Packing Everything and Nearly Going

This year is THE year.

I'm taking my first transcontinental flight.
I'm couchsurfing for the first time after having a profile for a couple of years.
I'm backpacking properly.
Camping for the second time ever.

And I just can't wait anymore!

I booked my tickets nearly 6 months ago and the plan has come to take shape for the last couple of months.
This is my first big summer abroad and I'm doing it with my ex-boyfriend, from whom I broke up a couple of months ago.

This is going to be interesting. To say the least.

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I finally packed up all my belongings into my smallish suitcase. Filled two canvas bags with any leftovers and I'm leaving quite a few books and my little bin behind, because I can't take everything with me. Everything is tucked away in a friend's basement for the next couple of months.
I cleaned everything, washed everything and probably will do it all again tomorrow, because I booked my flight for the evening, but it'll be really good to try and get a much earlier flight, because I still have a lot of things to deal with before leaving for the US.

Chicago - The Windy City

Still need to find a host in Chicago, our first stop, and it's proving to be quite tricky. Either people are declining or just plain ignoring me. However, I do have a "maybe". I just don't want to bother the guy, because he's clearly quite busy. The search continues...

Beautiful St. Louis

Memphis!

That said; we pretty much have hosts for the 2 cities after Chicago - St. Louis, MO and Memphis, TN. Which is great!

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A few things to share:

Totally want this done on my thumb nails.

one of these tents would be great!

I need a floppy sun hat. And some sunglasses too.

And this is great advice!