A geographic orientation, if you will

In response to those who have wondered where in the heck is Moldova, I give you a brief geography lesson. Below is a map of Eastern Europe, and if you look carefully, you'll find Moldova - just east of Romania, just south of Ukraine, and just west of the Black Sea (though not actually on the Black Sea). On September 11th, I'll be arriving in Chisinau (pronounced Kishinev - see Wikipedia's blurb on the capital).

Some of you might pause and ask, "But Kelsey, you're leaving at 6 something AM on August 31st...where will you be between August 31st and September 11th?? I invite you now to find Albania and Macedonia, two little countries just north of Greece, to the west of Bulgaria.
I'm going to leave Seattle on August 31st and then finally arrive in Tirana, Albania around midday on September 1st. From that point until September 10th-ish, I'll be meandering my way along the beaches of Albania and then to Lake Ohrid in Macedonia. The plans from Macedonia to Moldova are still a bit up in the air - so far I have a 30+ hour train ride as an option and I'm looking for something else a bit more desirable:)

The preparation so far has been a little harried - I finished up some powerpoint presentations for one of the PTs who is traveling with us and have mapped out a potential itinerary. Per usual Kelsey-style travel, there is enough on the itinerary for at least a month of travel and that is why you must wait a bit longer to be privy to such information (i.e. i have no idea myself, so how can I possibly tell you!)

More to come...