"The world is a book, and those who do not travel, read only a page."
- Saint Augustine of Hippo

From today's horoscope:

"There are now five planets in Sagittarius - the sign of philosophers and long distance travellers."

No shit, Sherlock. Scattered around the house you will currently find:

- two plane tickets to the US
- a Lonely Planet guide to Tokyo
- travel insurance policies and itineraries
- Australian toys for my American nephews-in-law
- thermal underwear and other warm things

The mail re-direction is underway and I'm negotiating couch and floor-space in various cities around the US.

Only seven more sleeps and we're off.

For those who are interested in hooking up, here's the itinerary:

2 Dec - Tokyo
3 Dec - Atlanta
9 Dec - Myrtle Beach, SC
19 Dec - LA (Tree only)
21 Dec - Atlanta
23 Dec - Cincinnati
26 Dec - Boston
27 Dec - Groton, CT
28 Dec - New York
2 Jan - Atlanta

We'll be driving between the US cities, except the LA bit which is just me flying over to visit friends while Ghost has a boys weekend with his mates in Atlanta.

If you do want to catch up, no, we cannot 'just drive over to Whateverville'. I don't mean to be rude but we'll be doing a hell of a lot of travelling as it is and we're asking people to find us in the nearest city or meeting us along the way. But if you do want to have a coffee or a beer or whatever, drop me a line, tell me when you can come find us and I'd love to put a face to a name in the comment box.

Otherwise, just some positive thoughts for smooth, hassle-free flying would be appreciated!

Addendum:

Much thanks, love and Tim Tams to the divine Miss Didi for all her help with the brief Tokyo leg of this trip. It's a pity I can't thank her in person, but take it from me, she's a doll!