2. The Grand Master Plan..

After several months of planning with our travel adviser Sandra Potter of Frontier Travel (www.frontier-travel.co.uk), here is the plan for the next 10 months:

1. 27th May - last day at work before my sabbatical, followed by a meal and drinks at a local Argentinian steakhouse
2. 29th May - leave for Beijing to see the Great Wall and to visit one of my oldest buddies, Jonathan, currently based in HK
3. 10th/11th June - back to the UK briefly for a Birthday lunch to celebrate my 40th
4. 13th June - fly out to Hamburg for my Birthday treat from Svan
5. 16th June - back to the UK to pack boxes and get the house ready to rent

and then after the "warm up" at the end of May/June, this is the real deal:
1. 1st July - fly out to LA
2. 4th July - San Francisco
3. 8th July - Calgary to arrive for the start of the "Stampede", the World's largest rodeo festival!
4. 11th - 31st July - tour of Waterton Lakes, Banff and Jasper National Parks for mountain biking and hiking, stop offs include: Waterton, Fernie, Kicking Horse, Jasper and Lake Louise
5. 1st August - Whitehorse, Yukon for 3 week canoe safari down the Yukon River
6. 24th August - pick up motorhome to tour the Yukon and British Columbia
7. 12th September - Victoria island - 4 Day Kayak Trip with Orcas
8. 19th September - fly out to Salt Lake City, Utah for tour of Yellowstone Park
9. 26th September - fly to Orlanda for 5 weeks at the Wakeboard Camp, plus some golf and a trip to the Keys
10. 3rd November - fly out Auckland to tour North and South islands
11. 6th December - back to the UK for a week to catch up with friends and family
12. 14th December - fly back to Calgary to spend the season in Fernie snowboarding inc 6 week "all mountain course"
13. Mid March 2012 onwards - no plans yet - watch this space!