Lift Off...

We are sitting here in our apartment in New York City at 1 in the morning, half-watching the 3-meter Olympic diving competition and quivering with excitement. In 7 hours, we'll be in a cab on the way to the airport, and 3 hours after that, we'll be on our way to Tokyo on the big metal bird! We can't wait!

We're making some last-minute preparations, such as reserving the overnight trains that will take us between Moscow and St. Pete's and will function as transport, accommodation, and a great chance to experience some real old-time Russian body odor, as we'll be sharing our cabin with another couple of people (it's 2nd class--that's how we roll).

Using my Spanish-language international calling card to make reservations on the other side of the globe is always interesting. The worst part isn't not speaking the language when someone picks up, it's typing in 46 numbers every time you call, just to find out that the line's busy. Makes you appreciate speed dial. On my iPhone, it's really dumbed down. I can practically scroll through pictures of my friends and family and then just press the picture, like a chimp pressing the screen to get a piece of banana.

Time to upload the first pictures of our trip. These are from Maine, where we reacquainted ourselves with our American roots before setting off for the land of the rising sun.