After the Trip to Antarctica in February, I'm About to Pick Up Pace Again Starting with Kazakhstan , Kosovo and a For-Fun Trip to Turkey in November.....

.....the trip to Antarctica and South America in February will be hard to top but I have several trips on the calendar starting with a two week job in Kazakhstan in August with Chevron.  It'll be one of those jobs held entirely on the compound which is located on the shore of the Caspian Sea.  It's considered a hardship job but only two weeks--I can handle it.

Also in August, Devin and I are flying to Las Vegas to participate in the Area 51 Marathon which is actually held at Rachael, Nevada.  Area 51, of alien and UFO fame, holds a midnight marathon during the full moon of August which happens to fall on my birthday this year.  I'm doing the half-marathon and he's doing the 51K Ultra.  It runs right along the fence line of the top-secret government facility and the race theme is obviously alien-madness with all kinds of weirdness going on in the middle of the night along the course.

I'm scheduled to fly to Kosovo for three weeks in September doing a job for the US State Department.  I understand the country was nearly bombed to the ground during the 1990s war so it'll be interesting to see what it looks like today.  The U.S. recognizes Kosovo independence but most of the United Nations doesn't and relations are still very tense with Serbia.  The country itself is reportedly fascinating with ancient monasteries high in the mountains and beautiful Balkan scenery.

I, Devin, Alida and a friend of hers are going to Istanbul, Turkey in November for the Istanbul Marathon. It's with a marathon tour group Devin and I have used before and promises several tours of the historical places there.  We'll be there about eight days.  I'm really excited about this--looks to be exciting and interesting.