We have a target start date.

We have finally decided on a target date to start the Great Trek. It is four weeks from today - i.e., February 11. That at least gives us a target. We will have to watch the weather.

For the last week we have been working on the "to do" list. The list gets whittled down and then we think of something else to add so it stays fairly long. Bob is busy working on his stuff. He still has to get the vehicles serviced and check the bicycles. He has finished making stuff (I think). He has finally agreed that he does not need to do anything fancy to cover the backs of the scooters. He agrees that using a garbage bag works just fine.

We have cleaned out the large bins that we are going to take and filled them with large stuff that we won't need often, like the tent and campfire stuff. The bins will go in the back of the pickup between the scooters and actually help keep the scooters steady while we drive. The bins are now actually ready to go.

I have started pulling out clothes so that I can see how much room everything takes. I have a "staging area" in one of the spare bedrooms. We have plastic drawers that we are going to use to keep the clothes that won't fit in in the trailer and also to keep extra stuff like books, etc. I put the bins on the floor and then eyeballed both piles to get an idea if there was enough room in the bins for the stuff. I am not good at this stuff but it did not look as if there was going to be enough space. So I asked Bob to look. He agreed - There was not enough room. So we went out and bought two more bins. If those are not enough then we are in trouble because there will not be enough room in Hank for more. Unfortunately as we plan and try to think of what might happen, the list of things that we are taking with us keeps growning. Is that a function of the packing process? I know that I will have to go through everything and whittle it down so that there is room. I have my piles of stuff - "Absolutely have to have" and "Would be really nice to have" and "Wow, if there is room."

While we were buying extra drawers I couldn't help walking around our local Storables store. They have such great stuff for keeping possessions organized. I did really good about not buying anything else until we got to the kitchen stuff. One problem that I had on the trip from Ohio back to Oregon was figuring out how to wash dishes inside the trailer. We usually use the trailer for camping so we wash all dishes under the dining tent on the picnic table. But when we try to wash dishes in the trailer, there is not enough room for them to drain (Lots of dampness and mess). At Storables I found a little dishdrain that will fit right into the plastic wash basin that I use when I am washing (the sink is for rinsing water). It is really cute and will be very handy. (I have to stop buying stuff.)

Stefee shared with us her digital picture storage device thingie (I don't know what its official name is). It is really small but will store more pictures than I can ever take. She recommended that we save the picutres on the device as well as on the laptop. She reminds me that she had her device stolen on one of her trips and she lost all of her pictures. So - good advice.

I have signed up for Skype. Stef also has a webcam so we tried it last Sunday. It worked GREAT. We could see Mike and hear him. It took Stef a little fiddling with my laptop to make it possible for Mike to hear us. But she was successful. Then later when Stef got home I tried skyping her and it was really easy. The picture was not as clear as I would have liked, but it was good enough to see and enjoy. We will have to figure out how often and how long we can talk. Verizon says that their monthly internet service has enough band width (?) so that we would not be charged extra as long as we stayed below about five hours of skyping (Is that really a verb?) Verizon also recommended that we try saving the discussions for times when we have free wi-fi. Good advice. (I love getting good advice.)

Dagmar, our neighbor, has agreed to come by regularly and drive my car. I am worried that if it sits for five months that all sorts of bad things will happen (dead battery or flat spots on tires). This is a win-win for both of us since Fred and Dagmar only have one car and were thinking about getting a second car. They wanted to wait until September so having my car available to them will make that possible. Dagmar came by yesterday and drove my car around. She was very nervous, but did a great job. I am comfortable that she will take good care of my car.

We had just about given up on having someone stay in the house. I was nervous about leaving the house empty for five months because of past history when our vacant rental house was badly vandalized. But we were having great difficulty finding someone. We had just about given up because I would rather have had no one than have someone that I did not trust. We thought that having someone come by regularly and check the house would be adequate. that would have the benefit of saving us money because we could cancel cable, garbage, and have really low gas and electric bills. But yesterday Stef called with the name of a newly laid off architect who is wanting to save money because he knows that the job market is so bad for architects. Stef does not know him, but he comes recommended by someone that Stef trusts. I talked to him briefly yesterday and he will come by next week so that we can meet him and decide if he is a good match and someone that we think we can trust. That would make me feel a little safer about leaving the house for so long - but it would cost us a little more money.

