I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane...

...not sure if I'll come back again.

As you read this I will (hopefully) be quite high up in the sky on my way to some fabulous location where its warm and sunny and not raining.

After the monsoons that defined our Great British Summer, the criteria for this year's holiday was: Where is it dry? A desert was the obvious choice, and whilst Hubs quite fancied the idea of doing Lawrence of Arabia on a camel across the Sahara or the Gobi, I preferred some place that wasn't likely to kill us. I wanted more Thelma and Louise than Ice Cold in Alex.

So... Arizona. Las Vegas. Grand Canyon. Monument Valley. The works.

I booked everything online months ago - flights, hotels, car hire. It took a whole day of deep research and frantic surfing as I obsessively hunted down the best bargains. No stone was left unturned in the quest for the Perfect Holiday.

We packed on Sunday for our escape on Monday. Hubs and I can't pack together because we bicker a bit and then a lot, and then strops are thrown, swiftly followed by objects. He likes to gather everything together and pack neatly, I tend to throw stuff in an overarm way from the wardrobe to the suitcase. He likes to think carefully about what he's taking, I just take everything.

He takes one book, I like a choice of at least five. We had to pay for overweight suitcases on our last holiday - when Hubs discovered I'd stashed seven hardbacks he was not best pleased.

"Yer just tekin one this time," he said firmly (because he talks like that, being a Yorkshireman and all).

"Yeah, sure." I said, "No problem." The Complete Works of Jackie Collins comes with wheels and a handle.

Suitcase packed - well not so much packed at held shut with bungee straps - I checked we had all the relevant emails and e-tickets. Flight, car, hotels, travel insurance. Travel insurance?

Pretty sure I'd arranged some, I distinctly remember having a sleepless night about whether or not I should pay extra to have 'Hijack' insurance. I mean, if you're on a plane that's been hijacked, would your first thought be 'Not to worry, we're insured'?

I went through 1,549 emails looking for holiday insurance, to no avail. I'd forgotten to get it.

Bugger.

Haven't booked any hotels for our 10 day road trip either, we're winging it, which is either a brilliant plan or a mistake of epic proportions. I'll let you know next week (they'll have WiFi in Death Valley won't they?)

Brummie Broad: Here every Tuesday
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