Getting ready

I am so excited about our upcoming holiday I can hardly get to sleep at night. We are flying to Calgary, then touring through the Rockies (YES), driving to Vancouver, and then (yeah) heading down the US coastline all the way to Los Angeles. From there we motor on through the desert (another YEAH!), stopping by the Grand Canyon--well, you sort of get the picture by now. In 3 and 1/2 weeks we plan to cover a lot of territory, before we end up back in Calgary to fly home.

I'm the infamous list maker in the family, or so Arend says anyway. I've been working on several since we began planning this trip-of-a-lifetime journey. There's the "to-do" list, the "to-buy" list (very important that I check this one off without Hubby present--long story), packing list(s)--one for clothing and one for personal items. There's also the "tourist gear" list which may include such things as maps (high priority), sunscreen, travel books with restaurant and "must-see" listings. Oh yes, there's also the cell phone and personal phone book so we can keep in touch with folks back home. Have I fogotten anything? I do try not to as you can tell.

Arend, on the other hand, never makes lists. He just grabs his favourite shirts, jeans, a few pairs of socks and underwear, his shaver and he's set to go. By the way, he packs for himself too I must add. That way I'm not in trouble if he forgets anything (because he didn't make any lists).

Of course I've made lists of things to do around the house too. Like spring clean, clean out closets, put away my winter sweaters (I'm still wearing these and if it doesn't warm up soon I may continue to do so!!), rake up the lawn (that will certainly have to wait until this NEW snow dissapears). Of course from these comments in parethesis you would never guess that I'm more than a little perturbed at the turn our weather has taken. But that's not the subject matter today. I'll save that for another time and perhaps by then I'll be able to talk about the hot temps we're experiencing here in the Maritimes. It really does warm up here you know.

And as my feline friend keeps reminding me, I do have to stock up on her favourite treats, so our neighbour can keep her dish topped up while we're gone. When the daytime temperatures do get warmer, Miss Pook loves to get outside and explore. Right now she's indignant that I'm not throwing that beat-up old yellow sponge ball she loves. "You'll have to wait your turn, cat! It's down a few items on my "to-list" for today."

While I'm thinking about it, you can follow along with us on our trip you know. I'm taking the laptop and will "show" you special memories that Arend captures on the digital. We want to maybe take a tour of Universal Studios in LA and you never know, we may get a chance to be "extras" in a movie--that would be a blast. Of course, we have to go out on the glass platform at the Grand Canyon. And, we will certainly be dipping our Maritime toes in the Pacific. If fact, we intend to be beach bums for a few days while touring the California coastline.
So, stay tuned. It promises to be an adventure you can enjoy too, even if it's via internet.

I must scoot now and get back to my lists. There're only 3 weeks left to pull everything together and I don't want to forget a thing!
Have a wonderful day, Barb