We are in Des Moines, Iowa!  Finally, after weeks of packing, cleaning, moving stuff to storage in Colorado, we set out Saturday afternoon for Kearny, Nebraska for the first leg of the trip.  Jack was towing a trailer behind our Volvo station wagon and I was driving our second car with Mary in tow.  Both cars and the trailer were stuffed to the gills.  It took a lot longer than anticipated getting them loaded.

Anyway, we made it here.

And then, Mary and I are leaving for Manila Tuesday morning!  Yep, we are going on an extended vacation with my parents while Jack gets us settled in Iowa.  We will be gone for 3 months. 

This blog will be a way for Jack to share in our experiences in the Philippines.  So, watch out for what Mary thinks of balut, how she copes with the heat (or how I do, for that matter) and the pollution and the traffic and how she enjoys her Lolo and Mama Mer and her cousins.