Thank you, thank you, thank you!

This was a difficult to write. Not to remember the amazing stuff we've been fortunate enough to experience this past month, but to remember all the incredible people in our lives that helped make this honeymoon and extended journey possible. We are truly lucky and thankful to have such thoughtful folks in our lives! I definitely cashed in every last one of my karma chips in on this one.

Huge thank yous to my parents and extended family for taking such great care of our daughter and allowing us 12 days to explore Scandinavia as a couple! Thank you for providing constant “proof” that our daughter was alive and very happy. Thank you sister-in-law Eva for flying to Reno to help my parents and take our gal on some grand Tahoe and educational adventures. Thank you to the 4 adults (Taryn, Jake, Mom and Dad) involved in getting a toddler to the airport by 4am with her own baby-sized pink butterfly neck pillow and a ton of other crap that comes with being a parent!

Huge thank you to sister Taryn, AKA the “Air-Sherpa,” for venturing into the deepest depths of parent hell and flying our 2-year old half-way around the world, saddled with a heavy load for 20+ hours of sleepless nightmare to deliver her safely and happily to us as well as taking the time to explore Athens.

Thank you to our incredible San Francisco landlords for allowing us to sublet and keep our SF (rent-controlled) home we love so much! Such gestures restores my faith in the ever-more-cutthroat housing industry beast that has sunk its teeth deep into what was once an accessible place for most peoples.

Thank you to our neighbors Paige and Zach for taking in and caring for our big vocal and oafy tomcat and allowing him to stay in his hood!

Thank you Kristi Holohan for adding our four gals to her flock of hens and Oakland animal sanctuary!

Thank you to the ER doctor who bandaged up my melted hand and took me out of pain the day we were suppose to leave. Again, thank you Taryn for the continued nursing care follow up in Reno.

Thank you to our friends for their support! Tadashi for handling bidneth whilst we're away. Greg and Mel for the long-term advice and Euro-phone wizardry which keeps us connected to the States for free. Dan for the continued support and host house during emergency times.

Thank you to Rosy's friends from work for offering us their Athens apartment and helping with all we need to get settled, all while planning their own recent wedding in the meantime! Thank you to their friendly family and neighbors here in Athens for all their gracious hospitality and delicious home-made dishes!

Thank you to my supportive and flexible employers for allowing me a month off to explore and encouraging my continued freelance work abroad!

Thank you to Rosy's parents, Eva, Taryn and Jake for making the trek out to SF to see Poppy (and us) before we left! And, Pete, for riding along both ways in a 3 hour rush-hour heated traffic adventure to secure a new chicken coop. Thank you to all our Bay Area friends and family that came by to see us off and celebrate future birthdays!

Thank you Max Kauffman for the 3-day truck use!

Thank you to the galleries who put up with my last-minute-art-guy tactics while I attempted to make deadlines in one of the busiest (one-handed) times of my life!

Thank you to all the folks who helped me clear house and raise some travel funds by purchasing original works, prints, drawings and clothing in my temporary online shop just before we left! Especially Courtney for purchasing my “Conjoined Collision Culmination” piece and is patiently awaiting shipment.

Thank you technology for making my 35th birthday in Oslo complete!

Lastly, thanks to the wife for the continued courage, patience, and support from a calm, patient, grounded and positive dreamer. Did I already say patient? Quite the incredible mother, lover and friend. I'm a lucky dood!

Somehow I used to cruise through Europe every other year with $300, a small backpack, a toothbrush and a skateboard for weeks to months and this was the only expense. Now it takes all this! All these people made it possible for us to hop on a plane, enjoy a 12 day honeymoon to then re-unite with our daughter in Athens for what will be our 6 month journey. Thank you all for allowing us to explore and adventure as a couple again. We re-learned how to communicate and simply “be” with just each other during our first break from being “Mommy” and “Daddy” to our amazing daughter Poppy. Now, as a family, we are on a journey we never thought possible because of all the above complications, but we did it...with a lot of help. If I missed anyone, know that my brain is fried and you are definitely in our hearts if not currently in my mind.

More posts on Scandinavia and Greece times to come...