3330 Miles

That's the total sum of distance we drove from Los Angeles into Lexington to return the car. Which in itself was a story because the return point is listed as Lexington Bluegrass Airport. Now you see, the thing about Lexington Airport is its maybe twice the size of Wynayrd Airport, plus some. So it's not real big. So it's really hard to get lost in. Not that we got lost. But we soon discovered that the return point may have been listed as Lexington Bluegrass Airport, but the location was actually off site and we had to follow a shuttle bus to goodness knows where in Lexington. All I can figure out it, that it was actually no where near Lexington Bluegrass Airport. These people are on Frosty's side. They're all a pack of liars.

So I have missed a great bunch of time and out last few location. I actually have an offline entry on my laptop that I wrote on our night in Chattanooga, Tennessee because I couldn't pick up wireless for some stupid reason in the room we moved to. Always a great adventure on that last night to be had, I'm sure. Basically there were toilet issues and we had to shift rooms. That's all I am saying.

Anyways, that last day on the road was probably a good thing. It was high time to get out of the Van and walk and be in a house. We stopped just before the Kentucky boarder and spent a bunch of USD on some pretty awesome looking fireworks which I have to tell you I'm rather excited about lighting. I can't help it, maybe there is a small strain of pyromaniac in me.

Alas we are back home in Richmond, Kentucky. And it really is a beautiful state. I just love the scenery and the small town feel of the place. That you can be in the middle of nowhere and there is a huge massive world out there and you can just put your head in the ground and ignore it. I really love it. Hence it's been a while since I wrote. It's been a blur of catching up on sleep, unpacking, getting ready for Christmas and freezing my arse off. Seriously guys. Today is the first time is gone above zero since returning. I even feel last night on some bricks out back (twice mind you) and I can assure you it's not fun. It hurts!

That aside, I went shopping for some warm gloves and a super cool but way too warm jacket. It's multiple layers and makes me look like a marshmallow man or something. Its rather hilarious. But certainly it'll be needed when we head North to Minnesota in February, and very much so when I head to Ottawa at the end of January to see Erin M. Yay! I even have long johns. It's scary. I'm an Australian, we don't even know how to wear these things! Or at least I've never had to.

So it's Christmas in Australia and Sandi takes prize as sending me the first SMS of the holiday. At 1am in the morning, what on earth are you doing up that early girl!! But thanks, the sentiment and thought is much appreciated because it's going to suck to wait another 24 hours to open presents. I can't help it, I'm a kid at heart :-)

Thus today, December 24th, will consist of baking, present wrapping and rescuing Maggie from her void of boredom which seems very Maggie like since I imagine that it's rather weird not to be thinking about study all the frigging time. Rest assured my friend, time with me will always be entertaining!!

Anyways, I think that just about does it at the moment, time to start the day, more so that just waking up and having breakfast and a cup of Yoga Tea. Its raining now.

The Last Leg

Its our last night on the road. Its been a long trip. It'll be good to get out of the car. I've experienced a real life Road Trip of long proportions across several states from West to South to South East. Phew, lots to see and experience. Tonight we rest our heads in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Friday we drove across the rest of Mississippi, crossing into Alabama and further still into Georgia, spending the night in Atlanta. One thing I have noticed about big city America is that there is a theme of confusing roads and that usually includes a six lane freeway at some point!! I liked Atlanta even if most of it was seen in the dark and in the rain.

Today, Saturday, we were in Atlanta for the morning and early afternoon, seeing a puppet show about a love struck snowman and wandering around the Puppetry museum there. They even had the original KOB puppet on display. But the pretty cool thing was they had Big Bird there! Yep, in a display case as though he had jumped off the TV screen and into the museum. It was great!

The last night on the road has had drama. Issues with a toilet which lead to it overflowing which has resulted in us moving rooms and now dealing with a smoking room smell. Crap. And that's only a part of it! Oh wells. Tomorrow its back to Richmond, Kentucky and back to the Gow household and the comfort and warmth it holds waiting for us. Woohoo!

