And the start has finished...

I was wondering when would be best to put my first real trip blog post up, or, more technically for this one, a vlog post. Logically it should be when Mum arrives in Charlottetown, so that is indeed what I have done!
I also must share this wee gem from Teagan:
Me: "You know I love you so much"
Teagan: "I have deep regards for you also" the. She turns over and falls directly asleep!

20140627 The Merrimans' Meander 01 from Kirsty Merriman on Vimeo.

All packed up and just about to go....

Summer 2014 has arrived, or to be more direct and honest; is well established and exceedingly hot touching the early to mid 50 degC range, is rather unpleasant and I am getting out of it because I can!

Following nearly fifteen months of planning, the meanderers are about to meet up and begin our transcontinental and transatlantic journey by rail, bus and sea.  Our self researched and booked itinerary spans 22 pages and is mostly prepaid until we reach Budapest, after which, plans become rather more adventurous and super cheap as we journey through Belgrade, Nis, and Sofia before taking our final night train on to Istanbul and returning to our resident countries by air.
Both Teagan and I have carry on luggage only, weighing in at 9.5 kg plus a small 'personal' bag, each.  Our clothing and extras consist of: travel wear and formal wear for our Cunard Queen Mary 2 transatlantic, digital devices (note the plural), and even Greenie (Teagie's trusty travelling scooter) amongst a range of other carefully selected paraphernalia. Following a final document check and packing approval from Teagie, we are ready to for takeoff at 11:59 pm.
I am hoping for some sleep on our flight to Amsterdam's Schipol airport where we have a nine hour wait:  whether we get out of the airport for a few hours or "play" at the airport depends solely on my 8 year old flying companion. I have dibs on her crashing (without warning) leaving me to a prolonged unwatered and unfed guard duty as she is too heavy to "hiff" over my shoulder anymore.

An Impromptu Visit to Dubai....

Often I complain that we get no visitors and I tell family and friends, "even if you are passing through Dubai...I can get there easily."  Little was I to know that one week prior to our 10 week summer vacation two of my ducks would line up, and most seamlessly at that!

Tony, having an affinity with discussion and developments in metabolic disorders, along with (as I didn't discover until after reading and discussing with anyone willing to listen to my banter) being an author in the recent Lancent paper of May 29, 2014: Global, regional, and national prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults during 1980–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013, was invited to speak at a conference in Dubai and asked if we were busy! Of course we weren't so I got busy making some bookings.

Then From the dark recesses of my mind, I hauled the details of my friend Janette's travels, and discovered that she and family were also going to be in Dubai that weekend enroute north - what a line up we had!

Below is a short video of our time in Dubai, day one was with Tony and day two was lunch with Edward where both Teagan and Edward reverted to hyped up individuals needing to be brutally prised apart at the finish.

As an end note: whoop whoop, Doha has an airport that is not an overstuffed, outdated henhouse with every living body scrabbling for the slim peekings....the new Hamad International Airport 'seems' to have been worth waiting for (we shall see on Friday night when Doha departs for cooler climes).

20140618 Dubai from Kirsty Merriman on Vimeo.