I'm sitting round my mum's place waiting to catch the tube at 5:30 towards Heathrow. Once more my stomach is in knots because (a) I'm leaving my 'comfort zone' and (b) because I have the unreasonable fear that flight UA935 will plummet into the sea.

As long as I don't die in a flaming ball of twisted metal I should be touching down in Los Angeles at 13:51 where we spend the night.

Then I spend the next fortnight sitting in a coach being driven around the South West of America.

On Friday I spend the night in San Diego.

Saturday and Sunday I spend the time in Tucson.

On Monday, the Grand Canyon, Tuesday Lake Powell and Wednesday Bryce Canyon.

Thursday and Friday are spent in Las Vegas (which is the bit I'm second most looking forward to.

Saturday we go to Mommoth Lakes, Sunday is Yosemite.

Monday and Tuesday we stay in San Francisco, then a night in Pismo beach before finishing the mainland bit with a night in Los Angeles.

Then on Friday the bit I'm most looking forward to, five nights in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Finally on Wednesday it's flight UA934 all the way back to Heathrow and normality landing 12:15 on Thursday.

This is of course in the hopes that everything goes to plan...

If you are wondering how I have so much annual leave and the money for this holiday. It coincides with a lot of rostered days off from work and it's costing me about a third of the money I got from sales of my book. So if you bought a copy, thanks very much, because of you folks I get a holiday this year.

There may be blogging, there may not. It depends how tired I get from sitting in a coach doing nothing all day and on the availability of internet services. And the weather. And my laptop not crapping out. And my motivation.