At this point, we are quite drained from saying our goodbyes to our life here in the Bay Area. Kymberlee counted and realized that she had 10 distinct and separate groups to "leave", something that could drain even the most energetic of extroverts. And don't get us wrong – we love our friends, but sometimes it's hard to keep ripping off the band-aid of emotions everytime you realize you won't see someone again.  Sometimes you just want to move on. And that is where I am.

Today is my last Sunday Soccer. I've been playing with this group for around 12 years. I've made two great friends from folks who I've met on the field. Both of them were at my last Friday Night Book (Beer) Club two nights ago. Enjoy the picture, as it is the only known picture of the FNBC throughout its three four year history. As you can see, there is a reason for this as sometimes it ain't pretty. But the joy of sharing microbrews and home brews has kept us going and growing. I'll miss every one of these guys, even the guy who turned his head for the picture to stay anonymous. 

Many folks have clamored for pix of our trustful steed, the still un-named VW Eurovan. Well, as usual, I'll have to show it in context. The first context is what I'll call the legacy tree. Kymberlee's family has had this Bonsai, a Chinese Elm, for over 30 years and has survived many moves with Kymberlee, joining our household when we got married. I turned it into my first Bonsai project 4 years ago and have been working on it to turn it into a waterfall style Bonsai. Well, the trip in a POD to Alabama will be a bit too stressful for a Bonsai, so we'll be putting it in our van for a transfer to Kymberlee's mom in Ely, NV. How will this work? See the picture…

The other context is that the van is a great playground. Here's a few shots of the van in full glory as an entertainment device for kids. We have the three girls and the two boys demonstrating the sleeping attic. This is where we'll sleep while the bonsai enjoys the bottom. The other picture is the Living Room, and you can see how well it works as there are five people just hanging out there. We are looking forward to doing that as well !

One last item for this post – here is a link to our proposed itinerary. I'm sure it will change/morph/shrink/grow, but this is the general path. The highlights include the Humboldt area where Kymberlee went to college and did student teaching on the Hoopa indian reservation, Southern Utah for some canyoneering and other desert fun, and Iowa to visit many of the places and people from Kymberlee's family heritage. Click here http://g.co/maps/3ugrw

Hopefully I'll get one more post off before our internet is cut off. We're looking forward to the future!