It dawned on us this morning that one year ago today–September 27, 2008–we set out from Portland International Airport for Fiji, the first international destination of our journey and kind of the official start to our travel. Our memories of that day include:
- Family time at the airport with the Macy’s in person and Erin’s parents over the phone
- A lunch of Panda Express Orange Chicken
- Arriving in the wee hours of the morning into the rather small Nadi, Fiji airport
- Airport ATMs that did not want to give us money (a bit stressful)
- John nearly getting smacked by a bus within the first two hours of being in Fiji
- A beautiful ride out to the Yasawa Islands on the bright yellow and purple Yasawa Flyer
- ..and being greeted by singing Fijians as we embarked on Waya Lailai Island
It’s fun to think back to those first few days of travel and consider how much we learned between the time we left PDX in September and when we returned in May. One of the “takeaways” John suggested from our Fiji time was to have a day at least once a year where we turn the heat in the house up to about 85 degrees, laze around in shorts and swim suits (preferably in hammocks), read an entire book in one day, greet each other and everyone we see with a big “BULA!”, summon each other to meals by hitting a drum, have a Farkel tournament, play some rugby, and perhaps give fire dancing a try. Once the winter weather hits this will surely be going on the calendar!
Shift 
Hard to believe it has already been a year. Time flies!
Just let us know when, BOOYA BULA!