as Mexico.

Lesser known is his contribution to leadership science thru his Burn the Ships Rule. This rule states when required to lead a team on a journey of unknown duration and outcome, it is wise to eliminate alternate courses of action.   So, upon arrival in Mexico in 1518, he burned (or disabled, depending on which historian you believe) his ships, thereby eliminating the option that his team could turn around and return to Spain.   No way home but forward, as it were.

It is in that spirit that we introduce you to Hernando, the Rent-a-Burban who will carry us (and WAY too much stuff) from Spokane to Virginia Beach.   Quite a handsome fellow, don't you think?   Don't worry, we have no plans to torch him. His name just reflects our commitment to making this trip happen. 

But,  can he swallow the growing pile of stuff in our garage?  And can he then carry it 2700 miles across our great country?   Stay tuned to find out........

The Prep Volume 6: Neither Rain, Nor Snow, Nor Gloom of Quarantine......... .......

St Brendan's Isle (then)

In the middle ages, St Brendan's Island was like Brigadoon for the Catholic faithful, appearing and disappearing in the North Atlantic as circumstances required. The island reportedly had the ability to manage time, making a 15 day stay by St. Brendan (the Navigator) and his monks be a year-long wait for the ships on which they sailed.  A pretty useful trick IMHO, but unfortunately, there have been no recent sightings reported. (😢)

But there is hope!  

St Brendan's Isle (now)

In the 21st century, St Brendan's Isle is the go-to mail handling service for long-term travelers (Like us Loopers!).  Based in Glen Cove Springs, FL, St Brendan's will accept our mail from the USPS, filter out the obvious junk, and forward what remains to us on-demand at any address we designate. Optionally, they will open and scan the first class and send it to us via email.  All for not a lot of $.    Pretty cool, huh!

It seems they do good business.   When we enrolled, we were assigned a box # in the 16,000's! 😮

How they arrived at their business name is, like the island,  apparently lost in the mists of legend.  Perhaps its because their process is so well designed and executed, it is nye on invisible.  We hope so.  👍

To Go or Not to Go........

Time for a DECISION!

A couple of weeks ago, we set Friday, May 15 for our Go/No Go decision for a June 1 departure.  Since then, we have been continuing our packing, perusing Google Maps endlessly, and gathering information from multiple sources about Pandemic conditions along our route and in Virginia Beach.

And suddenly, its HERE! 😨

And we are ....................................................

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(Wait for it!)

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Drum roll, please..........

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More to follow. (he he!😁)