8/30 update

Currently 1000 miles east of New York City, at sea in the Atlantic.  Weather is the same everday--a bit windy, mostly sunny, 68 degrees, 4 foot seas. 

Service here is great on the Queen Mary 2.  Veggie meals are easy to come by, the room is nice, the ship is rather quiet, perfect conditions for reading and doing nothing.

We lost ESPN though from the in-room TV.  So, watching football this weekend will be impossible unless conditions change.  Amazingly, I have decent sat-phone cell service. 

But, the internet is painfully slow.  So, except for some minor updates, this will be the extent of the blog posts until September 4.  Plenty of photos to share next week.

2100 miles to London, signing off...

So long, see you in January.

Heading out to sea. Weather is quite warm, sunny with a slight breeze.

Long Duk?

US Open, 8/27

Kim Clijsters serving to Victoria Duval.

Grand Central Station, 8/27

Leg 1 complete

Chicago to New York City by Amtrak, about 950 miles complete.

Coincidentally, our friend, Morten Kjems Juhl's film 'Teddy Bear' opened this weekend at Film Forum, and it'll be the first film we see on the trip.

Amtrak, 8/26

Cleveland, 6:43 AM.

Union Station, Chicago, 8/25

No one should compare Union Station in Chicago with Grand Central Station. Union Station is a hulking dungeon of utilitarianism. Take a walk in the nearly deserted grand hall and you'll get the drift. Grand Central is an architectural gem and sometimes tourist trap. Take a walk in that grand hall and you'll notice a difference.

Still, Union Station does something well--it gets people from point A to point B. and, it does so with both a popcorn stand and a peanut stand. Give yourself an extra 30 minutes to find them. You'll need it in that cavern, but it'll be worth it.

Sounds from Sunday afternoon

This past weekend, we made a short trip to Cleveland to celebrate Grandma Mauceri's 90th birthday and say goodbye to family and friends for the next 5 months.  Here's a short audio clip from Grandma...

Travel utensils

chopstix, a photo by smogveil on Flickr.

Never know what we may face, so Lisa found these lightweight chopsticks which also transform into forks and spoons.

Daily Planner

booklet, a photo by smogveil on Flickr.

We planned for about a year to circle the globe without flying. The next 5 months are summarized down into this daily planner, which weighs in at about 3 pounds. We plan to play a hand of cribbage every morning to determine who carries the book.

The Route

map1, a photo by smogveil on Flickr.

While we're making final preparations, here's a map of the basic route we'll follow from Chicago to San Francisco, the long way around.