Sooooooooooo.....
Last Thursday I travelled from Budapest to Vienna on my Moto Guzzi Breva 1100. A party was had and much beer was consumed at Charlie P's. Saturday my woman and I drove to Leuven and then on to Brighton for a night of Comedy on the Sunday. Monday rolled around and 3 boxes of "stuff" was dropped off at the boat. Another drive back to Vienna and a train and I'm back in Budapest.
Alas for my bike though - being of limited budget I've decided to sell it so it's currently with the dealer and I'm hoping they're going to offer me a fair price.
Anyhoo, got myself a few more toys today, a Navtex so I can receive weather forecasts in English and a SPOT GPS tracker so my friends and family can have a rough idea where the Catweasel is. It should be noted that SPOT isn't 100% accurate and that it can turn off from time to time so if the signal is lost it's not because I'm at the bottom of the Solant.
Had a bit of a last minute hiccough here. I'd hoped to stash the stuff I'm not taking with friends in BP but sadly they told me a few days ago that it was a no go. Luckily I've found a self storage company in BP that can take my stuff for a year. These last minute expenses are building up. For example I've had to abandon my idea about customised dodgers (spray guards for the cockpit) as they're now cost prohibitive.
Apart from that, things are going fairly smoothly. I'm tracking progress with a google docs "to do" list and meeting more or less daily with my brother using Skype (although now we've moved down to the last few days I'm using my mobile to call him for critical issues). The list currently has 30 items on it ranging from installation of my wind vane to passage planning Portsmouth to Plymouth.
With my flight scheduled for Wednesday, and my woman's name day on Tuesday, I'm, hopefully, travelling to Vienna on Monday. My BP leaving party, where I say goodbye to more friends, is this Friday. So...between now and 6am Monday I have to pack, drink, get a tad maudlin, cheer up, eat, drink some more, panic pack and then drive to Vienna. Easy :).
Someone here (BP) asked me about my emotional state. With luck that'll come over as I write but, just in case....I've moved into my last things stage. Last ride of the bike, last train ride from Vienna to BP, last time seeing certain friends so it's kinda sad. But I'm also moving very close to my first of a kind stage....if that makes sense. First time sailing around the Isle of Wight (RTI), first time living aboard, first time starting a "round the world", first meal, first...etc etc. so it's all sort of balanced right now.
Anyway, back to packing.