Erin read Twilight, that new book everyone seems to be reading and talking about. I've not a clue. It took me like five years to catch onto the Harry Potter phrase so you know. . . Anyways, we been wandering into places to buy the second book in about three different states, if not more! That in itself has been an adventure.

Anyways, its late and Mrs Bucket is on the TV so I am going.

Entering the Deep South

Well here I sit in Jackson, Mississippi and it's so humid outside! Goodness me! It was like the moment we crossed the Mississippi River from Louisiana to Mississippi the humidity went through the roof!!

Its been interesting to watch the landscape change again. Though the last of three days in Texas was kinda foggy and this afternoon across Louisiana got sort of misty too . . .but you can see subtle changes. I guess the changes have more been in the people. From Hispanics to, well I guess African-Americans is the politically correct term these days. I'm not a racist, far from, but suddenly I'm much more aware of my skin colour which up until now hasn't really been a conscious though. But let me go back a few days.

Tuesday morning we left Odessa, Texas. I left off talking about the Globe Theatre. Well by the time we left (it seriously took us an hour to get out of that place, we thought we'd remain there our whole life!!) we came across not only Shakespeare's Globe, but a scaled replica of Stone Henge! It was hilarious!! Eventually we found our way out of Odessa and hit the road again. Nothing major happened between there and Dallas, only that Dallas and Fort Worth are about 30 miles apart but they sprawl and mix in the centre. That place was huge!! And the traffic and roads in the dark are majorly confusing!!

That night I was introduced to another American Eatery -Denny's. I have to admit, I'm not hugely inclined to go back. I mean the food was nice and all and the pumpkin pie was yummy, but I don't know. It sorta creeped me out a little bit. Maybe it was that particular one.

Oh my gosh, third night running the cartoon version of Survivor is on Cartoon Network and I'm not too sure how much more I can handle. Its so stupid but Erin and Nancy love it. I don't know why!! Its on at the moment and they're laughing and oh my gosh, is it any wonder I've been playing games on the computer in the evening?!!

Anyways, Dallas was freezing and we woke in the morning to a mist and light rain. Visibility wasn't really good so it made driving on those mad highways even worse! At one point I counted five layers of roadway piling skywards. Shoot it was crazy. We ventured to a Mc Donalds built like a Happy Meal but was all very posh inside (totally bizarre!) and then we continued on to Texas Stadium, home to the Dallas Cowboys which was pretty cool. The guy who signed us in said Yáll about three times which just cracked my up (not to his face mind) and we went into the Pro-Store and saw lots of mad things to buy.

The rest of the drive to Shreveport, Louisiana was in fog so we really didn't see too much. We actually arrived in Shreveport in daylight which made a nice change! We stayed at Diamond Jacks Casino which was an interesting experience and a huge room! Seriously, the bathroom part would have been as big as the bedroom part!! And brightly coloured too. But totally cool. The casino was kinda lame, but the main activity of the night was catching up with Shanna and Phillip and finally meeting Anna-Claire! And how adorable is she?! And just a cute baby! And totally mad about Shanna. You can see it when it beams across her face. We ate at a Steak House on the Boardwalk which in itself was a really interesting place down along the river. Its sort of set up like shops on a street, but there are no cars down there and kinda like an outdoor shopping centre. But it was all festive and we even saw Santa on a tram.

Today, Thursday, we stopped for some Mini-Golf in Bossier City before hitting the road again. I won!! Ha!! But 4 strokes, but I won! So the Chattanooga Challenge will be on and a chance for Gow Snr to re-claim her title of winner!! Anyways, it was misty again today and slightly humid, but like I said, big time once we crossed the river. Drove a little around Vicksburg and saw some lovely old homes and the place where Coca-cola was first bottled. There were even casinos on the river too!!

Anyways, I have some Ben and Jerry's calling my name so I should go and answer it. Traveling across America in a car has been an interesting experience, its a good chance to learn more about me, Nancy and Erin too! Oh and Sealy, who seems to be my outlet of someone to talk to when I get bored. She always answers.

Tomorrow, we head to Atlanta, driving across Alabama in the process.

