Packmania!

Did another test pack... I know. I'm a freak.

But I refuse to carry a bunch of crap (or anything else, for that matter) that ends up never being used. Backpacking 1,000 miles through Appalachia taught me that. Muscling my very petite friend's two (TWO!!) gigantic suitcases that she couldn't even lift by herself -- like, at ALL -- onto train after train in France also taught me that. In spades.

So this is what I'm taking:



(I did not unpack and arrange my bras and underwear. You're welcome.)

Actually, I'm taking slightly less than that, because as I was repacking, I decided the tan skirt was too heavy and would be too hot and that I didn't need two purple shirts. Packed up into the exceedingly awesome (and probably bomb-proof) Red Oxx Sky Train or the untheftable (I hope) PacSafe purse, it all looks like this:



The Sky Train legally measures as a carry-on (45" L/W/H). And I really, really, REALLY hope it IS a carry-on when I get to the airport.... because I'm not enthused at all about checking my stuff. If I have to, I'm prepared to pull my laptop out, lock the Sky Train up and wish it luck, but it would sure be nice to not have to do that. Here's hoping.

Testing Multiple Photo Posting

Just wondering how they're going to look, if we post more than one photo at a time. And in what order they'll show up....

The first photo is of me walking down a road near Marpha, Nepal with a little Nepali girl. They would run after us and try to hold our hands. I'm sure this was mostly designed to extract treats, money, or other "prizes" from the obviously very wealthy Western tourists. I guess the fact that in reality I was a starving college student at the time (i.e., not wealthy) and was actually on a research expedition (i.e., not exactly a tourist), was all sort of relative...

The second picture that I posted is the view of Dhaulagiri (the mountain on the right) from my tent door every morning at Base Camp in Hidden Valley, which is the valley that wasn't supposed to be there and came as an unwelcome surprise to one of the original expeditions to climb Dhaulagiri.

Now.... where are my happy little captions going to show up relative to the photos, I wonder??

Heidi's pre-trip panic

Not to be outdone by big-sis, here is my first trip update. Unlike the uber-organized first born, I am leaving the city (as in NYC) in just days...and not only am I not packed, I don't even know where my pack is! I keep thinking of things I'll need that are utterly lost in storage somewhere. The possibility exists that big-sis will be lending me socks, her watch, her backpack.....undies? :) OK, lest she panic and cancel this whole deal --- KIDDING! No, I am not packed... YES, I will manage to pull it all off. A big thanks to b for being our trip travel agent so far -- you rock! Ok, did I mention I'm procrastinating again? Let the packing begin!

Photos Anyone?

Just another boring test post... but this time WITH PHOTOS!!!!!!!!

Here is (I hope...) one of my favorite photos from my trip to Nepal in 1994.

-b

First Post -- Pre-China 2010

I leave in 4 days. To say this is freaking me the flippity-flip out would be a massive understatement. I am probably so over-prepared as to be comical. No, really:  I've been mostly packed for 3 weeks.

Partly, this is because I haven't really traveled in so long. This left me feeling that I had to completely re-learn how to do it, so I started early. :D I found onebag.com almost immediately and reaquainted myself with the intricacies of travelling light, then bought myself an awesome, hidden-backpack-strap carry-on from Red Oxx (it's both bullet- and bomb-proof, I swear).

Last night, I did an almost-totally-everything test pack, and my bag feels GREAT!  Well, without the blasted-million-pound laptop that I can't leave behind because I need it for my work-related stuff during the first part of the trip - gah! Maddening, that, but there's nothing I can do about it -- and it WILL be nice to have for email and Skype-ing the kiddos. At least, that's what I'm telling myself...

OK, more laundry and the to-do list awaits... more later.

-b

Third Post - Testing Backdating

because i'm sneaky like that... actually i just want to see how the dates are separated...