What we did instead of flying to Nepal

By the time we woke this morning, the hilarity of the situation had completely worn off.  Grumpy disappointment had set in.  Not much talking was going on, and I’m sure Gideon and I both were mentally going over who was to blame for last night’s blunder.  I quickly realized blame was futile—there was nothing to do but try to enjoy the day and try to be thankful that we weren’t folded like pretzels in airplane seats at the moment… that will come soon enough, and we’ll have endless hours to endure.

By late morning, we headed out for the day.  Stop one was the coffee bar for me.  I got my cup of Joe, and jumped back in the truck (Brian’s truck, which we were borrowing for the day), fully expecting Gideon to have come up with a plan and to whisk me off on a fun adventure.  He obviously had expected that I would come up with an exciting idea of how to spend the day.  We sat in the parking lot mumbling under our breaths at each other for a few minutes, trying to make the other do the thinking.  Finally, we stopped our pouting long enough to decide to head to Muir Woods, just a twenty minute drive toward the coast.  Off we went.

The grumpy twins stumbled about in the woods trying to resist the calming effect of Nature.  I succumbed, and started enjoying myself, marveling at the mighty Coast Redwoods and the small delights of the forest as well.

 

  

  

 

Gideon took a bit longer to thaw out.  A visit to Muir Beach did the trick for him; water tends to have that effect on him.  We watched surfers riding the winter waves, the little kids dodging the flowing surf at their toes, and the dogs running willy-nilly on one of the only leash-free beaches in the area.

A ranger on the beach informed us that there was a tsunami watch in effect for the area due to the recent earthquake in Chile.  That was enough motivation for me to beat it to the Muir overlook in the hills above the beach.  Despite having my rather dressy traveling shoes on, I hoofed it up to the top without stopping.  There I could enjoy the view without stressing about a rogue wave (which never came, by the way).

We ended up having a lovely day.  The fresh air and exercise will be sorely missed during our 32 hours of travel to Kathmandu, but we got out there today and took advantage of it while we could.

Tonight we head back to the airport for another go of it.  Now, let me go recheck the flight information one more time…

And we’re off… not

There’s nothing like the rush of arriving at the international terminal of the airport after the last minute running around prior to departure.  When you arrive at the airport, that’s it; everything that's going to be packed is packed; the adventure is all there is before you; there’s no turning back.

Unless, of course, you arrive at the airport on the wrong day.

Here’s how the conversation went with the man at the Cathay Pacific check in counter at 10pm last night.

Me (handing over our passports): Hello.  We’re heading to Kathmandu.
Him: Okay, let me look.  (Long pause as he is typing away on his keyboard.) Hmm.  I have no record of you.
Me (smiling and thinking of Tiffany, our travel agent): Oh.  Gideon?
Him: Let me look again.  Do you have any confirmation papers?
Me:  Gideon??
Him: What is your itinerary?
Me: San Francisco to Hong Kong to Dakar to Kathmandu.
Him: Ahh, yes, there you are.  You leave this time tomorrow night.
Me (bursting into laughter after consciously deciding to see the humor in this): Oh!  Well!  Isn't that something?  Sorry about that!  My bad!

And off we went to hail a cab to take us back to our friends, Brian and Katie’s house for the night.

You know, I’ve been watching the Olympics a lot over the past few weeks.  I particularly like watching speed skating.  But nothing is more annoying than a false start, don’t you think?  That’s really taken on a whole new meaning to me and Gideon.

So, we've got another day to putz around here in the good ole U.S. of A.  Tonight, by golly, we will be on a plane heading somewhere... hopefully to Nepal.

Two days ‘til take off... and I'm driving myself crazy

Two days from now Gideon and I will be at the airport preparing to board our Cathay Pacific flight to Kathmandu. 

I’m pretty much as ready as I’m going to be.  I’m sure I will unpack and repack my luggage four or five more times before we head to the airport on Friday evening, but I don’t think I’ll be adding or subtracting much more from my accumulation of travel necessities. 


