Nothing But Net
I woke up this morning and looked at the print on my wall: The Great Leap of Faith. I took a long hard look at it  and the image of the woman leaping across the abyss with grace and joy has stayed with me all day as I prepare for my solo adventure down under. She's going to be my inspiration on my journey. 

There's that other expression, "leap and the net will appear." I'm counting on that one. I may be traveling solo but the best thing is knowing that I'm not alone. If you are reading this, you are my net.

Bon voyage

With all the hubbub of planning my itinerary and ordering Australian dollars and finding money belts and electric converters to take along with me, Friday night it was finally time to relax with good friends and soak up good vibes for the trip.

Steph and Carolyn coordinated the gathering at Steph's and we all shared some good laughs together.  I gave a short rundown of my possible path across Australia and New Zealand, and I tried to answer the myriad questions that arose. Though having done a lot of reading over the last few months, I still feel there are many details that will just fall into place along the way.

Then the beautiful cake with the Australian flag on it was brought out and we ate up as much as we could. It felt good to be surrounded by friends and know that as my journey unfolds I've got great people to come home to in the end.

Thanks to Daddyo

I'm not much for fantasy. Or at least I don't dwell on fantasy. If I start fantasizing about something then I want to make it happen. So even though I've wanted to travel to Australia and New Zealand for a long time I didn't really take much time dreaming about it, imagining it. I just didn't think it was going to happen.

But now, because of the love of my father for his three kids, and because of the inheritance that he left us, I am finally able to take the trip I've always wanted to take. And now that it's going to be a reality I've allowed myself to fantasize about it. And that is quite wonderful.

One of the main reasons I chose to go in Feb/March is to be at Sydney Pride, known there as Mardi Gras. It's the biggest LGBT pride celebration in the world, so they say. Get a taste of it here.