Miles and Miles

The desert has changed again. This evening I find myself in Odessa, Texas, after spending last night in El Paso and traveling through New Mexico to get there. Eventually I did fall asleep in Phoenix, some hours later we were late getting up and leaving for the day. Oh wells, we can do that once in a while!

Yesterday I felt like all we did was drive, because in the grand scheme of things, that's exactly what we did. Shortly after leaving Phoenix, we pulled into a rest stop and ended up doing a little shopping from some local Indians. I purchased some jewelery and Nancy some pottery. Its beautiful. Back on the road we passed more and more mountains of Arizona. You'd think I'd get sick of it, but the scenery is forever changing and the mountains are just stunning.

Before leaving Arizona we stopped at The Thing, one of those roadside gimmicks that just suck you in for paying $1 and unsure of what you are going to get. The gas station was just a small part of it (coupled with a Dairy Queen). Erin decided to sit the experience out, so Nancy and I paid our $1 and ventured out to see The Thing, following giant yellow footsteps. well basically it was three sheds of really old 'things' which was hilariously bad and we were in stitches. We'd been in anticipation of The Thing for some 30 miles. I guess it was a welcome distraction and in a bad kinda way was well worth it!

Crossing over into New Mexico I became more aware of the number of cargo train on the train tracks. I guess that's because the Interstate was a lot closer to the train tracks than it had been in the previous states. The landscape changed a little, more red and orange sand than anything else. And big boulders. About half way through our trek across New Mexico, we stopped at Shakespeare, a ghost town just off the interstate. It was actually closed, but we took a few photos as dusk fast approached. Shortly before the boarder, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner and oh my gosh I had forgotten just how much I love the food there! Could have done without the spoilt child screaming but oh wells, these things happen.

By 8pm we'd crossed over the boarder once again, this time arriving in Texas. Yes, El Paso was the stop for last night in a somewhat, lower scale hotel than we'd been staying in! Don't get me wrong, it was clean and all, it just felt, well, creepy. That and you could hear just about everything going on next door or up stairs.

This morning we woke a little late again missing breakfast provided by the hotel which probably wasn't a bad thing. Thus I was introduced to IHOP. International House Of Pancakes. Crickey the menu was mind boggling!! Spanish became a lot more fluent in the people around us and everything printed is suddenly duel language. This is because Mexico is so very close. That and a lot of the South has a high population of immigrants. Anyways, over breakfast we made plans for the day.

First stop, Tony Lama's. Yep, I went and bought a pair of cowboy boots and they are so friggin awesome!! The bottom part is brown and the top part is green and that sounds totally gross but they are so not! The store was massive and had a large range of boots to choose from. Who'd have thought working out shoe size could be so complicated! From getting the boots, we travelled down along the Boarder Highway, looking across into Mexico and being in the shadow of the brown fence which separates the two countries. Its crazy. About 40 miles from El Paso all the traffick was diverted off the Interstate for a secutiry check to make sure vehicles weren't harbouring illegal immigrants. Its so weird.

Pretty much today we just drove. Texas (or this part of it) is rather flat and boring. Yes more desert, but at least the other states have had some elevation and tumble weeds in it.

Odessa is a lot bigger than we thought it would be. Taking a wrong turn actually took us the long way to our hotel and it felt like we'd left the town!! Rumour has it there is a copy of Shakespeares Globe here in town. Perhaps we'll check that out tomorrow before leaving for Dallas.

Restless nights in Phoenix

I can't sleep. Erin would tell me its because there is something on my mind which is why my brain won't switch off. Personally, I don't think it's that. I'm just sure my mind wants to constantly be on the go because it has ADD or something. That's just how it is sometimes. So our room at Hyatt Place is pretty cool I have to admit. Sorta dark at the moment, but very comfy! There's a lot of noise around, well background noise which just seems amplified at the moment. Simply because I can't sleep. People out in the hallway (are they having a HA party out there?!) and the traffic going by. Even at this ungodly hour of the morning.

