Dear Family,

We know you are all concerned about our trip to Egypt tomorrow. Believe me, I am too and I have spent hours researching, coming up with options, and making decisions. It has been difficult and stressful for all three of us. I know you are seeing reports on the news, which I have been reading as well. I have also been following the US State Department travel alerts and warnings, as well as the warnings being issued by the British government and the Canadian government. Their basic advice of "staying away from crowds and demonstrations and being aware of your surroundings" has not changed. I have also been following several blog sites and message forums where travelers and residents of Egypt are posting current observations of the areas they are in. Because of the recent violence we decided not to stay in Cairo at all as we had originally planned. We are going instead to a beach resort area called Sharm el Sheikh. It is a major European vacation destination on the coast of the Red Sea. We will basically only see the airport in Cairo and on the last day, if we have time and if there have been no other problems in the area, we will try to join a tour group to see the pyramids right before we leave.

I'm sure that some of you will think this is not a cautious enough alternative and others of you may think we are over-reacting and could safely still see the historical sights of Cairo. Believe me, my first concern is for the safety of my daughter. I feel that we are seeing the world in a wonderful way so far and as I expected it is not always what you see on TV.

If you are especially worried about us, please don't look up Sharm el Sheikh right away (there was a major shark incident in December ) Also, don't look too far ahead at our itinerary....

We love all of you. Please trust that we are being vigilant while we are out here exploring. We really do plan to come home safe and sound!