Pre-Departure Thoughts

Yep. That's it. Four months and four days packed into three bags. And yes, I know I said I was going to fit it all in one bag and a carry-on, but come on, let's be realistic. This is packing pretty darn light for the girl who takes a carload going from Iowa City to Lincoln for ten days.

I'll be driving up to Omaha with the fam in approximately t minus 9 1/2 hours. From there Chicago, and from there, well, London. In about 24 hours I will be a foreigner. Weird right? Tell me about it. I still don't really have a grip on it. To be quite honest, I've been so stressed trying to organize last minute things, pack my suitcases, and make sure I have the necessary paperwork to get into England that I haven't really been able to dwell on the reality of what is about to happen. I'm going to plop myself in the middle of complete and utter unknown. Holy. Crap.

Color me terrified.

What if my plane crashes? What if I get suctioned to the airplane toilet when I take a whiz during the 7 hour flight? What if they don't let me into England? What if I lose all my hard-packed luggage? What if I get lost on the tube? What if I get pick-pocketed? What if I lose my passport? What if no one likes me?

Whew. Breathe.

I'm going to London. At this point, I've worried so much, stressed so much, worked my bum off, and what it comes down to is it's going to happen, good and bad, and I'm going to deal with it as it comes. And considering I'll be in Europe, how bad can bad be? It's all going to be an adventure and a story to tell the grand kids (and you, of course, dear readers).

Alright, on that note, let's have a scavenger hunt. And by "let's" I mean me. Starting from Monday January 31 at 6:25 AM (if all goes smoothly) and going until the next blog post (or in other words, who the heck knows) --
1. Find a chippy and sample fish and chips -- 5 points
2. Ask where the loo is -- 5 points
3. Ride a double-decker bus -- 7 points
4. Visit a pub -- 8 points
5. Hear someone say "bloody hell" - 10 points (bonus points if they are ginger)
6. Find Platform Nine and Three Quarters - a million points

And with that, I bid you adieu to watch one last episode of Doctor Who and have sweet dreams of my marriage to David Tennant.

Peace, love, and more love,
Sarah