Departure Day

Wow.  It’s finally coming true.  That which we have waited and prepared for for so long is finally happening.  Until I stepped onto the plane, it didn’t seem like I was actually leaving.  It seemed as though we were only talking about it and not really going.  Right now, the Mills/Farquhar/Harrod battalion (family) is on a plane to Los Angeles where, once we get there, we will make our connecting flight to Fiji after a 6 hour layover.  10 hours into the flight to Fiji, we will land and make our way to the boat that will bring us to our little island resort in Malolo.  4.5 out of 5 stars.  Anyone else jealous?  My Christmas was awesome.  I spent it with my dad in White Salmon (Washington) skiing, lounging about the house, and all around not worrying about the trip ahead at all.  Greatest Christmas break yet.  On the other hand, the Mills/Farquhar faction spent the time in Fernie with Corin, Megan, Transfer, and Kunik.  They spent a great deal of time worrying about it judging from the haggard expressions on their faces yesterday evening and the bags under their eyes.  The short and long of it is that I got the best deal by far.  When I returned from dad’s house, I found my bag packed and pretty much ready to go, the Finter’s (our Australian exchange partners) installed in our house which had been fastidiously cleaned over 48 hours, the travel documents in order, and tortière sitting in the freezer for me (!!!!!).  Sadly, when I awoke the next morning, the tortière was forgotten in Tara and Brad’s fridge (you might not want to eat it anymore) in the hurry to get out the door and meet Catherine at the airport.  So here I am sitting on the plane 30 000 feet in the air with an hour to go on our Los Angeles connection.  Hopefully Ian and I will survive the waiting to come in the next 24 hour period.  

I love you all.  Hugs,

Alison