Making some progress

After a couple months of occasional searching for cheap airfare, I finally found a flight to Edinburgh. Not exactly cheap -- $350 for a one-way ticket -- but it could be worse. I found it on airfare.com, through sidestep.com, both of which I would recommend. I was a little uneasy about booking the ticket since it wouldn't tell me ahead of time what airline it was through. It just said "Major Carrier". Well, that's not that specific, and I didn't want to end up flying Bootleg Airlines International or something. So after a little Google-sleuthing, I figured out that it was through Continental. Reassured, I booked the ticket. (The exact same flight on Continental's website was listed as $950, and it had a "low fare guaranteed" icon next to it. Such lies!)

I've started the whole visa process, and that is going well so far. I renewed my driver's license (something I've been avoiding for years now. How can they get away with charging $90 for an out-of-state license conversion??). I visited the doctor, eye doctor, and dentist, before my insurance runs out. I got a clean bill of health on all accounts, and stocked up on contact lenses and prescriptions.

I also stocked up on passport photos. I read somewhere (I can't remember where) that you should get a whole bunch -- more than you would think -- before you leave. So I got, uh, 20. It took forever for them all to print out, and the Kinkos employee who was printing them kept looking at me like I was crazy. In hindsight, I may have gone a little overboard. In my defense though, I already know that I need 2 for the visa, 2 for police registration, and at least one for a student ID. There will probably be more...though perhaps not 15 more. Ah well...I can hand them out to my new friends to remember me by...or something...

And I revised my hiking adventure plans for the summer. I decided I needed something a little more flab-friendly...no steep grades or huge mountains...no ridiculous daily mileage. I still wanted something that would be in the middle of nowhere (as I have this overwhelming desire to escape from civilization temporarily), and that would be beautiful. I think I've found it: The Northville-Placid Trail in the Adirondacks. It should take about 15 days to complete (its about 120 miles from end to end). Hurray!

2 weeks until I quit my job. I'm getting nervous...