Final Details & Snow in Our Travel Forecast

Bonus: Atticus & Will

The scene at Thorne Pond yesterday.

First thing tomorrow morning, Samwise and Emily will be at Tracy’s Ultimutt Cut for their regular grooming. This is one of the dozen final details we must attend to before months of dreams and plans become reality.

We still have dump runs to get to, floors to clean, a refrigerator to empty, prescriptions to pick up, presents to wrap and mail, and various other tasks to tend to. I’ve yet to pack my clothes. But that will be easy enough since I’m about as basic as can be. 

Specialized healthy foods for my heart and kidneys are still being organized into two large plastic bins. Then there’s the hiking gear, electronics (and all the matching charging cords), first aid kits, blood pressure cuff, bathroom scale, kitchen appliances, and utensils. I still need to wash the seat coverings, extra blankets, and towels in the HMS Beagle.

I’m not the most organized fellow, but somehow, everything comes together year after year. Yet it never fails; something is left behind every year. Last time, it was my hiking backpack and headlamps!

On this trip, we will stow a larger cooler in our new, smaller car. Fresh, cold produce is essential for my health and heart. There’s also a new waterproof food sack for Sam and Emi’s kibble.

The back of the HMS Beagle will be packed high, and the floor spaces in front of the back seats will be filled, too. A smaller cooler will sit on the floor of the front passenger seat, and extra shoes will slide beneath both seats.

I always overpack when it comes to food, but I’d rather be prepared than rely on less healthy options. This year’s significant addition is four dozen of these Lentiful cups. They are perfect for hotel rooms and are not easy to find in stores. Another essential food hack is bringing a dozen oil-free, no-salt, microwaveable packs of brown rice. (I can get these in many supermarkets across America, but I would like to set out with some in stock.) Rice and beans are swell traveling partners.

The first few days will be hectic. Many planned stops have been orchestrated to maximize our itinerary. Fourteen are scheduled on the first day alone, and nine more are on day two. 

I’ve bought a Christmas ornament for Rachael Kleidon’s daughter Sylvia every year she’s been alive. I’ve either dropped them at the vet’s office when Rachael was still here or mailed them. This will be the first time I’ll hand deliver one to my young and precocious pen pal. We’ll visit them for two days. 

Sylvia was thrilled to receive her Harry Potter Maurader’s Map Advent Calendar. Each day leading up to Christmas, she’ll answer trivia questions and get a small sack of jelly beans with every door opened. (Don’t you wish they had these when we were kids?)

By the way, it was a direct hit. Sylvia wrote to say, “I love it utterly and completely!” Can you tell she’s a reader?

How fitting that Sylvia was wearing a Harry Potter Hogwarts jersey when she opened her Marauder’s Map Advent Calendar this week.

During the last visit, I expressed to Sylvia one of the reasons we are so fond of her.