Trip Day minus 5

Each day comes and goes faster and faster. Friends have last minute requests and suggestions - all listened to intently, and processed at a later time. My dining room table is becoming full of 'stuff' (there's that word again) that needs sorting - definitely take, maybe take, possibly take, maybe not take - so far, no definitely not take.

Anita tells me that our small carry-on duffles will hold a lot more than we thought. Our first airline is the most restrictive regarding carry-on luggage - maximum 45" HWD and no more than 14 pounds. That knowledge really put a crimp into our original plans of traveling only with carry-on luggage, so we would not need to find baggage claim areas, and we would be certain everything would stay with us between airports and countries. Now we will check a small bag each and will spend part of this weekend dividing our 'stuff' between those two bags, and our carry-on duffles. Our theory is 'if one goes missing, neither of us will have only one outfit to wear for almost 6 weeks'. Seems reasonable to both of us.

Jim and I were out last evening with friends for my last Maryland crabs until late September. Jim's company has a crab-feast planned for the last Saturday in September, so I guess I'll get 'caught up' then. Jim is getting ready to work with the 'to-do' list I'm creating for him. He has grown dependent on me and my Palm (the Wizard) to maintain order in his non-work life. He has also promised to use the DVR to record the early season shows as our favorites return in September.

Three more days of work and then I'll not return to Howard County Library until September 22nd at the earliest. I don't know what my jet lag will be like after spending almost 6 weeks in a time zone that is either 6 or 7 hours ahead of Maryland. I don't usually need much time to recover from a long-distant trip - this time, I think, will be a new experience, and I may not make too much sense for several days after I return.

The questions in my mind now include - how much cash should I take, which credit cards, do I need my driver's license in case I need to drive, should I use traveler's checks or just my ATM card, how many clothes do I really need, and most important, what have I forgotten? If any of you readers, have answers to these questions, please make suggestions.

I appreciate the comments that have come so early. I really didn't think that would happen until we got to the exciting part of our journey.

Seven days and counting.

Anita and I spoke several times over the weekend as we continue to coordinate our thoughts and preparations. Anita is a longtime friend from the late 1980s when my husband and I lived in State College, PA. She is a career children's librarian which was my professional position then as well.

She will travel to Maryland this Saturday, so we will have a couple of face-to-face days to complete our packing and last minute shopping. We will also divide our 'stuff' between two carry-on bags so if one goes missing neither of us will be without some of our 'stuff'. (Side note - I spent a recent weekend watching the HBO rebroadcasts of George Carlin's programs after his recent death. His discussions of words and language are amazing - and one of the shows included his piece on 'all our stuff''.)

My sister-in-law, Njale, is also excited about the short time remaining before we arrive in Botswana. Her recent email counted the days until we could hug, cry, laugh and enjoy each others company again. Being in Botswana will be bittersweet to begin as at some point during our visit we will have a memorial service for Brian, her late husband and my husband's older brother.

Jim is not coming on this trip as he has major responsibility for the care of his father who resides in Meadowlark Hills, a continuing care community in Manhattan, Kansas where Jim, Brian and their sister Jean grew up. Only Dad remains in Manhattan as, in addition to Brian, the family lost their mother earlier this year - the deaths coming only 5 weeks apart in February and March. No one was able to be in Botswana for Brian's funeral in February, so we promised a visit this summer. Jim is still working, so I have the pleasure of representing the family during this visit.

There have been a few comments to my first blog already - thanks to those of you who have taken the time to comment. I will definitely be posting about animals (4-legged, winged and slithering) as we see them. Anita, Njale and I have a brief safari planned for Chobe Game Preserve near Kasane, and we are hopeful that we can arrange a visit to the Okavango Delta, the largest inland delta in the world.

Getting ready

This trip has been in the works since March, which seems like years, until I think that I am only 11 days away. What began as a trip to Botswana to visit with my late brother-in-law's family has become a trip of a lifetime that I will share with a longtime friend. Since this is my first blogging experience, readers will need to bear with me as I learn about the process (and I suspect myself). So, let's begin with me.

I'm a 61 year-old semi-retired librarian after almost 38 years in the profession. Technology has changed my profession especially in the last 15 years. I never touched a computer until 1984, and in addition to learning to blog, I recently joined the Facebook community. Since, beginning this blog and while learning about Facebook, I've been telling friends that I feel like a grandmother learning with my grandchildren, except I don't have any grandchildren. The library profession has kept me tightly linked to technology, which I embrace slowly.

Blogging is now being added to my experience because of the growing number of friends who want to be remembered with postcards during my trip. I suddenly realized that my budget would be greater than planned for this pleasure of staying in touch while away. I don't have an international capable cell phone, and will not have my laptop with me. So I will rely on family, friends and other Internet access opportunities to post to this blog. Besides, as a friend said to me, I won't kill any trees if I don't buy postcards.

I'll add more thoughts as August 11th comes closer. I think my first comment from a reader will be almost as exciting as this first post. Help me tell you what you want to hear.