Nobody is Promised Tomorrow. . .
Way too busy this day. But, I am sure that everything will come together by 1600 hours tomorrow.
Weather Check.
Have I mentioned that on any given day there are more people in The Asylum than in Skagway? Don’t imagine that I will be busy at all in Skagway.
Busy day today. Feeling a little tired. Did manage 3.75 miles walk and a little nap. There will be plenty of time to rest along the way north. And in the north.
Best part of the day, burger and beer on the patio with friends.
It’s been that kind of a day for me. Ended up with Forbin the Computer suffering from panic attacks and frantically displaying CATERR detected! No MCA data found! I think it was some issue with my external monitor and VMWare. But, who knows? I don’t intend to know until I get back from Alaska. And Forbin did finally restart after I disconnected it from the external monitor.
So, I am going to just go down to dinner and drink several glasses of “free wine” and forgetaboutit. Forbin is only 5 years old. That’s not old for a Mac.
Well, enough. Onward to wine. And shrimp scampi. Scampi are actually langoustines. Which I think are some sort of shrimp. So I will be having shrimp shrimp.
The sun came out today. I loaded up my backpack with 13 pounds this morning and did a two-mile circuit. As long as I don’t break anything, I think I’ll be in good enough shape for a car-free transit to and from Alaska. Also good for Amtrak and Metro. Seattle has mass transit. And, I don’t know about Bellingham. But, they will have a cab at 7 PM to get me to my hotel.
Figured I should do a pre-trip photo. Just in case I get attacked by a bear or washed off the ferry.
Then, I decided to actually put everything that I intend to take out and see if everything fits etc. And what it really weighs with the iPad, Kindle, Phone and chargers and cables, and GoPro, plus my brick of meds, lotions, potions, etc.
This was at noon. Absolutely no chance of a nap. No space for a nap. I did some laundry and some serious editing of my stuff. It started out at a hair over 15 pounds. And, I know that there will be some additional weight. So I gave up one of my power banks, my second pair of shoes, and one shirt to get it down to 13 pounds. I am sure that it will creep back up to 14 pounds before I get to Skagway.
Anyhow – by 5 PM everything was cleared away for the evening.
It’s 7:30 here. Let’s check the weather.
It is 4:30 in Washington State and 3:30 in Alaska.
Weather Check.
Had a happy day just fussing around with trip minutia. Things like finding my powerbank and its cables. Talking myself out of my big Bose noise-canceling headphones and into my not nearly so good noise-canceling earbuds. Making some address labels for a couple of postcards for an elderly neighbor. I had completely forgotten about postcards for the last 10+ years. Who uses postcards anymore. Well, she said “please send me a postcard” and I am damn well going to do that. Two postcards.
Most important. I loaded up my backpack with 8.5 pounds of assorted stuff and briskly walked for 45 minutes. Seeking out hills. Not avoiding them as is my usual practice.
The cicadae have been quiet for the last 2 days. I hope they didn’t all catch a cold and die due to our chilly weather. After all, they waited 17 years to get out. I only waited 14 months.
Today dawned rainy and chilly – Skagway weather actually. So, what to do but toss on my old rain poncho and take it for a test drive. Happy to report that after 2.5 miles I was dry and toasty warm.
Time to annoy Alexa about the weather in my stopover points.
Alexa never complains when I ask about the same things over and over again. She must think that I am on my way to the dreaded “Memory Unit”. (That is where you go when you have no memory. )
It is time to edit my wardrobe choices and check out the weight with one week to go.
With all the clothes that would normally be in the pack plus the much wanted extra pair of shoes – the weight was a hair under 7 pounds.
That leaves 7 pounds for toilet items and meds, snacks, travel mug, electronics, and the all-important miscellaneous. Should be good to go.
Might even take Forbin the computer. Always happy to have it. Never happy to schlep it. I made it all the way around the world without a computer. And, there isn’t much wifi along the way. justforgetaboutit.
Busy day. Only logged 3.5 miles on today’s urban “hike”. And, when I got back home there were several work requests in my inbox. After working on work, I made one last lap through my trip reservations – just to make double sure that the lodging and transit all meshed.
Yes, I am sure they sell bug repellent in Alaska. But, I am sure that it costs more. And, I might be attacked by mozzies before I hoofed it to the store. I am not purchasing anything “special” for my trip. Well other than bug repellent. For about ½ the trip, if I have forgotten something, I will be able to buy it. If I come up lacking on the ferry, in Skagway, or on the train – well – I will just be SOL.
Big event in my hallway last night. The carpet fairies were in action while we were sleeping.
Beige.
And yes, boys and girls, that is poison ivy. Doesn’t seem to stop cicadas. I found these on today’s pre-trip fitness walk. Got in 4 miles. Plus a barre class.
A fine day. Not too hot. Topped off with wine, omelet with smoked salmon, and cupcakes for dessert. Celebrating a dear friend’s 79 birthday. The staff even sang happy birthday to him. It was so good to have a big table of friends again. We are sort of like those cicadae up top. We are just so happy to be out and about and with our friends and family.
Now that I have finished making reservations for my Trip North, now I can start having reservations. Today’s reservations:
Now those are pretty good reservations.
But, I went out for a nice walk today. 3.3 miles. With hills. And not all on asphalt or concrete. With a small pack. Stopped by 4 Mile Run to enjoy the cicada chorale.
I was last in Alaska 20 years ago. I don’t recall being in really great shape then. Most likely no better shape than I am in now. That could be wishful thinking.
(The answer to Reservation #2 is I can always read a book. And another book.)
I have two travel lists. A Universal 2Do List and a Universal Packing List. Last night I opened up both of them ready to make modifications for the impending trip north.
Decided that a new item was required on the 2Do List. And indeed it needed to be at the top of the list. “Inventory Meds and Take Action”. So, this morning I got out 4 little pill bags and filled each one up with 7 days of meds. Turns out I have sufficient drugs for the trip. No Action Required. And, my meds are “packed”.
After that, I knocked off some of the easy items on the 2Do list. Also, work, zoom yoga, and the obligatory nap.
Nice cool damp day today. Excellent time to field test my Allbird Muzzies and rain jacket. They passed. Not that they are new. But, I don’t usually intentionally go outside in the rain. Just wanted to be sure everything still works.
Taught my Origami Cicada class this morning. If I am still around 17 years from now, I can do it again. Sure.
The food at The Asylum is taking another hit this week. Due to “lack of cooks” the number of dining choices has been drastically reduced. And, they seem to be running out of dishwashers too. Maybe next week, we will have to bring our own plates and forks. Hoping that management gets this problem solved by the time I return from the north.
For no apparent reason, I agreed to teach people how to make origami cicadas. A Japanese pre-school can make them. Not so sure about those of us at The Asylum.
It would be summer here already. 93 degrees according to Alexa. It’s 49 degrees in Skagway. And 57° in Seattle.
Still playing with the notion of schlepping a real camera. But, this picture pair should convince me to stuff that idea. Anyhow, back in the day, I took some damn good pictures in Alaska with a Kodak DC 260. I am not a wildlife photographer. Or a landscape photographer. And I am not interested in tweaking raw images anymore.