In Sahagun

We have been in Sahagun, Spain for two days now. It appears that we can get our permanent ID cards in one month, so we are planning to take an apartment here in Sahagun and perhaps travel in Spain for this time, since we can't really leave the country. Sahagun is very comfortable. We have our Spanish family from the times when Elyn and the two of us lived here. They are very welcoming and helpful in negotiating the local officialdom, etc.

Today we begin the search for an apartment. Our idea is to establish a local home base to work and travel from. Spain is very welcoming to senior citizens. We have discount cards that give us 40% discount on the trains. We can travel around the country with little expense and there is much to do and see. First we establish ourselves here and then we will know the next step. We find that we can't really make more long-range plans, so we just take it day by day.

Life is good here. The food is excellent and inexpensive. Everything we need seems within reach. We are having fun, which is our primary objective. We'll check back when we have more to report.

On the Road Yet Again

We have been in the Atlanta airport for several hours, waiting for our flight to Madrid, which leaves at 6:40 PM. Our long wait is made more comfortable by the short-term subscription to Crown Club, Delta Airlines VIP lounge. There are comfortable chairs, free food and drink, WiFi access, newspapers, etc. and the ambiance is less hectic than the general waiting areas. Honey Bunny and Brown Bear are enjoying the trip so far and Elyn and I are doing quite well. Now we will have a rather long flight across the Atlantic, there will, of course, be movies and a minimum of food and drink. Our plan is to take a train from Madrid directly to Sahagun, where we will meet friends at the Peaceable Kingdom, an American and a Brit who own a farm on the Camino de Santiago. You can see their blog HERE. It is a fun look at rural life in north central Spain written by two ex reporters. It is well written, profusely illustrated with photos, and well worth a look.

More when we have something to report.

Deep in Snow and Preparing

Santa Fe is deep in snow these days and Elyn and I are deep in preparations for our trip to Spain and other points to be determined. It seems that there are thousands of details to take care of before we leave. Making sure that we have all the misc. gear with us, including two cell phones, one computer, two iPods, one portable printer, one digital camera, plus all the cords, chargers, etc. to make them run. Then there is travel clothes, which haven't been worn since the last trip. What will we need? We can only guess.

Nutritional supplements and prescriptions are another quantity of stuff. It takes more and more of this stuff to keep us going as we age.

Which pieces of luggage to take? What coats? What shoes? Again, we are guessing about a lot and probably will purchase more stuff when we find out what we will really need on the road.

The current plan, which changes day by day, is to travel directly to Sahagun, Spain where we have friends. We will stay there a few days and hopefully take care of the paper work to apply for our residency visas. If that process will take several weeks, we will travel down to the south, visiting Gerona, Barcelona, and other south coast areas. Then we "may" fly out to Malta to stay for awhile. All these plans can only be made when we know better about the Spanish officials and how long they will take to process our stuff. We are supposed to have temporary ID cards once we turn in the papers, but we can also travel on our US passports if necessary.

Our return flight is scheduled for February 14, but if we get everything done before that we may come back to the US early. As you can see, we are pretty much taking it day at a time. This uprooted life does bring some anxiety, but it also is very exciting. I think the excitement is worth having a little uncertainty and anxiety.

I may not post again until I can find a cybercafe or WiFi hot spot in Spain. Bon Voyage!!

Travel Plans

As some of you may know, Elyn and I have applied for retirement visas to live in Spain and the other EU countries. The visas have come through and we are leaving this Saturday (December 27) for Madrid. Since our Santa Fe house hasn't sold yet, we will need to return in February to take care of local business. I will be posting about our progress on this blog and on FaceBook.

Of course, Honey Bunny and Brown Bear will be going with us and they will, no doubt, have things to say on their blog (see below).

Bon Voyage!!

New Blog

And, on a lighter note, I'm announcing a new blog featuring two other members of the Aviva/White household, Honey Bunny and Brown Bear. You will find them HERE.

They are so happy and excited to have their own blog. Stop in and make their acquaintance. They wish you the very best for this holiday season.

Obama's Weekly Fireside Chat for Dec. 20

I have missed posting the weekly chat but this one really caught my attention. On a week where liberals like me have been disappointed and angry at Barack's choice of a right wing, gay hater to give the invocation, it is good to hear that he is going to take real science seriously in his administration. I see that he is trying to set a balanced approach that has some appeal to all of Americans, even when he misses the mark. Here is what he had to say:

Weekly address for December 6, 2008

Here is the latest weekly address by President Elect Barack Obama. My personal feeling is that help is on the way now. On the negative side, I've heard from my old-politic "conservative" friends that the current economic meltdown is somehow Obama's fault. How anyone can look at the past eight years and the gradual slide into depression that the Bush administration has caused and think that it is all Obama's fault is way beyond me, but I expect to hear more and more of this as conditions get worse over the next months. Don't fall into that trap. This great depression is the fault of the Republican administration more than any thing else, and Obama won't be able to work any kind of magic to get us out of it. However, I have confidence that his plans will ultimately do just that. Let's give him a year or so to see what he can do.

Obama Takes Questions After Nominating His NS Team

Here is the first part of Obama's responses to reporter's questions after he announced his National Security team.

Here also, is the New York Times assessment of the team. CLICK HERE

Hillary Clinton's Acceptance Speech

Here is Hillary Clinton this morning accepting Obama's nomination for the position of Secretary of State.

The National Security Team

Barack Obama announced his national security team this morning. There were no surprises in the list, since it had been widely circulated for the past few days. Here is an excerpt from the press conference. Note that Vice President Biden is the principal speaker, which may signal that his role in the new administration will concentrate in this area. This excerpt is worth your time.