Let the OMG moments begin

Well as is usually the case, the "Oh My Gosh did we remember to __________"  (fill in the blank) moments in the middle of the night moments have begun! You know, you spend months trying to plan every detail of a trip, and one with as many moving parts out of our control as this one, creates a lot of "did I remember to" moments. Jenn and I started this ritual the week before our first big trip above the Arctic Ocean (see Martins' Up and About), and it has continued to this, our latest adventure.Although, this trip doesn't have all of the logistical things that needed to be addressed in our "pure" motorcycle adventures to remote areas in North America, but if you throw in our daughter Erin, and traveling about as far as you can go on this planet to begin the adventure, there are a lot of potential "points of failure". Hence the last minute anxieties! But, like we have said in the past, we will get our planning as close as we can and then we will do what we Martins always do "Improvise, Adapt, & Overcome" the rest (sorry I use this all the time but I lifted it from a Clint Eastwood movie Heartbreak Ridge). So the current plan is to celebrate our regular family Christmas with me, Jenn, Erin, and Jenn's mom Judy, on Friday night (December 19th). We are planning to go to the Christmas Light Show at Lake Lanier Island after work, have a dinner out somewhere, then go back to the house to open presents and stay up as late as we can. Knowing that when we get on the first plane Saturday, we won't be done until 32 hours later when we finally lay down in Cairns Australia. We will also celebrate the holiday on the official day with our dear friends Neal & Sandy in Melbourne ( we have a special gift arranged for them).  We will have plenty of opportunities to celebrate the holiday, but this is kind of a bitter sweet Christmas for Jenn & me, as Erin has finally come to the realization that Santa isn't a real person. Although we explained to her that the Spirit of Giving is what this holiday is really about, and the real magic of the season is real, if she keeps that spirit in her heart. She may not understand it yet, but we hope one day she will. So I will try to post at least one more time before we start, but if not Merry Christmas to all.