Out the window, the clouds are a blinding, shapeless white. Somewhere below them the Pacific is serenely drifting past. Or maybe not so serenely – it’s been a season of more typhoons than usual, and somewhere to the north and east of us, another tropical storm is barreling toward Hawaii.

Duke is sitting next to me, absorbed in videos about soccer and not the clouds out the window. A few rows ahead of us, Tim and Amelia are reading.

We’re on the first leg of four weeks of travel. By the time we’re done we’ll have covered five countries, gone to various camps, finished our back-to-school shopping, visited family in at least three different cities, and watched an eclipse. I’m sure I’m missing something. We haven’t been on a trip this epic for a number of years, and I’m really excited about it.

We’re starting with a day (or two) in Tokyo. We have some paperwork we want to complete in Narita. Hopefully we’ll be able to squeeze in a few hours for some sushi and maybe a trip to Bic camera to get a few odds and ends for Tim’s evolving photography kit. He’s been doing a deep dive on the technical side of photography in preparation for the eclipse.

After Tokyo, the next stop is Denver. We’re not sure how exactly we’ll get there, but we’ll figure it out.

When we get back from our trip, we’ll go straight into the new school year and sports seasons and starting to think about the holidays. We made good use of our summer already, though. Sailing camps and soccer camps and a glider flight. Time on the water, time under the water and time hanging out with friends.

Postscipt: I feel the pressure in my ears and listen to the dull roar of the engine as we point ourselves back toward the ground. The clouds have parted and we can see the deep blue of the Pacific (seemingly peaceful) far below. In a few minutes we should see the fishing boats along the coast and the rice fields race below us as we get closer to landing in Narita. Then it will be the hustle and bustle of customs and immigration and into Tokyo for a day of fun.

Second postscript: I wrote this and lived this a week ago now. Since then we’ve visited loved ones in Denver, sent the kids off to camp, and flown ourselves out to England for our first day of adult summer camp. I may post one more backlogged entry before I’m able to catch back up to real time (or I may abandon the quest altogether). Either way, more soon!