The Waiting

The list is progressively getting shorter as we slowly do all the things on it and then tick them off. We have sorted insurance, printed off all the tickets and bookings, done last minute shopping, cleaned the house, done washing, tidied the garden, loaded up our English caravan with the bedding etc. after it was emptied for the winter, done the list of birthdays and made sure we have all the addresses, put checks in the bank and Sally's had her hair done (thanks girls) and is trying to catch Terry to do his!!

There are still a few things to do, but we are well on target.This is good, as this means that we can rest in between doing things as we are both still trying to recover from various viruses we have had.

We have had to load up our caravan before we go to the USA as we plan to take it away a couple of days after we return home so we can camp with our friends from the Ridings Folk Group for summer half term week. Trying to load up when jet lagged is not a good idea so we have got it done, ready just to put our food and clothes in it and set off. We can sleep when we get there!!

Why do you always lose something that you need? I cannot find a folder which contains all my songs and music and Terry cannot find the English dongle to connect the laptop to the internet. We have looked everywhere, but I'm sure they are in the cavernous region of the GARAGE - where most things not in use are stored! We even checked the caravan to see if we left them there. No joy!! So today, I'm having to make a new music folder.

We are beginning to get excited and are really looking forward to some warm weather. The temperature in Orlando is around about the 80's F - lovely!!! It's really cold here today - the sort where you need gloves, scarves, thick coats, hats and thermals! But the garden is already beginning to bloom and grow. The crocuses are out in all their glory and the miniature daffodils are budding. The bushes are all sending out new shoots and the heather is in full flower. Very nice to see this after such a long, cold and dark winter.

The Preparations

Getting ready, DepartureWith only 8 days before we leave home, things are hotting up. We have a long list of things to do and are slowly working our way through them.

We have been a bit hampered because we both caught a virulent sickness bug while spending time with our whole family last week. Andrew and family flew over from Guernsey and we all stayed with our eldest son in Derby. It's the first time that our three children, wives and partners and grandchildren have been with us altogether for over a year. We had a very enjoyable time despite the bug affecting 5 of us and the flights being cancelled both ways, due to fog, for the Guernsey family. Being ill delayed our return home by a couple of days and neither of us are on top form.

We have travel insurance to renew and a myriad of other little things to do. Most of the shopping has been done and lists prepared. The tickets and bookings done on line need printing out. We need to call Connie and Jim and Jim and Kathy and also contact Charles in Dallas to let him know when we will be there to pick up our trailer. He has offered to show us the local sights in and around Dallas/Fort Worth. Exciting!!

We have a few appointments this week and Sally is catching up with friends to say goodbye for three months. We are glad our daughter, Helen, is staying at home to keep an eye on the place , sort out our mail, and prepare for any viewings on the house. We have had 4 offers on the house since it went up for sale but none of them have been enough to tempt us to sell. Fingers crossed the right person will come along and offer us a sensible amount instead of the very low amounts so far!! We had another viewing last evening but they still have their house to sell, so no joy there!

We are really looking forward to catching up with friends, making new ones and doing some sightseeing while travelling.

The Plan

The itinery for our trip[ is starting to come to gether.
We will spend a week in Florida, then 5 days in Dallas sorting the trailer and see the area.
We go North to Oklahoma City the follow Route 66 to Amarillo.
We then head south into New Mexico, to visit Carlsbad Caverns and White Sands, then north again to see the Santa Fe area. By then it should be about April 5th. After spending time there we plan to do a whole host of things in The Four Corners Area from about the 16th April. Driving back Southwards we will probably spend Easter in the Flagstaff area, near the Grand Canyon.
After that we drive to Phoenix then on to the West Coast to fly back on 24th May from Los Angeles.

First Steps

So on the morning after The Pittsburgh Steelers gave away a Superbowl win our thoughts turn again to a vacation in America.
We are now just four weeks away from leaving England.
We are experimenting with a different mode of travel in UK. We will travel by train to Manchester and leave the car at home!
This is because when we return in May we are flying from Los Angeles into Heathrow Airport, London and will then also travel home by train.
We are really looking forward to this part of our Road Trip as we are returning to the 'Big Country' of South Western U.S.A. to see all those wonderful natural features that are so fascinating.
At the moment though all is gloom in Dallas, not just because of the Superbowl, but the weather is really cold. It has been down at about 12 degrees F and is forcast to hit 9 degrees F on Wednesday. I am glad that we winterised the trailer before we left. The forecast mentioned 'ice pellets'! I dread to think what they are and can only hope that they do not dent the roof of the truck. I also realise that we left some bottles of drinking water in the truck, I am pretty certain that they will not break if frozen, but you cannot tell. Still we can do very little about it until we return there in five weeks.
Most of the essential bookings have been made and Sally is now starting to tick off lists of things we will take with us.