I keep hearing the “On the Road Again” song merrily playing somewhere in my head; the bus is bouncing down I-40, buzzing chitchat is excitedly going on behind me… we’re off again!

We pulled out of Wilmington around 6:30 this evening headed to Raleigh where we’ll be put up in exotic lodging at the RDU airport Day’s Inn. Tough day for us tomorrow. Up around 3:30 a.m. (is that somehow oxymoronic — “up” and “3:30 a.m.”?) to be at the airport by 4:00 a.m. so we can hurry up and wait to leave at 6:00 a.m. A little hop to Charlotte and then a jump to Miami, arriving around midday. A nice 8-hour layover at the entertaining Miami International Airport and then on to the awaiting chariot plane
that will take us to the middle of the Amazon jungle (Manaus), followed by a retracing of our path for two hours to Belém at the mouth of the Amazon River, where we’ll then hang a dogleg to the right headed for Fortaleza, arriving around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday.

We’re toting enough clothing to cloth the entire town of Burgaw, enough electronic gadgetry to put on a rock concert, enough cookies to gain 5 pounds (thanks Mary Rassin!) and enough suitcases and dufflebags that if laid end to end would allow us to walk from Wilmington to Greensboro without touching the ground.

Add to that nervous and excited enthusiasm and you’ve got the July 2008 Ubaúna Excursion! We’re rocking now because the show has been put in motion…