With that, the seeds of our plan had been planted and fertilized. We spent more time planning the journey, how we would do it, what we would need, the route we would take and everything else we could think of. I printed off detailed directions, using Google Earth, with markers for the best places to camp, places to get food and the gas stations we would be using along our intended route. It was a brilliant plan and we were both sure it would work.

As I was struggling to get my left shoe on, my grandfather opened the door to my room. Grandfather was dressed as I had never seen him dressed before. He was wearing a black and white tracksuit and white track shoes. He looked like an anorexic panda.