That's all for now. More later.

Hi everyone. Meet Fanny the Fun Finder ( a 14 ft travel trailer in which Bob and I will spend five months) and Hank the tank (the Ford -think Henry Ford or Hank Ford??? - that will be pulling Fanny). These vehicles are going to be our new best friends for a while. The issue is turning out to be how we get everything that we need into these two vehicles and have it be pretty accessible when we need it but still safe and secure.

Bob and I have been going along prettily happily thinking that we still have lots of time. But, as we began talking last night we realized that we have a lot to do and not a whole lot of time to do it. Bob has been focused on the food and the food preparation and I have been focused on the clothes that we will take. Bob has spent most of his life focused on food so this is turning out to be pretty easy for him. I have had some experience packing for two week vacations, but not a five month trip. This is nothing I have ever experienced. For example, at first I thought that I would need to pack two sets of clothes - one for cold weather and one for warmer weather. After all, we are leaving in February and returning in July. But then I realized that I need about two days worth of warm clothes and then we will be in southern California. Hopefully we won't need really warm clothes except for coats and sweatshirts at night after that. So, we don't really need "warm clothes." Okay, that part is now easier. Only one set of clothes for five months.

Then the next question was how often we will do laundry so how much underwear do we take. (It is amazing how much we have to think about in advance.) We have decided on laundry once a week, but will bring enough underwear for two weeks, just in case. Then, of course, we went through our drawers to make sure that we had enough underwear. Unbelievable, but both of us have more than enough. (I cannot believe how much clothes I have.) It will still be a challenge but I am thinking that jeans and a t-shirt will work in all weather - so several of those. And bathing suits and shorts and nicer clothes for when jeans won't work. And - how many pairs of shoes do I need? At last count I was thinking five or six pairs. I have to be able to reduce that. More thought about that later.

We will be using plastic drawers in Fanny and more in Hank in which to store clothes and stuff. Most of the clothes we will be wearing every day will be in Fanny - I think. Then we will be able to use some of the drawers in Hank for other stuff that we need to have accessible - like cameras and computers and books and audio books.

Last night Bob and I sat down and wrote a to-do list. So much stuff that it is scary. Bob says that he can complete it in a day or two, but I doubt it. For example, we need to figure out how to protect the scooters (We haven't named them. We have Honda Metropolitans. I have a red one and Bob has a blue one. Pictures of those will come later.) The scooters will be carried in the back of Hank. The scooters are pretty weather proof, but we thought that we should have some covers for the seats and the metal carriers in the back. We already tried the commercial covers that you can buy. That was a disaster. The covers were torn apart within a few miles on the freeway. I suggested that we use garbage bags and just use a new one when the old one tore. Bob says that it will not look so nice (who cares about how it looks?). Anyway, Bob wants to create something out of tarp with grommets. (Bob always wants to create something for whatever we are doing.) We have to get this done in time to try it out and see if it will work. Bob is also making a back rest for the scooter so that he can have some support for his back while we are riding. And, we need to figure out how to carry the solar panel so that it does not break and is protected as much as possible from theft. Bob is thinking about a tarp (see what I mean) covering some batting like a quilt. All of this has to be done and tested in the next week or so.

We have to get Fanny and Hank, and the bicycles (yes we are taking bicycles on the back of Fanny) serviced so that there are no surprises.

Then we have all of the things that we need to do in the house so that it can be left essentially unattended. I am getting tired thinking about this. But I know that we will be ready in time to go. Bob says that we will go even if we are not ready and he is right. When the time comes we will go and take care of whatever we forgot when it becomes an issue. I am being very trusting here. But - One Day at a time.