Back from the hiatus

Looks like we all took a break for the holidays there, but now we're all back in the saddle and raring to go.
The bus may be gone, but there are still a million things to do before we get ourselves on planes and take off for England. Aside from all the visas and vaccines, we still need to say good bye to all our friends and family -- a final bon voyage before we head out (event information forthcoming).
There's lots of communication going on with other people, as well. Ed's been working furiously to meet schools around the area and talk to kids about what we're doing. There are plans to turn the challenge into a virtual classroom, and let students follow our progress and experience our escapades on the route. He's also working with the folks who are coming up with a "vehicular mural" for the bus. He's so busy, in fact, that he doesn't even have time to post any updates of his activities on the blog.
On the education front, we (Ed, Scott and I) stopped by Ethan's elementary school this afternoon to talk to the fifth graders about the trip. Unfortunately, our efforts to both film the event and be official about our plans sent up all sorts of red flags with the school system (to be fair, the flags went up for rational reasons) and ended with a cancellation of our presentation/talk and the need to reschedule our meetings. I'm disappointed. Ed's disappointed, and I know that Ethan's disappointed. Hopefully, we'll be able to get something organized, sans filming, for next week.
So, lots to do, and darn little time to do it in. Stay tuned. Many more posts are on their way.