EASTERN USA
PLANNING & GOOD-BYES
In front of our home in Jupiter this full circle rainbow appeared on New Year's morning 2000 - a wonderful omen for the trip we were in the midst of planning. The first thing we did was find a tenant to take care of our place here while we were gone.
Then we closed up our beautiful apartment in the Bahamas.
Next came the difficult part of saying good-bye to our two sons. This is Blair in front of his newly purchased townhouse in Delray Beach.
This is Chris, beside the pool of his exclusive home, just 1 house away from the beach, in Jupiter.
TRAVELING & PREPARATION
As we traveled north we took the time for a last visit at a few of our favorite places, like Daytona Beach, Florida, where you're still allowed to drive on the firm packed sand of the beaches where the car racing began.
And one of our favorite places on the whole earth: Walt Disney World. We decided we'd also visit the other Disney Parks as we circled the globe. (See Disneyland Paris & Disneyland Tokyo in the France & Japan Sections)
As we prepared for our departure from Atlanta, where Fred lived for a time, we visited beautiful areas of the Southern US that are unique in all the world.
It takes seven days to get the Round-the-World tickets that we'd ordered, so we used the time to hone our photographic skills on historical and architectural sites. After all, the ones in the US were patterned after the European styles we were going to see.
While we were there, a local library and historical society were commemorating the Civil War with a display of artifacts and memorabilia. Fred's photo of a Confederate Soldier, a statue in the town square, was featured in that display.
Another good omen. The full moon the night before our departure. This also marked the time of Passover, which became significant once we arrived in the Middle East.
GETTING UNDERWAY
This view from the airplane window as we left on the first leg of our journey seemed to epitomize the "long & winding road" which lay ahead of us.
Our layover in Chicago was cut short by bad weather, but still provided a delightful Bon Voyage dinner at O'Hare airport with daughter Taryn. Note the size of a 25-segment ticket for one person being displayed.
The pilot and co-pilot of the trans-Atlantic flight, Chicago to London, are happily making preparation for our departure.
During a layover in London, we had a shower and meal in the Ambassador Club while our plane was refueled and stocked for the trip to Cairo, Egypt.