Happy Christmas one and all, and Greetings from North Miami. I hope you are having a great day.

It's cloudy and windy here in Miami but I'm outside taking advantage of actually being able to sit out, although it's cardigan weather. I had breakfast in the club lounge - cranberry juice, bagel and cream cheese, melon and a cup of coffee.

I'm all packed up. I came with a carry-on size wheelie ruck sack and two pieces of hand-luggage, plus my warm layers (of jacket, coat, long cardi and boots). By the skin of my teeth that's what I'm taking home (see Flickr http://goo.gl/yzDdOz), although things are crammed in tight! A couple of gifts and my souvenirs. In Asheville I bought a pair of socks (as I'd only packed one pair and decided that wasn't enough). In Hamilton Canada I bought boots (to replace my broken pair), a long sleeve top and earrings in Chicago, a bracelet in Portland Oregon, two tiny blue Japanese bowls and leggings in San Francisco, a necklace in Plano Texas, a small wooden memento and Sticky Barbecue Sauce in Charleston, two pictures and Aim toothpaste in Miami. All small items apart from the sauce and pictures. The challenge has been squeezing the pictures into my luggage but I've managed. Having to carry everything you own for two months is a good deterrent for buying items.

I've had a blast. I've loved everywhere I've visited, met some fabulous people, stayed with great friends and family and seen spectacular countryside. You get a different perspective from the tracks. You see the good, the bad, the ugly. I've enjoyed the journey, travelling through twenty six states (twenty five US and one Canadian).

I'm hoping the sun breaks through later. Rudie's looking forward to a glass of sparkly in the sunshine at lunch time. Merry Christmas.