Monday, April 10, 2006

Countdown to Departure Date

One week from today I will be midway between Vancouver and Hong Kong, a fact that hit home suddenly a few days ago. I realized I had better check my list and see what's still to be done.

Most of my travel gear is always set to go, so packing is usually fast. However, when I need to replace a major item, like hiking shoes, the 'shopping' part can eat up a lot of time. Like this trip. I need new travel pants (see previous blog rant) and have gone through a lot of stores looking for something that meets at least most of my needs.

Today I bought a new pair, though I spent more than I had wanted to. They should last a long time, barring serious misfortune, like say, a tiger claws them to shreds. I had decided against the convertible (zip-off into shorts) style, as I found over the last 4 years, I had not once used this feature. And bonus: They are black, and close enough to a fashion style that I can now jettison the black dress slacks from my suitcase. Going with one pair of pants on me, one in the wash and one clean: My limit. And 5 tops that go with each pair of pants. With the jacket (cool in B.C. and Toronto, so I do need one), I have 20 possible outfit combinations.

I uploaded the web pages I had been working on today, so starting tomorrow, I can focus on getting ready for my trip. With this being a holiday week, the stores will be closed on Good Friday, and madhouses on Saturday, so I had best buy anything I still need to by Thursday.

Not my usual pithy travel thoughts, but my focus has narrowed.