3 months to go

So this is getting near the home stretch. May 1 — and tentatively anyway, we're expecting to chuck me onto a plane come August 1. Which means that if that holds, then as of today I have exactly 3 months before my trip begins.

Granted that's still a good amount of time. We've accomplished a lot, but there’s still stuff to do.
Why do so much in advance, anyway? Part of that is the nature of my trip. Since this isn’t just me heading out for a few months, but a trip where I’ll be writing and working for BootsnAll, there are some other things that I have to tend to. Some of these things are for the blog (like making templates), some are contacts for people over in Europe that maybe I’ll hang out with, some are just business-type matters that Sean and I have to tend to.
What are some other things the lads and I still need to sort out?

Make a packing list

Sort out a digital camera

Check airfares to get me from Portland to London (might start checking fares for London back to Portland as well, just to get an idea; I’m not sure when we’ll actually get my return ticket though. Maybe we’ll just do 2 one-ways?

Email friends and family, tell them more about my trip, give them the link to Eurail Blog and tell them that’s how they’ll best be able to see what I’m doing and keep in touch with me.

Inventory the stuff I have, clothes and gear wise. What else might I need? We’re trying to keep this pretty light, so probably not much. Still, I haven’t had a nice shopping trip at REI in a while.

More destination research. Get better ideas on things I’ll do in and around each city. Guess it’s time to tuck in to all the BootsnAll articles I haven’t read yet!
Not too bad, really. And I’ve got 3 months to go. There’ll be some knuckle-down time, and there’ll be last-minute rushes I’m sure; that’s just how these things tend to go. But for the most part, the lads and I have taken care of a lot of details and big-picture type stuff for the trip so far.
But the reality of what I’m doing still won’t fully hit me until the night before I leave. Three months or three years out, I can tell you that — and I can tell you that no matter how much or how little we’ve prepared now, I’ll be so excited the night before I leave, that I still won’t sleep a wink my last night in the U.S.