If you're happy and you know it pack your bag

Goodness, goodness, goodness. So here I am on the eve of the start of the big trip. I have been back in Felixstowe all weekend and there has certainly been no rest for me. Least of all because I have to keep getting up to answer the phone- thank you all so much for calling to wish me good luck! I hope that my adventure is everything that you dream it will be.

We went back to Felixstowe on Saturday in glorious sunshine and the kind of wind that is usually saved until I am in the air. We bought some sandwiches and fought against the elements to eat them sitting on the prom, trying not to get too many handfuls of hair in between actual bites of sandwich.

It really was a beautiful day and it went on forever. It was finally dark at 10pm. And I know that the sun was in full beam at 4.30am the following morning as that is when the cat woke me up. It was still shining when I woke up again later to actually start the day (must have offended the cat in the meantime as there was no sign of him on my bed).

We packed some more stuff and took it to Auntie Doll's to store in her loft. It is getting a bit crowded up there now but I don't own anything else so she is safe from me at least.

Back to the house to meet one of my oldest friends, Linda, and tried to catch up on two years in two hours, minus the bits where I had to stop to take a call from Korea or two.

Sunday night we had roast dinner and cake. Nuff said. Was too busy eating to get a photo of the dinner but here is the cake

And here is the sunset outside Auntie's house.

Then back home to try and pack my own bag.

Which I just couldn't seem to fill. Really. Had to go out the next day to buy more clothes so that I would look like a decent backpacker. My old rucksack was filed with clothes to go up in the loft and it kept giving me the evil eye whenever I passed it. Sorry, old friend, but it is time for you to rest now.

Today it was the last of the stuff going up in the loft, the final backpack pack and back to Purfleet to try and fill my MP3 player thingy.

Now we are here. I am all packed and ready to get on that plane at 12 noon tomorrow and head off into the wide blue yonder.

In case you have forgotten this is the plan:

London dep. 31st May - Singapore dep. 2nd June - Vietnam dep. 17th July - Perth arr. 17th July overland Sydney dep. 21st August - Christchurch arr. 21st August overland to Auckland dep. 14th Sept - Fiji dep. 30th Sept - Cook Islands dep. 5th Oct - Tahiti dep. 7th Oct- Los Angeles arr. 7th Oct overland to New York dep. 1st Nov - London arr. 2nd Nov

I won't say anything else as I really have nothing else left to say. Thanks everyone for the phonecalls and emails of encouragement. And thanks to everyone for reading this for the months building up to the trip, must have felt like I was stringing you along for a while there. I have really enjoyed England and being able to share my photos and experiences here with you all, some of you face to face and others like this. Ireland was just a dream and just what I needed, thanks, guys.

See you in Singapore!!! :)