I really dislike the generalized feeling of anxiety I wrestle with the few days before a big trip.  I feel like I’m in a holding pattern.  I can’t stick to my regular routine.  I can’t wear certain clothes because they are packed or will be packed.  I can’t totally relax.  Oh, and then there are those pesky passport dreams.  Always the same thing—I show up at the airport without my passport, or worse, not even realizing I needed a passport in the first place.  I’m left behind, all the big plans ruined.

In an effort to quell my angst, I tend to shop.  I stalk the aisles of Target, CVS, R.E.I., Borders, Marshalls—anyplace will do, really—to see if some all-important travel necessity catches my eye.  There’s usually something… anti-bacterial wet wipes, slippers for the plane, small gifts for folks we’ll meet in Nepal, energy bars for the trek, a few more pairs of socks.  But really, is it necessary?  I admit, many of the purchases I’ve made probably won’t even be used in Nepal, but for some reason, feeling prepared for just about anything calms me down. 

The fact is, I am ready to get on with it.  It’s time to travel and I won’t rest until I’m on that plane and poking through my carefully packed carry-on bag deciding what snack to eat first, or what book to read first.  Until then, I’ll be flitting around like a busy bee, accomplishing nothing of great importance.

Packing Light

I’m one of those folks who need a good solid week or more to pack for any serious venture, particularly a trip overseas, especially to a non-European country.  The earlier I start packing, the more I can weed down what I take.  My mantra, as always, is “Pack light!”  No need to be burdened by needless stuff, right?  How great would it be to effortlessly sling my pack on my back without flipping over backwards and flopping around like an overturned turtle? 

I started packing for Nepal last week by organizing my clothes.  Well, shoot, I thought, I need some more trekking pants.  Oh, and some long underwear.  And I could really use a better down jacket.  And a semi-dressy outfit for going out on the town in Kathmandu.  Which means I'll need shoes other than hiking boots.  And more socks, underwear, long sleeve t-shirts, and blah, blah, blah.  The next day I went out and spent all the money I had earned hosting at Meritage on clothing stuff that I “needed” for the trip.

Then I started considering the non-clothing items I should take, like a good light-weight paperback book, or two, or three, or four.  Eek!  I always struggle with this one.  I need to take a variety of books because I never can be sure what I will feel like reading at any given moment.  I need choice!  I can’t be stuck without a good book!  I can just hear Gideon harrumphing about my reading habit now.  Stop rolling your eyes man.  I gathered a fantasy book (Wicked), another kind of fantasy book (Outlander), a book on philosophy (Sophie’s World), and my favorite spiritual book (The Places that Scare You).  This last book sounds like it might be about climbing Mt. Everest, but it’s not, so I also packed a guide to Nepal, which includes information about trekking.  I also picked up a handy little guide to the customs and etiquette of Nepal.

Okay, now for medicine and toiletry stuff.  Keep it simple, right?  A trip to CVS and seventy-five dollars later, I might be semi-prepared to live at camp three on the side of Everest for a season.  A little icy-hot, ibuprofen, wet wipes, Sudafed, Imodium, SPF 50 sunscreen, Band-Aids and Neosporin, prescriptions, lozenges, Gatorade packets, lip balm, Airborne, and such will be most helpful, I’m sure.

Finally, that brings me to that dangerous, ever-expanding category: "other stuff".  The camera, computer, chargers/adapters, tripod, and other technological gear; hiking poles, hiking boots, water bottles, day packs; hats, gloves, scarves; zip lock bags, stuff sacks; card games; headlamps and batteries; toilet paper and tissues.  Oh, the list could go on and on, and I’m quite certain it will.  Feel free to tell me what essentials I’m forgetting or what I may want to reconsider.

So, back to that “packing light” thing… it was a good thought, but who can really do this when you’re going to Nepal?  Okay, I guess Nima Sherpa, our friend and trekking guide probably knows how to pack light.  But for the rest of us, I’m starting to understand why porters are a given along the trails in Nepal.  I think I’ll be supporting the local Nepalese economy by embracing the custom as well.