Speaking of God, we drove along on the way to somewhere (very descriptive, I know) and the ten commandments were posted sign by sign. I always think what you see along the side of the road is a good reminder that you are in America. Its endlessly amusing. I wonder if we shall indeed see some fork cactus today?

Do you know how incredibly hard it is sitting here knowing I have a 42"plasma in the same room with 30 channels of who knows what and know that I can't put it on?! Ohh I hear rustling, maybe someone else is awake?

Nope, seems not. *sighs* oh well I can live in hope right?! Speaking of TV, we caught a bit of a show called How Things Work and they were talking about the Turkey industry here in America. Some interesting facts: Five months is the lifespan of a turkey bred to eat. All the turkey's are artificially inseminated, the males and females never mix. Turkey farms pump out on average 250 million turkey's a year, which equates to approx 1 per person. Americans eat about 17 pounds of turkey per person each year.

That's pretty sad. Its like 3am and I've driven across some amazing parts of the country all ready and all I can think about is turkey? Hmmm maybe I am hungry. I might go rustle me up some snacks!

Land of Scenery

Desert has been a running theme the past few days. After leaving Vagas it felt like we drove through miles and miles of it, because in all honesty, that's what we did. The excitement came when we discovered that we were to cross the Hoover Dam which I have to admit was very cool indeed. Busy, and cool too. They're building a bridge across the gorge (if that's what it's called??) and Nancy was rather excited about that. Erin just thought she was insane. I just wanted to take a photo knowing that one day it would be a famous landmark.

Sometime later into Arizona we realised that we were in a spot of bother. We were running out of fuel!! I tell you what, for a nation which thus far has blown my mind with the number of exits on the interstate and the sheer number of gas stations and take out places you can find on those exits, it was some 100 miles until we came to a gas station at Kingman in Arizona! I can tell you, that great van pulled into the place on the smell of a rag. OMG it was freakin scary! Though in there I managed to run over a tumble weed which was rather atmospheric I have to admit. The desert just isn't the desert without tumble weed.

Gassed up we continued onto the next great destination. The Grand Canyon. With a late start and several stops under our belt, we didn't arrive in the National Park until after dark. However, I saw the most stunning sunset I have ever seen. It was simply stunning. I saw a beauty I've never seen before, it was magic, really it was.

This morning, Saturday morning, Nancy and I were up at 7am to take a short walk to the South rim of The Grand Canyon to see the sun come up. Having not see the Canyon the day before, I really wasn't sure what to expect. But it took my breath away. It was freezing, I tell you that much! But silent and open and just . . .WOW. It was well worth it and just so beautiful. I can't even put it into words. It left me breathless. Quite literally.

An hour later we got some well needed warm coffee (oh so good!) and returned to the room. We spent the better half of today going to various look out points across the Canyon, stumbling upon a wedding in the process! Fancy getting married on the edge of the Grand Canyon! Seriously, if you only go one place in Arizona, let it be there. Amazing. Beautiful. Stunning. Breathtaking. Around Noon we found Desert View and caught a glimpse of the Colorado River and the freezing air around it.

Hitting the road again, we went through more desert, this time more like what I was expecting to see. The wind was insane though. The strongest I have even encountered in my life. We stopped at a Native American Indian roadside stall type of thing and the wind nearly broke the door off its hinges. driving further along still, we spied a sand storm in the distance which was rather cool. We drove through Navajo and Anasazi area and finally into Flagstaff where we ran into snow! It was awesome!! It snowed for quite some time after that and was bitterly cold, obviously. Arizona has been such a stunning state to drive through and we'll see more of it tomorrow. I think we've spent all the drive (or at least 90%) in Arizona at an elevation of 3000 feet or more! Seriously!

This evening we're settled in Phoenix, where we arrived after dark, yet again. As darkness fell it was pointed out that there were fork cactus out there in the darkness. I so hope we see some tomorrow!! It's a long day on the road, our longest so far. About eight hours we think. So tonight we shall sleep well, get an early night followed by an early start. So I should be off!

On The Open Road

Its been an amazing few days. Seriously. I can't think of any other words. Okay maybe I can. Bizarre and awesome and incredible and mind boggling. I feel like the last three days have had so much packed into them that it's no wonder I'm feeling a tad on the tired side.

