"My bags are packed, I'm ready to go."
Okay, I have to confess. I have four shirts on the trip. One on and three in the pack. A little extravagant, don't you think? When we cycled for 44 days in 2015 I only had two shirts-one to wear and one to wash. This time I have four? Conspicuous consumption. And, I brought a pair of pants to wear to the wedding! Still, my entire load only fills a 30 liter pack half full, and that includes a sleeping bag and a keyboard for typing this blog. We like traveling lite.
We left home Thursday morning at 9:30, yet our flight isn't until Sunday at 9:40am. Before we disappear for 7 weeks, we want to spend a few days with grandson, Robinson. To keep our Italy trip separate from our "Robby" trip, we packed our bags for Italy, plane ready, then packed bags for our Robby visit. This way, when we left the Seattle area Saturday about noon, headed for Bellingham, we wouldn't have to reconfigure our bags for Italy and possibly mess up leaving something behind.
Tonight, we are camping in the van at Kris Carpenter's house just outside Ferndale. Kris was a student of mine back in the early and mid 80's and an enthusiastic member of my Toledo Alpine Club, a high school group that went hiking or climbing or skiing once a month, with a big week long trip each summer.
Rather than leave our vehicle at the airport in Vancouver BC for 7 weeks, we asked if we could leave it at her place. She consented, so here we are. However, she is not. It is Mother's Day tomorrow and she and her husband Steve are in Toledo visiting her mother. It is our hope we will get to see them when we return at the end of June.
Andy is up in Bellingham from Bellevue, helping Tabitha get ready to move home for the summer break. They will pick us up at 6:00 am tomorrow morning here at Kris's house for the trip across the border. Kris left the keys to the house, so we can get a shower before we are packed into a plane and winged across the planet. Our fellow passengers will appreciate this action.
As we drove to Kris's, we passed a casino less than 2 miles from her house. Sally, ever the optimist, had to try her luck at financing our adventure and is in the casino as I write this account. I will let you know the results in tomorrow's entry.
Weather is pleasant; high clouds, no rain, some afternoon sun, although a little cool for May. It is forcast to be 85 in Rome on Monday, our first day there. It is hard to imagine warm weather when surrounded by cool temperatures. We are having to force ourselves to leave our fleece coats at home, knowing we don't need them, but loath to let them go. Well, if it is cool over there, I can put on all four shirts at once.
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