After only a few weeks of planning, My mini-adventure is set to start.   I’m about an Hour out from leaving for the Airport, and I think I have everything I need, neatly pack away into my backpack.  I’m a little nervous about the Backpack thing, not that it is any different than any other bag.   I have at least 4 nights at the holiday Inn, the other nights I’m gonna try these Budget accommodations and see how that works out…

I’ve loaded up the Ipod with tones of podcast, so I should be able to keep myself entertained for the next week - if Les Stroud (survivorman) can do it, surely I can survive a week in London, right?

So looking at my checklist… I need to get a travel card once I arrive, make my way to hotel, get some money, and then start exploring - I’m going to try to come up with a more specific plan once I’m on the plane.

Cheers,

-Skip

Long ago in my Bloggin Life, I decided that I would probably not become the infamous writer that I dreamed of.  Oh, Mainly because, it takes a lot of talent, dedicated time, and a lot of adventures…  So I decided as I go along this Voyage, I would always take time to point out the links and sites that really Inspire & motivate me.

One example is Where the Hell is Matt, Another one that I have become very fond of reading is  Bumfuzzle - Check it out, these guys are living a dream!  There are many more, usually found on my Travel Resources Tab, which I am always changing…

cheers, -Skip

Ok, I ordered this backpack on Amazon Friday… got an Email Sunday that says it may not ship till Tuesday with a delivery time of 2-7 days.  This is cutting it really close, since I leave a week from Tuesday.   It was really inexpensive compared to the one’s at REI, so I plan on giving it a full Review - that is assuming it’s not made out of paper and gets here in Time.

LONDON

Against my better judgment (I’ll explain later what that means), I’ve decided to take a Trip to London.  The basic rationale is that I have a week of vacation left over, and need to use it by the end of Feb.   So I started thinking… what could I do in a week?   In Late January, I stumbled across a good Deal on British Air (thanks to Europeupclose.com), and Thought “Here is an Idea”.  I knew the Wife has been to London, and the chances of us actually planning a trip there was not too high, after all there are many other places that are higher up on my List.   Now, Normally I’d just take the week off, and spend the days reading about other folks on their RTW journey, Working on Honey-Do-Projects,  and then deliberating about how to move in that traveling direction.  So I started playing with the Idea… How could this work?  how can I convince the wife to let me go and how can I do it cheaply?  After all, this is not exactly like the boys trip to Vegas once in a while.

I decided that I had to do it on the cheap, and I’ve read so much about folks that are staying in hostels and guest houses and take the road less traveled and less exploited for Tourist, that I felt challenged.  So, with some rudimentary planning, I came up with round trip tickets for about $500, and staying in hostels probably another $200.  Sightseeing, and Eating another $300, coming to roughly $1000 for the whole trip, hmmm.  So that was my initial budget… as the CFO in our family, that seemed doable.  After all, I did just sell the boat, but London is one of the most expensive cities in the World and economic times are tough.  Some might question “frivolously” spending money right now instead of stashing it away.  It is something I grappled with also, but in the end, I felt that my daydreaming needed a does of reality…  and I decided it was worth the cost.

It didn’t take me long to get real excited about the Idea.  Now I had to figure out how to “ask” for permission, not that I need permission, but I’m very lucky that the Wife is very understanding and accommodating of my passions.  Maybe she is just ready to get rid of me, but really in the end is was, ME:”hey what do you think of this idea?”  Wife: “Sounds good, Go for it…”

Now back to the Judgment thing, What is a grown family man thinking, taking off for a week to venture around London on my own?  After all, I’ve two children at home to raise!  As I’ve hinted, there are lots of reasons to justify not going, but one main one is the Responsibility of a Parent.  I remember when I was a kid, my dad went to some conference in London, and I remember pouring over a city map laid out on the living room floor.   I had no idea the passion I would one day have, but I recalled how fascinated I was with that idea of my dad going to London.  I hope to inspire my children in the same way.

More on the Trip coming up.

Trying to figure out this whole feedburner thing… The widget seems to come and go… I’m not sure why.

More post coming regarding my upcoming London Trip.