At this time next week I will be in Africa! Hooray! I am both excited and nervous.
My mother gave me an early birthday present today: Fifty Places to Hike Before You Die by Chris Santella. Much to my happiness, Mt. Kilimanjaro is one of the fifty. In the description of the hike, the author states, "One makes the climb for the satisfaction of conquering one of the Seven Summits (a sobriquet for the tallest peaks on each continent)." Although that is definitely a reason-although selfish in nature-I am climbing for a number of additional reasons: I enjoy hiking/climbing mountains, I love the communion with nature, I love Africa, and I love accomplishing personal goals.
Speaking of goals, I have at least 12 things to do before I start my journey abroad:
1. Clean my dishes
2. Turn down my house's temperature before I leave
3. Pay my bills
4. Buy those darn glacier glasses (Florida was useless in this regard)
5. Check my mini personal computer to see if the wi-fi works
6. Organize my carry-on bag (how should I occupy my time for 16 hours? any advice would be appreciated)
7. Change my voice mail message at work
8. Pack EVERYTHING and remember my passport!
9. Get money (travelers checks?)
10. Look into altitude meds
11. Contact my PCP to reschedule my appointment
12. Find a kind soul who is willing to drive me to CLE and then pick me up from CLE upon my return
I've already placed my mail on hold. Good job, Kate.
Peace.
♣K.
Have you thought about buying a kindle? That way you don't have to lug around heavy books in your carry on and you could download some good reads. Have you read any books by Ed Viesturs. I read a couple and really enjoyed...def skip the ones that lets just say aren't so uplifting till after your climb;)
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