Committed!

No longer is Life Phase Next just a dream. This week I clicked the button that committed us to our first target location—Quito, Ecuador, arriving on September 6, 2016.

We had been hoping to use some British Airways Avios points that had been building up since our big trip to Africa a few years back, but thought we wouldn’t have the opportunity until we headed to Europe. But thanks to helpful tips from Extra Pack of Peanuts and great instructions from Million Mile Secrets, I was able to book the entire trip from Vancouver to Quito for $166.18 CAD for both of us. Happy dancing!

Though we had planned to stay in Calgary, Alberta, until our darling grandson’s 4th birthday on September 18, our options for traveling with miles were quite limited and we would have been delayed into October. So, we’ll celebrate with him a little early, and then drive to Vancouver to visit with friends and family there, possibly store a few things and leave our car, and then head off on our adventure on September 6.

The anxiety of making such a momentous commitment has subsided somewhat, but I expect many more of these heart-rate-elevating activities over the next six months including one next week when we meet with a realtor to list our condo. Both the resale and rental markets are really slow right now in Calgary thanks to the depressed economy. But since we both have a strong need to free ourselves from any anchoring roots we aren’t willing to wait any longer for things to improve. Fingers crossed that we can sell!