When not writing postcards, or writing about writing postcards, or writing the wittery bits to go between the postcards, I have been concerning myself with Things To Do.

Seeing as we’ll need to preserve phone batteries for important matters like phoning accommodation between the trains and letting them know by just how many HOURS we’ll be delayed in arrival that particular day, we can’t rely on the games on phones.  

Seeing as we’ll need to preserve laptop batteries for all those writing things, mentioned above, and will (hopefully) have little or no internet between cities we’re stopping in, the usual laptop-based games and distractions are also out.

I may have mentioned the fact that My Partner in Train has bought a kindle for the occasion - he’s doing research for a book himself, which needs a lot of reading of books that would otherwise be a pain to carry, so will mainly be using that, but I’ve got a few books on there for when he’s not using it. Mainly, yes, travelogues and writings from people who wrote long, involved letter-based travel books while exploring on the early American railroads of the west. Which is useful. I’ve also got some books of comic essays. 

Also going into the mix: a bunch of crosswords, printed out from the enormous (free) back catalogue at the Guardian  - a resource I’ve always known about but which I used to have to proof and put online every day. The several years distance from that means I can go back without shivering about how easy it used to be to get things wrong.

I’ve found a printable small version of the <a href=”http://www.daysofwonder.com/tickettoride/en/”>Ticket To Ride</a> board game, which is good, because I wouldn’t go without it as it was the part-cause of this whole adventure in the first place, and otherwise I was going to insist on packing the full sized game, box and all. We’ve also got a pack of cards, <A href=”http://www.amazon.com/Bananagrams-BAN001/dp/1932188126”>Bananagrams</a>, and a travel chess set.

Add to that two digital cameras, three non digital cameras, a flip, and an awful lot of maps, and we are not - mark you, NOT, going to get bored.

Or at least not for the first two days.