Well, the countdown is 4 days--then I'm off to Oahu, Hawaii on Jan. 9 for almost three months. I started planning this trip last winter, so it's beginning to seem somewhat surreal the closer the reality of it gets. I feel so blessed that the Lord has given me the privilege to have this experience.







The weather here in NY has been intensely cold for the past few days, but the weather forcast is for a warming trend and it's supposed to be 51 the day I fly out. Sure! I'm glad I decided to wait until now to leave. It was good having the holidays here with my family and friends, and I've been able to tie up a lot of loose ends at the church office and here at home.



I don't have anything significant packed yet, but I know it won't take too long, so I'll concentrate on that on Monday and Tuesday. I think it's going to take longer to organize and pack my photography equipment than my clothes. Clothes are, summer clothes, summer clothes, and summer clothes. Camera equipment is, which lens? how many cameras and which cameras? how much film (what in the world is that), batteries and chargers, etc., etc. What goes in the carry-on and camera backpack?, what goes in the checked luggage? New rules all the time about camera equipment--Since Jan 1, you're not allowed to put loose batteries in checked luggage, (batteries in equipment are okay). They must go in carry-on, and if not in original packages or equipment, they have to have tape over the terminals. Yikes, one rule after another. It's hard to even keep up with the changes.



Every time I fly I seem to mess up somehow. Once it was a jackknife I forgot to take out of my camera bag and put into my checked luggage. Bye, bye knife! Once it was a liquid yogurt I forgot to drink on the way to the airport (and I was really hungry by then). Once it was a motel-size hand lotion that I didn't have in a zip lock bag. (That time the security person was a little nicer and he put it in a zip lock for me). Once I forgot to get my lap top after it went through the scanner, and only remembered it an hour later, and thank goodness, I was able to identify it to the satisfaction of the security guard.



My trip this time is NY to Chicago then Portland then finally off to Hawaii. I'll arrive there around 4:30 in the afternoon. Hopefully the weather will be calm throughout the country, but since I don't really have an arrival deadline, if I'm delayed it won't be too big a deal. I'll have my laptop, a book, crossword puzzels and playing cards with me and hopefully that will be enough to keep me occupied if I'm delayed.