Broken Arrow Woman Takes Off On Trip Around The World

By Rick Wells, The News On 6

BROKEN ARROW, OK -- A Broken Arrow woman is ready for a round-the-world adventure. She's planned and saved for a couple of years, and will leave next week for the trip of a lifetime.

Highlights include Sydney, Australia for New Year's Eve, the World Cup in South Africa next summer and lots of places in between.

Lea Kernan is taking a 10-month trip around the world. She is packing light and staying in youth hostels.

"You're washing it as you go; you're wearing the same three outfits over and over," said Lea Kernan who is taking a 10-month trip around the world.

She says the inexpensive hotels designed for young travelers are in every major city. .A European backpack trip like this a few years ago gave her the idea she could pull this off.

"That's my shot record," she said. "I had to get yellow fever and all kinds of stuff."

She's got a video camera and her laptop too; she plans to blog and check in occasionally.

"This is my ticket out," she said, "both of them actually. It shows Honolulu and Tokyo."

Those two tickets are all she's purchased so far.  She wants to have flexibility.

"I just wanted the trip to be open - spontaneously stay a few days longer. That's why I'm doing one way tickets," world traveler Lea Kernan said.

"This is something she's always wanted to do," said father Pat Kernan. "We've got some concerns, but we're excited for her."

Her route will take her through Asia, Australia, India, Russia, South Africa, Europe and Scandinavia.

"Iceland would be the end if I have a dollar left in my pocket," said Lea.

She's leaving Monday, and should be home by September, 2010. She's established a web site for her trip and plans to blog as she goes at leasoutthere.com.