Wednesday, October 31, 2012

We're in Iceland!

Jack's "tail" luggage tag, handy for if dad and mum get distracted during our 72 hour journey!

Hitching a ride in Seatac


Iceland Air provided us with super affordable travel and really stellar customer service- nice and clean, good food, cheap luggage prices, couldn't ask for more!

Stickers!!!

Where we sit as I type this ;)

Iceland

Monday, October 29, 2012

The beginning of the journey

Jack's new t-shirt from Joe Bike
Today I finally got the pleasure of stopping by Joe Bikes in Portland and picking up my shiny new Yuba Boda Boda! It is just as stunningly beautiful as I had imagined, and I can't wait to take it for its first spin in England. I also picked up a t-shirt for Jack so he can share this great motto with our new peeps in Bristol. I wouldn't say the reality of moving to England has 100% set in yet, but it is certainly getting close now. Tomorrow morning bright and early, we leave Portland and head for Seattle where we will fly to Iceland, and then on to England. It's Monday as I write this and we won't actually finish our journey until early evening on Wednesday, it seems like an awfully long journey when you consider drive time, lay overs and flying. I haven't slept good in weeks at this point, I'm suffering from nerve pinches in my legs and have an achy back that complains at every step. It will be fabulous to get settled in to life in Bristol really soon!

Sidewalk shopping
Inside Joe Bikes

It's a Bodaful Life
The Boda Boda in my brother's truck, ready to be taken home for packing with the Mundo.




Our stack of luggage is huge now- we have two massive boxes of bike, 6 suitcases, 3 carry on bags, a stroller, a toddler car-seat and a few handbags, oh and a toddler! Did I mention we're flying for 13 hours with a TODDLER! I have had trouble finding a way to transport us and our luggage from Heathrow to our new abode, but managed to secure a driver and van just today. The price is surprisingly reasonable and they offer door to door service for only a little more than the cost of a van rental, except this way we can relax and enjoy the view, rather than contend with the traffic and congestion we will probably run into. They also offer assistance with loading and unloading which is certainly worth a few extra pounds to someone like myself.

Cool sign for someone who peddles their wares
Leaving our families and Beatrix behind has proved to be immensely hard on us, much harder than I expected. I have cried so many tears in the last few days as good friends have been left behind, it has been emotionally draining and left me numb, and yet I know nothing will compare to when we arrive at Seatac and have to bid goodbye to my brother and his family (and Beatrix, who is coming to say goodbye too).

Ahead of us is an uncertain and scary journey that we are calling an "Adventure". Life is so short and whilst the goodbyes have and will continue to be heart-wrenching, the truth is we have wanted this dream for so long and it's finally becoming a reality, it's time for new adventures, new thrills, new goals and new challenges.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

The Naked Mundo at Joe Bike

The Yuba Mundo waiting to be boxed for flight at Joe Bike in Portland

We're only 12 days away from our flight now and my beautiful bike is getting boxed up ready for flight at Joe Bike in Portland. It looks so naked, I can't wait to unpack it the other end and get it dressed again, although I think the Peanut Shell will be sitting on the Boda Boda from now on.

I have been staying very busy with the final sales of last minute items and packing suitcases. Kyle only has 5 work days left until he can stay home and help me, which is cause for celebration. On Saturday we're celebrating our Anniversary ( a little early), my Birthday (a little late) and our going away party. It will be bitter sweet to say goodbye to so many dear friends, but most of them have sworn to visit us within the next few years.

We're flying from Seattle with Iceland Air who apparently have WiFi, so maybe I will blog at 30,000 feet! I'm optimistic that Jack will sleep on the flight, but we will see how it goes. Thanks for reading!

Friday, October 12, 2012

Carrygo Bikes

You may remember in my Interview with a Cyclist posts, I got to interview Jocke Selin of Carrygo Bikes. Well, Jocke recently released a video of his awesome hand built cargo bike and I had to share:


Check out the Carrygo Bike Here!

Thursday, October 11, 2012

The Mundo in PDX

The Mundo just arrived in Portland and was greeted by my wonderful sister in law and niece. Stephanie and Amelia obviously wasted no time in jumping on for a ride, they are cargo bike riders too with a Kona Ute in the family.

