♫♫♫ The Last Post ♫♫♫

29 January 2012 - Well here it is.......queue solitary bugle -  ♫  The Last Post  ♫..... closing a most exciting period of my life.  I want to thank everyone who has shown interest and followed my blog.....nearly 6000 hits......wonderful. I am still not well but 90% better than I was. The pleurisy seems to be gone but I am just very tired....a mixture of recuperation and jet lag and just plain doing too much for too long without  getting proper nutrition and exercise and being old...all of which I am working on rectifying...slowly :)

Below I have listed the highlights (and lowlights) of my trip and some random stats in no particular order.

Thank you Lee so much for being an integral part of my journey....I love you xx

To stay with the musical theme that pops up continuously throughout this blog I have to say

♫♫♫....I Had The Time Of My Life.......♫♫♫♫

• Prettiest City  - Aspen Colorado
• Prettiest state - Oregon and Colorado - toss up
• Number of VW Beetles sighted in USA - 1487
• Coldest day -10 C in New York - windchill -16 C
• Weirdest place - Heidelberg St Detroit
• Scariest place - Detroit
• Ugliest place - Detroit
• Best People we met - in order of meeting them - Larry Depee (Califonian Policeman and his wife Angie). Kyle our youngest and best mechanic,  Terry Fice (Ontario) xx, Lejla Sarcevic (Toronto) xx, Karen and Robby Rabuck (Omaha) love you guys, Lt Jeffrey Dino (Policeman), Nicola Slater (South Carolina),  Kae and Ang and Angie (Arkansas) love you guys too.  These people are too good to be friends...they are all family now.
• Miles driven - slightly under 25,000 miles (40,233 kms)
• Scariest day - when the wheel fell off our first van
• Countries visited - America, Canada, Iceland and England
• States in America visited - all 48 mainland states
• Canada - 4 Provinces
• Best City - London England
• Biggest leap of faith - Skydiving in Las Vegas
• Scariest driving - through the Sierra Nevadas USA
• Famous people sighted - Sophie Monk, Dermot Mulroney, Alan Tudyk,  Dr Phil (went to taping of his show)
• Broadway shows seen -  "How to Succeed in Business" - Daniel Radcliffe & John Larroquette  - "Chicago" - "Billy Elliot" - "Mama Mia"
• Place I could live - Monterey California
• Weirdest thing I ate - Cheese in a spray can
• Best food - Robby Rabuck's ribs
• Weight put on - 7 kgs (15.6 lbs)
• Animals sighted - bears, elk, wolf, alligators, deer, 
• Beware Crossing signs - panthers, deer, elk, tanks, alligators, moose
• Most embarrassing blunder - mistaking a cow for a bear
• Best vehicle - the VW bug hired in Oregon - so fun
• Best haircut - Brooking Oregon
• Best petrol station service - Oregon - no self serve petrol
• Cheapest State - Oregon - no GST
• Most expensive meal (declined) - Chicago - 3 lamb chops - $41.95
• Weirdest hotel room - Milwaukee Wisconsin - spa IN room next to bed
• 
• Most fun - shooting guns with Larry in Crescent City
• Most spectacular sight - Niagara Falls
• Amazing countryside - Utah and Wyoming
• Biggest surprise city - Wheeling West Virginia - a mix of everything good
• Best art - Meadville Pennsylvania - road sign sculptures
• Exciting drive - car chase in Galesburg  Illinois
• Most moving - Ground Zero New York
• Most eerie - Oklahoma City bomb site...so quiet.....
• Most impressive small City Wichita Kansas
• Furthest South travelled - Key Largo Florida
• Best National Park - Shenendoah Skyline Drive - autumn leaves to die for
• Biggest personal disaster - stolen purse in NY - UK and Australian Passports - $750 - drivers licence - credit cards. My lowest point.
• Biggest Sight - Grand Canyon - bloody big
• Weirdest sign

• Strangest experience - McDonald's in town called Truth or Consequence New Mexico (next town is Elephant's Butte) - served by Jesus whilst other staff members shouted at each other
• Fanciest Lodgings- The Bellagio Las Vegas
• Un fanciest lodgings - Walmart carpark
• Most amazing New Year's Eve - Times Square New York - Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber and Pitbull
• Longest Train Trip - 55 hours San Diego to Little Rock Arkansas
• Worst Pun - change planes in Seoul - "Korea Change"
• Prettiest town I visited in UK - Bath
• Most unusual place - Reykjavic Iceland. Amazing place - would like to see more

• Best place on earth  - AUSTRALIA !!!!!!!

Making a Korea change (sorry..it was just hanging there waiting to be said)

23 January 2012 - they tell me it's the 23rd and its 5 pm. I just had breakfast on the plane so I'm not convinced.  I'm in the terminal in Seoul South Korea waiting for the connecting flight to Brisbane. DID YOU HEAR THAT....AUSTRALIA YAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!! Anyway (she says composing herself) I had 7 hours of travelling yesterday to get from Torquay to Heathrow with 5 changes of trains and 1 bus. Seriously realised I should have travelled to London the day before because any glitch could have resulted in me missing my plane but with much stress and much she-handling of heavy bags up and down stairs and a few close shaves and a lot of obscenties everything went smoothly (laughing hysterically). Once I got to Heathrow there was 3 hours before the plane went so I was pretty shattered even before I got on.

Korean Air is wonderful and I recommend them to anyone...lovely staff...good food.  I got very little sleep though...planes are a bit like hospitals that way....there is so much going on that you really can't settle into a goood solid zzzzzzzz fest. Once I get on this connecting flight I will eat whatever meal they serve up.....cant be breakfast again can it?..no must be dinner....then I will pop a pill and hopefully sleep till Brisbane. I get in at 6 am ish so I should then be able to stay awake for most of the day anyway. I did request Lee sing me Soft Kitty and make me real cocoa with marshmallows  (fellow Big Bang Theory fans will understand) but I don't see it happening.  I have also requested lamb chops....missed them soooo much.

Yesterday I got up in a bit of a rush ....look at the photo below and try and decide what should have gone on my toothbrush and what actually did. At least it clears your sinuses...brutally.