July 10th, 2013

The first of the group has left for Ecuador!  Andrew got off the boat in Palermo, Italy.  He'll take a train to Rome, hop a flight to Atlanta and then straight to Quito.  Andrew has by far the longest haul, and will get there a day early.

John will be leaving this Sunday, going from Denver to Miami (I think), then down to Quito.  I should be in Quito by then so he'll arrive to familiar faces and a big pre-ride dinner.

I'll be Leaving Friday morning (It's Wednesday today).  On the way down I'll layover in Panama City before heading down to Quito.  I'm looking forward to one-on-one time with Andrew.  The one problem with family living away from home is you have to share them when they come back to visit.  Can't wait to catch up on all his stories!

One possible hitch I ran into was I've lost my drivers license.  I visited the DMV last week and ordered a replacement, but all I will have in time for the trip is a printout.  By luck my colleague and friend, Nick, mentioned I should get an international license from AAA.  They were OK with the printout, and I happened to have some old passport photos so problem solved!