Our friends were so nice to deliver the Mundo ahead of time for pre-flight packing at Joe Bike. My brother is going to cycle the Mundo over to Joe's in the next few days where it will join the Boda Boda, it all seems so real now and I'm both excited and nervous!

The Yuba Mundo begins it's journey

Last night Kyle and a friend hauled the Mundo upstairs, stripped off the peanut shell and panniers, along with all the little things that make it "mine". Then we loaded it into a minivan (yes, it fit!) and sent it off on it's merry way to Portland with some good friends.
Once it's arrived it will be stored at my brother's house for a few weeks, until we make the trip down that way on the 28th of October. Then, on Monday the 29th, we're taking it to Joe Bikes in Portland for boxing and also picking up the beautiful Boda Boda. The following morning we're heading for Seattle and the airport to fly to Iceland and then on to England.
It's obviously all very exciting and busy, busy around here but my health issues have been seriously impacting our progress. We have one more large moving sale to host this weekend, then the final push to clean up the house and yard. The end is in sight! Thanks for following along with us.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Approaching Departures and Staffordshire Terriers

October is upon us and therefor it must surely be long past time for a blog post. It's early morning, dark and  cold outside, the leaves have begun to fall and the silence is only broken by the snore of Beatrix (the lovely terrier). I have been sleeping in patches and spurts for weeks now, no restful nights sleep for me, not when there is so much for my brain to be working on at all hours of the night.

It seems like only yesterday that we decided to fast-track the move to England, it seemed like an impossibly immense task at the time and honestly continues too, but I know we can do it now and I'm amazed at how much we've accomplished in a few short months. Yesterday was a true milestone, yesterday was the day we purchased our tickets to Heathrow. I was apprehensive, it was such a defining moment and something that couldn't be taken back, the true "oh my god, we're moving to England" moment. When I hung up the phone I expected to feel fear of the unknown, but instead I felt joy and it had not an ounce of fear in it. Then I remembered how small airline seats are and got to worrying about fitting in the blasted plane, I remember feeling snug last time I flew and that was a whole lot of pounds behind me. Ha! Behind me, ain't that the truth! I then made the mistake of goggling "Am I too fat to fly?", which led me to an exploration of Boeing 757 interiors on YouTube, which in turn led to "Smoke filled cabin" and "Plane crash". Apparently, because moving to the other side of the planet isn't stressful enough, I have to fill my mind with images of people enduring the worst moment of their lives; being asked to leave the plane because their arse is too big, can you imagine?

So, yes it's happening. We're moving to England in twenty-six days. We're taking our bikes, a few suitcases each and we're off to a small village just south of Bristol. It's an area I haven't spent much time in prior to now, but it looks beautiful and is made more welcoming by the presence of bikey friends that reside there. Moving just prior to winter isn't really the ideal time, but we'll make the best of it. I hear there are beautiful walking trails in the area and I tell you, England is in her full glory on a frosty morning nature walk, so I'll look forward to that. 

The most painful thing about the whole experience will be leaving our lovely red haired terrier, Miss Beatrix. I am loath to break my promise to her, when I told her she would always be with us after her past life of abuse, and how we would always love her and protect her, I never dreamed she would be a banned breed in my homeland. I feel like such a traitor. There are times in life when you have to make the truly hard decisions, the ones that will alter the path of everything you love and hold dear, this is one of those times. That being said, if Kyle and I were to die there are two people who stand clear above the others as the chosen guardians of our little boy, and thankfully they are not only willing, but joyous at the idea of adopting our little Beatrix too. I know they will love and adore, not to mention spoil her as they have been trying to kidnap her from us for years (to know Beatrix, is to love Beatrix.), many a time I have heard them jokingly whisper about shoving her in their trunk at departure time and hope we won't notice, so I think its safe to assume she won't suffer for lack of love in her life. But, it's also safe to say that breed restrictive bans are absurdly unfair to those of us who raise our dogs with love and affection. There will never be a time when someone can convince me that a dog is inherently dangerous based on it's appearance and jaw measurement, honestly if you are not aware of the positive attributes of the Bully Breeds, I recommend you go pet one today.


The sun is cresting the horizon and I hear the rustle of blankets in the next room. A little assistant will be joining me shortly, he likes to press buttons, so before the gibberish ensues I will bid you good-bye, until next time. -L