Now, I left off at Disneyland I believe. Upon reflection, the place does seem to have a somewhat magical appeal to it. However, Thursday morning we picked up the hire car. Nancy and I made the journey to John Wayne Airport in Orange County to pick up the mini van. Yep, a white Dodge Grand Mini Van. Believe me, we need it with the amount of luggage we have and how much we are picking up along the way. On the way there we got stuck in the morning peak hour traffic (we were on a shuttle bus) and I tell you now, you've nothing to complain about when you consider we were stuck in six lanes (going one direction!!) of traffic jam pleasure. It was insane.

So we jump into the van, play with all the gadgets and go ohh and ahh over all the cool things it does (and believe me, there are many) and off we go, back to Anaheim, our luggage and Erin. Santa was down in the lobby area upon our return which was pretty cool. Some time later, a lovely person with a luggage trolley helped us load the van and we were on our way to Las Vegas!!

I've never actually seen the desert before, and in the past few days I've seen how much it varies. We crossed the Mojave Desert in the early afternoon. Its rather strange and stunning in a stark kind of way. Our stop came at a small place called Baker where we saw the worlds biggest Thermometer (the gift shop was closed) and a very corny place called Alien Jerky which was merely for my benefit and totally worth the stop, even if it was only for a laugh and a few small souveneers.

Late Afternoon we crossed into Nevada. You're driving along as the sun is going down, through the desert and as soon as you hit the state line, BAM, there's a huge casino with lots of flashing lights and mega huge roller coaster. It was at this point I was like bouncing around with energy because it seemed to be taking FOREVER to get to Las Vegas. Driving along pass more mountains and sand and rocks and then suddenly, there it is. In the dusk this mass of lights and buildings and cars and its just crazy. And as soon as you lay your eyes on it, Vegas just sort of sucks you in. It casts its magic on you. It was all so exciting!! And of course you can see our hotel, The Luxor, from ages away, the big pyramid and Sphinx gives it away, or maybe it's the huge beacon that shoots up from its point into the sky . . .

Its hard to really talk about Vegas. Its just so overwhelming. I guess it's like a hangover. It's a great journey and fun at the time, but you wake up the next morning and wonder what the hell you were thinking the night before. Just to clarify, I did not get drunk, married or win the jackpot. Rather I had a light beer, went on a roller coaster and lost about $30. But that amused me right up until midnight, which I was determined to reach just to not pike it in Vegas, unlike two Gow women I know. So yes, I played some one arm bandits and we ate at New York New York after riding the terrifyingly awesome roller coaster on its roof. Friggin hell, it was worth the $14 I paid!! After dinner the three of us walked as far as the Bellagio, at which point Erin and Nancy went back to the hotel and I walked the remainder of The Strip, stepping in and gambling at some of the biggest named Casinos Sin City has to offer. It was all a blur of noises and lights and people. Needless to say I returned and went to bed on very tired tourist. And it's no wonder I had weird dreams that night.

Friday morning I woke and looked out the winder of our 16th floor spa room to realise that Vegas is dull during the daylight. It really is a bunch of buildings in the middle of the desert. Its incredible the difference from the night time. Utterly incredible.

Starbucks was down in the lobby so after a stop for breakfast and some last minute gambling to wash down with the coffee, we headed back to the van and continued upon our journey.

Looking back I can't really figure out why I was so excited to get there. I mean it was great and one of those experiences that you just have to have and well, experience, but it doesn't leave a glowing impression on me. Its like the lights and the glitz and the glamour all faded away with the bizarre set of dreams I had that night.

The Wonderful World of Disney

Its one of those pilgrimage places for some people. Disneyland is a place I've been to before, back in 2001 with my SOAR buddies, before the place was prettied up for it's 50th birthday celebrations. I have to admit, you can see the difference, which is nice. This time it felt a little more magical.

