Wanderlust....CHECK.

I always have wanderlust. It's a permanent state of being in my life. Some call it the travel bug, some call it not being able to stay in the same place for too long, others call it crazy, but I like calling it wanderlust.

In just a day or two, my wanderlust may be answered. My dad and I will be embarking on the adventure of a lifetime to Mongolia to visit my younger brother, Leo. From Charlotte to Olgii (the largest city closest to Leo), it is a total of 14,964 miles which GoogleMaps estimates will take 439 hours and may include tolls, ferries, and road closings.

Since June 2011, Leo's been in Mongolia as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching English. He began with five weeks of Mongolian language training and then was informed he would be placed in one of the most Western parts of the country close to the Kazakhstan border and so would need to be prepared for a population speaking both Mongolian and Kazak. He took one week of Kazak and traveled across the country to Tsagaannuur where he has made his new home.

We have heard many intriguing snippets about life in Mongolia from Leo so far--including (but not limited to) police televised singing contests, sounds of the Mosque calling people to prayer, interesting local cuisines including all parts of cows and marmots, and hikes to mountains where Russia, China, and Mongolia can all be seen.

And so we leave Monday to travel across the world with a bag full of winter clothes and mixed emotions. We are sad to travel without two key members of our family. Without Mum and Grace, Dad and I know that two key people are missing from this trip. As always when our family can't all be together, the spirits and stories of those that are not there physically are always present in the words, thoughts, and hearts of those meeting. We'll miss them--and our journey becomes even more important as we learn to carry them with us as well.

We are also excited to see the life that Leo has started. To say our family is proud of Leo is an understatement. We are overwhelmed with joy and curiosity for what Leo is doing and are so incredibly impressed by his dedication and courage in this journey.

We are also pretty clueless as to what these next 16 days hold. Yes, we have flights booked and a rough itinerary of sorts, but we've also been told to be ready for flights that are either 8 hours delayed or don't even leave! We'll be heading to an Eagle Hunting festival, some hikes, to see Leo's school and even to stay in a ger!And probably a lot of other things that aren't planned!

Looking forward to all that's ahead...