Thirteen days to go. Am I ready no.... this week I printed out all of the itinerary, it's a lot of paper and I still have a few things left to organise, I have to work out how I am going to get from Colorado back to California and where I am going to stay on the way and when I arrive. It's funny how once I have booked a part of the trip it's almost as though the dates get plugged into my brain. For example I know that on the 20th February I am travelling from Memphis to Kansas, by bus. And on the 4th January I am travelling on the Indian Pacific Train from Adelaide to Perth, it take two days. Yet when I haven't got something booked I go into a sort of mild panic about what the dates are and how long for and where to stay etc.. It has been a very easy process so far. How did we manage before the Internet
, mind you that seems like a life time ago now. For me AirBNB has been a great addition to the adventure of travelling because I will meet people along the way and have use of laundry facilities and a kitchen so I can cater for myself to try and stay on the eating straight and narrow.

I went for a long walk with my good friend Maggie today, we got lost trying to get onto the route we wanted to go on and ended up doing it the wrong way round, so always reading the previous instruction. It was very funny and she said however are you going to get around the world if we can't even manage to go on a published local country walk ! She's got a point. Anyway we were successful in the end even if we did add a mile onto the route. Then a mad dash to the supermarket to get the ingredients for tomorrow's dinner party. It's all go at the moment,

So pretty much on a whim I decided to go away and travel the world, A trip to attend a wedding in the USA turned into a trip encompassing USA, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Bali and then back to the USA.  I will be seeing lots of family and friends along the way, as well as taking some much needed me time.

​I decided to write a blog as its a big journey for me, as was the retirement decision. so an opportunity to see the world, and think about how I move into the next phase of my life.  Mad though it may seem I want to try and achieve some things whilst I am away. I have been working hard on my fitness over the last couple of months and I want to make sure that I continue with that.. more of that later. I also promised myself that I would spend some time learning Icelandic when I retired, so that's on the agenda too.  So I will try and record my progress, no pressure there Diane....

​So countdown time  I leave two weeks today, flying to Boston on the 13th September, to stay with my cousin Elisabet. We have a packed agenda, we are going to Vermont to attend the wedding of Elisabet's son Robert to Aubrey. This will be the first experience of an American wedding,  I have been making a dress to wear to the wedding, but still quite a bit of work to do on that.  I did manage to get a couple of backups though... and then the age old problem of shoes... Going away for six months with minimal luggage, how can I justify three different pairs of shoes for three dresses.  I think I will have to have packing  dry run this weekend. 

​After the wedding we are off to Las Vegas for a few mad days, and then onto a health farm in Utah for a week, to undo all the excesses of the previous few days.  We then part company and Elisabet goes back to her day to day life. I  then start my solo travels.

​It became all a little more real yesterday when I had my vaccinations, and two more lots to go.  YUK, but when I have had these three lots and a booster in a year, I am good to travel for 25 years, so I have to live until I am 89 to make the most of that,