List, Stacks, Plans: Getting Closer

For six weeks we have been heading toward our departure which is now down to just a few days.  Any trip any where requires planning and strategizing if every thing is to go well.  That is the case with us if the trip is anything more than a quick dash over to the beach for an overnight. It is even more necessary when we are leaving the country. 

The early days are the decision days.  Do we really want to do this?  How are we going to get there?  What do we want to do when we get there?  Shall we opt for an all inclusive tour or do we want to control what we do and where we stay?  Who has been there that we know?  What can they tell us?

All of those preliminary steps are behind us now.  We are booked.  We have researched.  We have done the last minute shopping.  We have made lists and more lists.  Now, it is execution time.  The dining table was chosen for our base of operation for assembling all the things we need to take.  Since we are both plus seventy decades, we had to get our various meds and remedies together.  After all, there will probably not be a CVS or Walmart close to our hotels in either Dublin or London!  We also had to consider the weather and the places we would visit.  Traci advised that the Cliffs of Mohr are always cool and windy.  One of Klep's responsibilities was to shop for hooded wind breakers for both of us.  I also needed a new card for my camera.  Something tells me 16 gigabytes should cover the trip.

The stacks are now appearing and clothes are hanging in doorways.  We made the decision that we did not want to deal with more than one bag each in Gatwick or on the train and ferry.  We will make do with the clothes that we can get in these bags.  If worse comes to worse, we will hand launder items at night.

Monday will be folding and putting clothes in the luggage.  It will be the day that Klep checks off the travel documents and information that he will include with the cameras and laptops along with all their accessories necessary to keep them charged while we are away in the computer bag.  I will organize my purse and put all unnecessary credit cards in the safe.

The days grow short.  The stacks get taller as we prepare to leave.  We take a few moments each day to be thankful for the opportunity and the blessing of traveling.  We pray that we can be a blessing to others.