Having been to California Adventure the day before, you can see vast differences. Namely in the crowd. And it had nothing to do with the weather, despite it being winter I do believe I've got a little tan line all ready. In California the crowd was as expected when you take into account that it's off season. Disneyland however was packed! Seriously, I remember it being really busy that hot July back in 2001, but aside from the fact it was a lot cooler, it still could have been summer. I guess the place really can be packed year round.

So I only ended up getting a photo with one character. Which is fine really, it was Goofy and he rocks. It just seemed like too much effort to wait in line for a character photo when I could wait in line for a ride. Crap, there were some good ones too! I have to said either Thunder Mountain or Indiana Jones were my favs. Splash Mountain was closed because someone broke it (there were still people stuck in it!!) and well, I think we did just about most others.

It was a hell of a long day. The ankles are starting to ache badly, well there were last night and this morning I've just sort of fallen from the bed to the floor because I couldn't sleep and here I am. I've not actually stood up yet. But it's all been worth it.

On the way into the park yesterday morning (yesterday was Disneyland) we saw a very cute humming bird in the Birds of Paradise plants which are everywhere. They are beautiful. Oh and I never got to go on the very cool looking water slide here at the hotel because it was closed by the time I got down there. But despite the hour, there were a heap of people in the pool and hot tub.

Kids here are very amusing and so animated, its been great fun watching them all. Today we pick up the hire car and hit the road. Las Vagas here we come!!

From Hollywood to Anaheim

Right now I sit at the desk of our hotel room in the Paradise Pier Hotel which is a part of the Disneyland Resorts. The weird thing is that I am near an air vent and I can hear a baby crying. I'm hoping that my theory that it's travelling up from another room is correct and that there isn't actually a baby in the venting system.

Phew, it's tiring being a tourist! Yesterday we spent day two in Los Angeles, though it was really day one of sightseeing because the day prior to that we stayed mostly in just to try and get our heads in the right time zone. So we made the journey out to Hollywood Boulevard, just on an hour on the train system which in itself is rather interesting and has been creating using good space between the direction lanes on the highways as opposed to having a median strip down the middle. At least they didn't have to clear more land. Los Angeles is an interesting place, and much more Spanish feeling than I expected it to be. Kinda old too. As for Hollywood Boulevard, it wasn't what I was expecting. Much more old and seedy than you would think. In the grand scheme of things its not all that glitzy and there are lots of people trying to give you maps to famous peoples home. I think I stand by my initial thoughts of Los Angeles back in 2001, it's not really a place I'd come back to. It just doesn't feel right.

However, it was fun pointing out the names on the stars even if we didn't see all 2000 of them! Graumans' Chinese Theatre was pretty amazing, some of the hand and foot prints are a good two or three decades old. There were people out the front dressed up as Batman and Elvis and a few others. Just there for the tourists really. I can't imagine what the place would be like in the summer when traffic through there is much higher. What a nightmare.

Heading back into downtown, I made a pilgrimage to a place called Casey's Irish Bar and Grill which for most people means nothing. However, for my Phile friends this is the bar that was used in filming several scenes in Fight the Future. OMG!!! We stayed and had a beer and dessert and I took photos and was all in awe of it. It was just so . . . surreal but totally mega cool and Erin got me a shirt for Christmas which was just the bestest thing. Again, it'll me nothing to the average person walking along the street who sees me in it, but as for me . . .score!

Night two at La Quinta was a quiet one with some early dinner (ohh Taco Bells for fast food Mexican) and a viewing of Mrs Doubtfire which was on TV. That and some totally old school Family Feud which I haven't seen in many years and never the American version.

This morning I woke the others up in order to get moving. We had to change hotels and get out to Anaheim (where the Disneyland Parks and Resorts are) and get into California Adventure!! I missed going there back in 2001 so I wanted to go this time around. I was very impressed with my efforts. We were on the bus from LAX to Anaheim at 9:30. Go me.

California Adventure is kinda like Disney in the city. It's not quite Disneyland, and has some cool stuff in it, but its missing something. However, went on a super cool roller coaster twice (one in daylight, one in twilight) and the log rides and all sorts. Did a little shopping, took a few photos (not as many as you guys would think) and just walked around a lot. It was kinda busy, but again certainly nothing compared to how the summer would see it.

