The Trip Begins!

So I'm a day into my trip and, so far, no major disasters.  I did run into one minor hiccup yesterday though - my cell phone decided to kick the bucket.  If you've tried calling or texting me in the past 28ish hours, I didn't (and never will) get it.

Other than that, things have been great so far.  The bus ride down to Seattle was uneventful and despite the lack of phone I managed to track down Brianne and company for lunch in the afternoon, and Terrah and Kevin for room and board later on.  (Thanks so much everyone for taking care of me during my visit!  It was fantastic to see you all!)

Things to come...over 40 degree (Celcius) weather in Phoenix and potential lows of 3 degrees in Melbourne.  I imagine I'll be wearing both my sweater and sweatshirt together at times - not exactly the ensemble I envisioned for Australia, but I should only have to endure that for a week or so.  Or prepare myself to do a little disposable shopping.

And just to add a little colour, a couple of photos from my trip preperation:

My wardrobe

A more seasoned traveler would probably say I overpacked, but this is already the edited version and look where it left me: with only one pair of very thin pants for 3 degree weather.  Let the adventure begin!

Little Jerry all tucked away to hibernate for a few months (Don't be scared buddy!)

And remember folks, the lesson learned from this post today is that I HAVE NO CELL PHONE!  So please don't try to call me. :)  Ciao!