Having finished working in Qatar in August and hopping a few countries on my way back to the UK, I finally landed in October, ready to execute my detailed America plan - and I am now on a plane… to Beirut. OK, let’s back up a few weeks.
Tuesday 9th October, prepped to the eyes with reasons why I wanted to go to America and why I wasn’t an immigration risk, despite being homeless, jobless, and husbandless, I set off to London to my US visa interview. On the embassy website, it very clearly stated that I could not take a laptop into the embassy building, but I was allowed my smartphone. So, being the resourceful person that I am, I planned to show them my detailed trip itinerary on my phone, instead of printing out the now rather large 29 column by 199 row spreadsheet of my trip. I was slightly crest-fallen, however, to get to the interview and find out that I couldn’t have my phone out during, and that the only two things that the officer wanted to see were my trip itinerary and my bank statements. Both of which I had ample evidence of, but only electronically. Luckily, I had a second chance and couriered the relevant documents over the next day. This method, though, instead of being the immediate stamp of approval from the embassy, would take a further ten days to process, if approved at all. Here began the waiting.
With my new-found temporal freedom and the removal of any immediacy, I set about all the personal maintenance that builds up over time – doctor, dentist, haircut, insurance renewals, car services etc. Ticking off the jobs and feeling very self-satisfied at my adulting ability, my confidence took a hit at my personal MOT at the GP surgery. Discovering a potential problem, samples taken and packaged off to the lab, the doctor checked my address, to which I had to explain my ‘homeless’ situation and that I was staying temporarily with friends until my big trip started. The doctor gave me a concerned look when I mentioned that I would be leaving in November, as the results would take a few weeks to come through and if I needed any further intervention, it most definitely wouldn’t be able to happen within a few weeks. Reassuring the doctor that the trip was fully within my control and I could delay if necessary, she seemed satisfied enough and sent me on my way. Sitting in my car in the car park, I began to think about what I had just said. The trip was completely within my control and I could delay if needed, but what would that mean then? What would I do in the meantime? Would I get a job and get sucked back into the business-as-usual of work and all the wonderful trappings of life in Bristol? I was very tempted to just start booking things up and take the risk, but the thought of being in the States with even a minor medical condition was not something I wanted to entertain. Realising that I couldn’t really plan anything until the results came through, I sat about waiting some more.
I had a fantastic 35th birthday with friends and family that I hadn’t seen in months or years. All of them asking ‘When are you leaving?’, ‘Where is your starting point?’, to which I could only answer ‘I don’t know yet!’. This was extremely frustrating, given the detailed planning I had done. Name a month, and I could tell you where I would be. The only thing I didn’t know was which month I would begin. After spending some quality time with family and friends, I finally got an email stating that my visa documents had been returned and were ready to pick up from the courier. In the courier envelope were all the documents that I had sent off originally – the detailed itinerary, bank statements and my passport. No letter, no comments, nothing. Eagerly flipping through the passport pages, looking for a clue, I finally came across the visa sticker; expiration date 11th October 2028. Phew! One hurdle overcome.
I was, however, still waiting for my test results to come through, which I had conservatively estimated would be first week in November, so decided I needed something else to occupy my time. A friend from Qatar was doing a home visit to Lebanon at the end of October and joked about me coming for a visit. Having never been to Lebanon and keen to meet up with my friend, I jumped on the ‘invitation’ and promptly booked a flight to Beirut.
The day before my Beirut flight, I returned to Bristol from a visit to the family Taylorgullichalliwilkins and found a letter waiting for me. The all-clear from the hospital. Relief flooding over me and the dawning realisation that there was nothing else to wait for, relief quickly turned to excitement – I could finally begin to book things and make my plan happen! And then fear – oh my god, I was actually doing this thing!
So, after nine months of careful and detailed planning, I can now officially state that I will be starting my trip in Hawaii on Tuesday 27th November 2018. I have planned which states to visit, in which order, to make the most of the seasons and the most economical route from point to point. The plan is flexible if I want to stay longer in some places or less time in others, but, month-to-month, I know roughly where I need to be in order to complete all 50 states in 52 weeks.
I have been very strict with myself as to what to see and do in each state. As much as possible, I want to visit only unique or special places in each state, otherwise, I will be overwhelmed with things to see and do. America is so huge, I know I cannot visit it all and am definitely not planning on going everywhere. As a general rule, I have excluded museums, art galleries, theme parks, and other ‘generic’ points of interest. Anyone that lives in or has travelled to America will no doubt be crying ‘But you can’t possibly go to X without visiting Y!’ and I agree that I am probably missing quite a few essential destinations. However, I can’t go everywhere, and some places will need to lose out to others. That being said; I am very open to recommendations of places to visit and if it is possible to detour, or better; if they are already along the route, all suggestions will be gratefully received.
Friends and family have already expressed interest in some of the locations – Paul wants to come to Louisiana, Pete to Chicago (for a Cubs game of course), Eley to New England, and I’m still trying to convince Dany to come over and drive me up Route 66 on a Harley! My loose itinerary is here if anyone wants to come out for a visit at any time – it would be great to see a friendly face amid my solo travels.
So now booked, planned and raring to go, I have just enough time to tie up some loose ends and re-pack my backpack for the next adventure. Next stop: Hawaii.