And I'm Off

Travel opens your mind while it is spreading your wings

Today I begin another adventure in this my very own Gap Year!

Who knows what is ahead and so it really does pay to grab the opportunites while they are still within grasping distance.  Chris' favourite saying, well one of many really, was "Just Do it" and I think he coined that before so Nike so no royalities grab please.

Just make the booking, just help them out, Lets just go!  So go I will.  

I am doing something that I have not done before - going on the Bass Strait ferry by myself and taking my car.  The freedom of having my trusty, red car will be fabulous.  Want to stop and take a photo of that tree...dont mind if I do! Want to pull over and change the CD, good idea :) Want to leave at the crack of dawn and beat the rush, fantastic.  Not waiting around for another 34 people to get their shit together, just me and myself. 

Minus the Snow...well maybe not in the high country

The main reason for going is to celebrate my beautiful friend Kerry's birthday and to do that we are hiring a houseboat and traversing up the Murray River.  I dont think Kerry knew but this was on Chris' Bucket List so how very fitting.  Chris will be with us in spirit, I know. 

So that's an exciting way to say "Hello 50, here I am." 

After the Murray River houseboat, I am leaving the rest of the party and heading off on my own.

This has been something that I have been wanting to do for about three years ~ Flex my Independence Muscle and have a Road Trip on my own.  I think it will give me back some of the confidence I lost four and a half years ago plus I am feeling stronger and more capable, so now is the prefect time to go. 

My first journey will be travelling west to check out the painted Silos of the Grampian region.  I have a list; I have mapped out my route and I have sought accommodation that will put me right in the heart of the attractions I am visiting.

I am a planner, a lover of lists, a reseracher. Part of the enjoyment for me is the planning and list making.  I like to have paper copies of things; I am not solely reliant on technology to get me there in a timely, tidy manner.  I have a map, a copy of my Air BnB bookings and a diary with places that I want to see.

I know it might seem to you to be a bit anal but this is where Julia Roberts and I  part ways at the fork in the road.  I am not a "Fly By the Seat of My Pants" type gal - well not when it comes to travel anyway.

 

I do love being an organised person.  It gives me comfort and if by chance something goes awry...and it will...then I can handle that too. 

A little sojourn in the Daylesford/Hepburn Springs neck of the woods follows and then down to Teesdale to see my lovely friend from my school days in Wynyard. 

After some rest and recuperation at Chateau Hatcher, I am heading north to Canberra to indulge in my favourite joint apppointment - Mum and Momo.  So I am going to cover some miles and see some sights; meet some new folk and embrace some loved ones that I have not seen for a while.  It should be great fun.

In the words of Vicki the Fabulous  ~ ROCK ON!!

Betty had to stand in for Vick