We had to walk through the Grant California Resort in order to get to the guest entrance to the resort. Of my gosh it was like walking into a real Alpine Resort. It was stunning. Seriously. Our hotel is ocean themed and even the little bottles of shampoo etc have black lids on them which have Mickey Mouse ears sticking out the top. Its very cool. Am over hearing Christmas Carols all ready, and Americans talking at me is such a jarring experience. I think I'll be glad to get on the road and get away from big city America.

In saying that, tomorrow we head into Disneyland. The actual original park. It'll be good. This time round I think I'll be a lot more conscious and less tired and up for a bit more fun! We can actually see the fireworks from our hotel out on the swimming pool balcony with the cool water slide. Which reminds me, I was going to try that out!! I'm outta here!

Touchdown In Los Angeles

Check it out, it's 6 something in the morning and I am awake! Not too bad when you consider that I usually wake around that time at home for work and it's actually 1:52am, so my laptop tells me.

Finally we made it to the USA. The last few days have been a blur. Quite literally. I know at some point we spent our last night in our unit, cleaned and bit and spent some time smelling like chlorine. I can't tell you now, the excitement the man shows in the Easy Off Bam commercial, it's all fake. I had no where near the same amount of joy from that product. False advertising if you ask me.

This brings us to shifting to my aunt and uncles for the last three nights. Yet more of a blur of re-packing, little sleep and lots of details. My car was handed over to my brother (sniff sniff, I'll miss you babe, you've been so great to me) and we had moments of wonder just how much we'd pay for excess baggage. Soul Mama's on Saturday was somewhat disappointing in the sense that many people were coming, but not many actually did. If I am honest, that seems to be the story of my life! I have to admit that I can't actually be disappointed, in the past two years here I really haven't settled too much back into life here and thus don't have a social following as such. Point is that it was yet another confirmation that the big heave -ho overseas is a right choice to make.

Yesterday, Sunday, seemed to go on forever. Which is probably correct because it probably lasted something like 40 hours. I can't do that maths right now. Our flight was late because the Qantas engineers had found an issue with the seal on the door so we didn't board until 1:30 when we were actually supposed to take off at 12:10. Personally, I didn't have an issue. I'm glad they found the problem on the ground before we had to take off. I still maintain that they're a safe airline, no one has died yet and planes have been landed safely. And they're service is still perfectly fine.

And so the 14 hours and 20 minute journey across the ocean began. Oh. My. God. It was long. I had back pain and couldn't sleep which is something I haven't been getting a lot of lately so it was just all bad. I felt like it was going forever!! However, I managed to squeeze in three screenings of I Want To Believe (Squee!!!) plus some Simpsons, Are You Being Served, some CSI and the start of Wanted, which lost my attention about 40 minutes in. Oh wells. Thus, we landed!

My past experiences going through LAX have mostly consisted of blurs trying to catch connecting flight, having me stressed out in the immigration line because I'm running very late. However, as that pain in the butt Murphy would have it, I had no connecting flight, thus the process of going through immigration, collecting bags, clearing customs and leaving the airport was done in one hour. Typical!

We had a lot of luggage. Four checked bags ranging from smallest to largest, weighting 17kg, 21kg, 25.6kg and 31.7kg. Thank goodness for combining weight between bags!! Plus being ladies, we had a 'hangbag' each, plus a jacket, then a backpack each, I had my pillow and Erin had the Laptop bag. Needless to say we had a lot for two people to carry. But we made it!

Los Angeles was like landing back in Melbourne on an overcast but humid day. Seriously. Lots of cars, loud people and take out places. Even now the traffic going past is kinda heavy.

Erin is waiting for me to breakdown and cry. She won't accept the fact that I'm likely not to, not in the way she is expecting me to. I don't feel like crying because in the grand scheme of things, I'm not sad about leaving Australia. Partly because I've done it before (so in theory I'm good for the next 17 months!) and partly because I feel this is the best choice for me. As I said, I really haven't settled in the two years being back at home. Yes, there are a small group of people I will miss, but the world is a lot smaller than most people think it is. And with technology these days, its smaller still.

