Hard to believe that it's less than a month before we leave for our first stop. Most days our to-do list just keeps getting longer--no matter how many things we check off, there is something new to add.
We have another round of immunizations (2nd Hep B, and maybe meningitis) scheduled for next week, but with only 2 shots, this one should be a piece of cake in comparison to the last time.
We have most of the equipment we'll be taking--a good camera, netbook (so we can keep up with the blog ;-) ), and we pulled out backpacks and have started testing our packing skills. We are planning on taking one backpack each, and have been narrowing down clothing based on that. Yesterday Tom suggested throwing caution to the wind and taking a 3rd bag--felt like the floodgates opened! But then we checked and the weight limit for the domestic flights in Kenya is 15 kg, so maybe not. Ahh, for a moment there I thought I could manage another pair of shoes!
The idea of packing for 2 months is still a challenge. I'm lucky in that my clothes and shoes are half the size of anything Tom has, so I c
an fit in twice as much. I keep trying to narrow it down, but can't quite get behind that rule of three (wear one, wash one, have one back up). Even so, I think this isn't too bad for the variety of climates and circumstances we will be in. Throw in my hiking boots and a pair flats and I'm good to go. With the vacuum travel bags, I'll still have plenty of room in my pack.
We've spent the better part of the last year studying travel guides and need to start bookmarking sites on the netbook so we aren't lugging around the massive books. My favorite sites so far are Lonely Planet and TripAdvisor. Love to hear any other suggestions.
Since languages are not our strong point in any case, and with the variety will be facing, we decided it would be a good idea to get a couple of picture books (thanks for the idea, Sus
an). Hopefully we won't really need them, but it's nice to know that we can figure out a way to communicate "hospital" if we need to!
Speaking of hospitals, we completed our CPR and First Aid certification last weekend. Glad we took the CPR, but the first aid may not help us too much. Every section started with "call 911." Hmmm, what is the 911 equivalent in Xian or Dubrovnik?
We have another round of immunizations (2nd Hep B, and maybe meningitis) scheduled for next week, but with only 2 shots, this one should be a piece of cake in comparison to the last time.
We have most of the equipment we'll be taking--a good camera, netbook (so we can keep up with the blog ;-) ), and we pulled out backpacks and have started testing our packing skills. We are planning on taking one backpack each, and have been narrowing down clothing based on that. Yesterday Tom suggested throwing caution to the wind and taking a 3rd bag--felt like the floodgates opened! But then we checked and the weight limit for the domestic flights in Kenya is 15 kg, so maybe not. Ahh, for a moment there I thought I could manage another pair of shoes!
The idea of packing for 2 months is still a challenge. I'm lucky in that my clothes and shoes are half the size of anything Tom has, so I c
an fit in twice as much. I keep trying to narrow it down, but can't quite get behind that rule of three (wear one, wash one, have one back up). Even so, I think this isn't too bad for the variety of climates and circumstances we will be in. Throw in my hiking boots and a pair flats and I'm good to go. With the vacuum travel bags, I'll still have plenty of room in my pack.We've spent the better part of the last year studying travel guides and need to start bookmarking sites on the netbook so we aren't lugging around the massive books. My favorite sites so far are Lonely Planet and TripAdvisor. Love to hear any other suggestions.
Since languages are not our strong point in any case, and with the variety will be facing, we decided it would be a good idea to get a couple of picture books (thanks for the idea, Sus
an). Hopefully we won't really need them, but it's nice to know that we can figure out a way to communicate "hospital" if we need to!Speaking of hospitals, we completed our CPR and First Aid certification last weekend. Glad we took the CPR, but the first aid may not help us too much. Every section started with "call 911." Hmmm, what is the 911 equivalent in Xian or Dubrovnik?
this is so exciting!!!!
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