Pre-trip Planning, the prequel

Have I mentioned the moon and the stars have had to align for this trip to become reality? A major concern of this trip planning process has been, What employer would ever give me this much time off of work?? Special thanks goes out to my boss who didn't bat an eye when I mentioned last year that I needed time off "to go to Everest". I believe his response (that was, may I add, without a snicker or an eyeroll) was, "Just let me know what dates you need to be gone so I can arrange coverage for you." What a great boss.