Terra Incognita

100 Days of Solitude
Or, Journey to the Center of My Soul

About this time next year I will be heading back to London for the third time, but the adventures won't end there. Back in April I gave my two weeks' notice at work...about 14 months early. Probably not the wisest career move, and not one that I'd necessarily recommend, but I don't do well with hiding big secrets. And there's no way I could keep from talking about my plans.

Oooh....my plans. I'm very excited about my plans. Of course they're subject to change based on funds, world events, whims, etc. But here's what we're looking at for now:

July 6-ish: Fly to Jacksonville to visit the inimitable Pat.
July 8-ish: Take an over-night Amtrak train to D.C. with Pat. (The two of us will put on our best Bonny and Clyde impressions without the whole bank-robbing thing. Or maybe we'll take on the roles of Thelma and Louise without the whole driving over a cliff part.)
July 9-ish: Arrive early morning. Hang out with Jason and Kate.
July 11-ish: Non-stop flight to London. My dad's choir arrives the next day for their UK tour. I'll do the groupie thing a bit and the hang out with Megan thing a bit.
July 18-ish: Ally arrives in London-Town and we do the sister thing a bit.
July 20-ish: Ally and I head to Ireland where we'll tour the countryside and eventually meet up with the choir to see them perform in Dublin and Shannon.
July 26-ish: The Brooks Bunch heads to Austria (via Munich?) for a week-ish. Much Sound of Music soundtrack singing will ensue.
Aug. 4-ish: I send the rest of the fam on their merry way back to the States and head out to explore Europe. Destinations have yet to be decided but will definitely include Prague, Berlin, Munich and Brussels. May include Copenhagen, Budapest, somewhere/anywhere in Switzerland, a small French village, Sweeden, Finland and Norway.
Sept. 1-ish: Take an Easy Cruise from Brussels to Amsterdam.
Sept. 5-ish: Fly to Hanoi. Tour through Vietnam and Cambodia.
Sept. 23-ish: Stop in Bangkok for a few days. Take a "beach break" on a nearby island.
Sept. 29-ish: Tour through Thailand and Malaysia.
Oct. 14-ish: End in Singapore.
Oct. 15-ish: Fly to San Fransisco. Check out Mamu and Granddaddy's new digs. Try to recover from jet lag.
Oct. 20-ish: Head home. Continue to recover from jet lag. Maybe start the job hunt. If I feel like it. :)

The bulk of this trip will be solo, but I am taking reservations for travel partners for various legs of the trip. Obviously Pat will help me kick off the adventure (appropriately so), and the family will be along for part of the ride in the UK and Austria. But so far I might get the pleasure of company from Betsy somewhere in Europe, and from Emily somewhere/anywhere that fits with her schedule. Wanna join me?