The Plan

So. You're probably here because I sent you an email about my big going away party before I head overseas in just under a month. Yes, after many, many years of talking about it, it's finally happening - the big rite-of-passage, "off to find myself", trip of a lifetime. It's exciting and scary, all at once. I know once I'm over there I will probably love it, and forget all about how hard it is to be away from friends and family for so long. But I expect the 16 hour trip across the Pacific will consist of me bawling my eyes out and going "Oh my God! What am I doing????"

For those of you that are interested, I will try to post regular updates here while I'm gone, so you can see something of the places I get to see, and read about all the things I get up to. I figure this is a bit easier than posting long emails that will clog up your inbox and that you will feel obliged to read - but if you aren't interested in where I am and what I'm doing I won't be offended!

Because I don't yet know how often I'll be able to post, I thought I'd at least give you a rough outline of where I plan to be when, and what I hope to be doing. That way, when I don't post for several weeks at a time, you can at least hazard a guess that it's because I've been eaten by a moose in Canada, or met some crazy gun-toting redneck in Texas, or fallen madly in love with a handsome Spanish boy, or acquired a taste for guinness in Ireland and am spending all my time in the local pub, or fallen down a glacier crevass in Norway. Well, you just never know...

22 August 2007: THE BIG DAY!!

Depart Melbourne for San Francisco.

September: Head up to Canada before it gets too cold to be worth going. Spend a couple of weeks in the Rockies and then head back to Vancouver to hopefully find work of some sort.

October-November: Working in Vancouver. Hopefully get a chance to visit Tony Funk in Abbotsford at some point.

December: Back down the coast to San Francisco to spend Christmas and New Year with my friend Amy and her family. Hopefully fit in a trip south to San Diego with Amy.

January: Fly to Houston to visit Bethany, another dear friend, for a few days, then visit Washington and maybe Mum's cousin (Janette Turner Hospital - yes, the author!) in South Carolina before flying to London. Spend a few days in Bognor Regis with some friends of Mum's, and then head south to Spain (or wherever it is warm!).

February: Living it up in Spain, France & Italy!

March-April-May: To Ireland, hopefully to work again for a few months.

End of May/early June: A couple of weeks' holiday in Scandinavia, then flying from Helsinki to Frankfurt. Visit Linsey in Geissen (just north of Frankfurt).

Mid-June: Home to Melbourne, via Tokyo.

So, there you have it. Ambitious and maybe a little crazy given that I have less than a year to do it all in, but if you saw the list of things I cut out (most of east coast USA & Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Prague, Vienna, Salzburg, Greece, Croatia, Morocco, Scotland and St Petersburg, to name a few...) then it starts to look doable after all.

I am at the point where I'm sick of working through the list of things I need to do before I leave and I just want to hop on the plane. But please, feel free to keep on eye on this blog while I'm away, and to post comments as well. I will miss everyone so much!

Till next time.
Bron