February First--Day of Departure

Today I leave for Australia.

In a few hours mom will come by and take me to the airport. The itinerary looks like this:
1:53p leave MCI to Minneapolis (MSP) via Northwest
3:18 land in Minneapolis
5:25 leave MSP to San Francisco (SFO) via Northwest
7:26 land in San Francisco
10:30 leave San Francisco to Melbourne via Qantas flight QF74
17 hours and 45 minutes later…
11:15 am Sunday (Australian time) land in Melbourne


I'll be staying with Caroline for the next 8 weeks. We've been planning this vacation for a while now--or rather, I've been letter her find stuff for us to do--and I'm excited about visiting all the parks and beaches and festivals and just relaxing. This blog is where I will record all my experiences, including lots of pictures, so that all my friends and family at home in Missouri can see what I'm up to. (hint--use the 'comment' feature, guys!)

Yesterday concluded a week-long goodbye; Melanie made cupcakes, Cindy brought breakfast, Tonya let me use her couch and TV for one more night of Supernatural on the big screen. I've said goodbye to Annette and Christy, to Dana and Christie, to Bones and Freya. I even said goodbye to Steve on the phone as he chofuered celebrities to the Superbowl in Phoenix. I really appreciate everyone who went out of their way to wish me well--it's been a great week!

This morning I've been packing, trying not to let Crash and Lucky know what's going on--although I think the suitcases are a giveaway. I hope they settle into the routine at mom's house quickly. They are spoiled, used to jumping on furniture and sleeping under the covers and using the dog door at their own will. It will be hard for them to calm down, I'm sure, but if they're lucky, they'll find a lap to curl up in. I might miss the dogs the most.

Everything is packed, as much as I can. The laptop is charging, the cell phone is charged, and I've got half my wardrobe in two suitcases. The cable is turned off, the internet will be turned off at any moment, the bills are paid and the credit card companies have been notified. Now all that's left is to wait--only a couple hours now. I'm excited, and nervous, but looking forward to this very much.

One last goodbye to everyone--I'll miss you all!! See you in two months!