Will There Be Blog?
Dustin Frazier on Sunday, July 4, 2010 at 11:51AM Almost six months ago, Laura kicked off our world travel blog with her sublimely titled There Will Be Blog entry. Given that it’s been more than six weeks since we flew from Thailand to Egypt to meet my brother for our Jewels of the Nile tour (also known as the Total Temple Torture Tour), and given that you, our patient readers, haven’t read word one about anything that’s happened on our trip since then (except for us surprising Ginny and Mark at their wedding in Currituck, NC), a reasonable question might be: will there be blog?
The answer is an emphatic “you betcha!” Travel blogging is a constant tug of war between spending time writing about what you’ve seen and done and actually doing things and trying to be in the moment. Clearly Laura and I have been pulled heavily in the direction of the latter, but we’ve decided to take the easy way out and place the blame squarely on other people: my brother Dirk who endured the temple torture with us in Egypt, our friends Sarah and Ilan who showed us around Israel, Ginny and her fabulous family in North Carolina, and now our friend Christi who just met us here in Tanzania. They’ve all made the past six weeks so insanely fun and action packed that we just haven’t had nearly enough free time to organize and caption our photos, collect our thoughts (of which we have many – the Middle East is a fascinating, frustrating, brain-bending place), and get a few updates posted on our adventures in Egypt, Jordan, and Israel.
But we will! However, rather than hold up our entire blog in an attempt to stick with the chronology of our trip, we’ve decided to take a different approach. We are fast forwarding to present day, where it’s 9:51PM on Sunday, July 4th (happy Independence Day!), and we’re about to spend the next eight days trying not to barf or collapse or freeze to death as we hike to the top of a 19,000 foot mountain. We’ve met our guides, and they seem amazingly experienced and qualified to lead us, we’ve packed (and re-packed) our day packs and main bags for the trek, we’ve started our daily regimen of Diamox and Malarone and vitamin B1 and acidophilus and Metamucil, and we are excited to make our way (slowly) to the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro! We’ll be off the grid (way, way off the grid) for at least the next eight days, if not a few more days after that, but we are committed to keeping you posted on our Kilimanjaro adventure in as close to real time as the internets in Tanzania will allow.
We’ve also been putting the finishing touches on our photos and travel updates from the last few weeks, including a surprise guest blog entry from Sarah and Ilan on our time together in Israel (stay tuned!). Our plan is to mix in a few “flashback” blog entries to share our impressions of Egypt, Jordan, and Israel with you all while continuing to blog about our current travels. It might be a little confusing, but you’re smart people, and we know you’ll be able to handle it. Thanks as always for sticking with us and following along!
Reader Comments (6)
I'm with ya. however you can work it out and still have fun and enjoy the moment....
Good luck on the mtn.
Hmmm, flash from the past. We have actually been in Arusha with Rog back in the olden days. Maybe '76?.. We actually had a flat tire near the main street of the town, and feared for our lives while we took out trying to find what we could do about it.......
Definitely feel free to take your sweet time on the blog entries. The priority is the moment. :-) I actually love it that you guys got so busy that you couldn't keep up the blog. Great sign.
Good luck on Kili!
Greg
Hey, you're about to set a new record for "highest elevation" so far on your trip! Awesome.
Seems to make sense to me. I am not sure I would even undertake this effort, but I do enjoy following you.
Gail
Congrats to the 3 of you -- " I think I can " is now "I thought I could"- and y'all did it!!
You may have to do it again so Greg F. can join you :-), :-), :-), :-)!!
Stay safe and do have FUN!!
Joanne and Bruce