A Returning Argh?

The boxes have gone! Yep, the nine boxes just were piled into the truck and not to be seen until four months from now! It's kinda weird to think I'll be without that stuff for so long. You could do a personality guess by the stuff in there, it's a part of what makes me who I am! Someone would have some fun with that no doubt. All I need is for the ship to sink and some poor person like Tom Hanks be stranded on an island with it all. He he he, that would be kinda funny actually.

After all the hype of NaNo, I just made it to the halfway mark. People were right, I was insane to try and get 50k in the busiest month of my life. But I did get half way and that's something. I just found it so hard to sit and concerntrate on it. My mind was like going in ten different directions and unfortunately it wasn't the focus or distraction I was hoping it would be. However, there is always next year when things will be more settled. Oh my god I'll be married then.

Aside from that, I think all seems to be going okay. I'm not left with as much money as I had hoped, but my car is going to my brother which is nice and it's keeping her in the family. I have a road trip happebing on a budget. I'm going to be in Washington DC when Obama is sworn in which is friggin awesome, and I've a free trip to Canada to think about which is nice as well. Yay for frequent flyer miles.

Plans for London are still up in the air. I need to sit down and put some concrete plans in place to have somewhere to live when I arrive there. That's my main concern. Everything should hopefully fall into place after that. Fingers crossed. I feel okay about it all really. I just until I know what is what, I'm not sure what to feel.

Poor Erin has been dealing with all sorts of emotions, I've been a roller coaster at the best of times. Thank god for Lexapro! I dread to think what I'd be like without it. There's been enough going on to throw myself into but I'm having trouble sleeping at night and just really not sure what I want about little things. Like what to watch on TV or what to have for dinner. I can't focus on it. I feel like I am living in La-la land.

So yes, today is Wednesday. Just three full days and two part days to go until we get on the plane. Part of me wants it to come very quick, the other part not. I'm starting to think about all the little things I'll miss. But on a very general level I feel like I've done this before so in some way it makes it a whole lot easier to do.

OMG I have the TV on at the moment. Who has seen those "Talking Sex with Olivia"adverts?? What is up with that, seriously?! You can call them for a consultation now on 1300 50 50 70! OMG what is daytime TV coming to?

Anyways, the afternoon is pretty much free now. I have two phone calls to make (on is fixing an issue with my water company who are ringing me about the address I previously lived at!) and one is about lunch on Saturday. Mmmmm Soul Mamas, I have heard lots of good things about it so am looking forward to good food.

This morning I had to take the Kids on the Block puppets into Guide Centre. The poor things will be living in the shower by the sounds of it. It breaks my heart to see them go!! And to know that they'll sit idle for a while sucks even more!! Someone out there please help out! Those kids can't be left in the shower forever! not even for a month if it can be helped!

Argh!

So I think I am going insane. I feel like trying to sort the details out of the final things has been one issue after another. Really, I feel like every time I pick up the phone to either call or receive an incoming call, something is wrong. Argh!

Finally finally after six weeks Expedia/AA have refunded my money. Yep when I booked my flight, stupidly (despite all the amounts being quoted in AUD) I was charged in USD which was a lot more than I thought I was paying. As a result, they broke my credit card and even after saying I'd get my money and a cheque in two weeks, only now, six weeks later, do I get my money and it's less than I thought it would be because of the change in the exchange rate. Argh! However, at least its finally sorted.

Then comes the costs to move house. I was quoted one thing, and it was changed. Yep, I've ended up paying an extra $200 dollars more than I thought I would. Good grief! That and people want to try and charge you lots of money for things. Like Bigpond. I have to dish out $60 so that they'll close my account. What's that about? I'm poor before I even leave I tell you. Those out there reading this, don't do it, don't move OS unless you are a millionaire! Even the awesome exchange rate is against me. When we planned on doing this, our cool road trip, the dollar was buying 0.91 USD. Now it's down at 0.63. Wholly crap!!!

Hmmm....the moving people are here. I have to go, I'll be back . . .