The Grand Tour

So tomorrow I'm leaving on my Grand Tour. Like a young 18th-century British aristocrat, I have completed my studies, and now I'm going to further my education by touring distant lands. Unlike a young 18th-century British aristocrat, I'm not going to Europe; I'm just traveling across the country to visit all of my friends. Also, I won't be stealing any art or looking down on foreigners.

Tomorrow I travel all day, and the day after that I arrive in Alaska. My amazing friend Louise is taking part in the longest kayak and canoe race in the world, up the Yukon River, and I will be there to cheer her on (and blog the race). After Alaska, I'll be visiting Seattle, then Colorado, then Indiana. Basically, it's a Grand Tour of all the blogs in my Favorites list.

I read that it gets down to 40 at night in some of the places we're going in Alaska and the Yukon, so I went to Goodwill to look for some extra sweaters and things. Tallahassee in June is a great place to find thrift-shop sweaters! When I took my pile up to the counter, the cashier said, "Where are you going -- Alaska??"

I spent the whole day today running errands like that -- buying sweaters, renting a car to drive to the airport, finding the strongest mosquito repellent available.

This should be an incredible adventure. I'll keep you all posted!

Image sources: 1. Johann Zoffany's The Tribuna of the Uffizi (1772-1777); 2. 1897 lithograph poster from here; 2. Flickr image from this photographer; 3. illustration from W.B. Laughead's Paul Bunyan and His Big Blue Ox; 4. 1905 postcard of Muir Glacier from here