Sunday, 11th March (Archive)

Was thinking early in the afternoon how several Sundays ago Tim and I were always on the phone discussing flight plans, then a bit before 5 he telephoned out of the blue. Nice, relaxed chat – was wary at first, but enjoyed it when I realised there was nothing negative going down, such as cancelled flights that would need rearranging.

Tim has plotted a line of best fit from east to west coast USA, taking in all the must-see’s and adding plenty of might-see’s. I’d worked out similar routes myself in the past couple of months, but have to admit he’d packed plenty of top towns into his google-maps-project and if we hit them all I’ll be well-chuffed. Only concern is there may be too many, and we might not be able to take anything in for always being on the move. But at least it’s something to print out, put on my wall, and stare admiringly at for the next few months. I’m pleased to say that for everything else we discussed, Tim and I were thinking along the same lines. This is good. Really good.

Unfortunately my car started making abominable gurgling sounds when I applied the brakes. Either the pads have worn out or there’s some kind of fluid blockage – probably from all those damn pine needles that fall from the tree in the front garden. It means I bring my MOT and service forward a week, but it may also mean a bigger bill. I don’t want to be counting every single penny over the next few months, but it’s hard to stop thinking that the X number of pounds I’ll be putting in the mechanic’s pockets could have got me X number of gold ingots in India. Or maybe just a few more nights in a two star hotel, but either way it’s open-wallet surgery.