I am almost there, I can feel it. The anxiety of knowing there are very few days remaining for my departure is mixed with the excitement of the big adventure. I have lots of things to do and no time to spare. We just finished the first semester at school and are in the midst of finals. I have to get all grades organized and the lesson plans ready for next semester. I am also meeting with my substitutes to make sure they know where the courses are going and what to do to help my students have a positive semester. I never thought I would say this, but it is hard to depart leaving my students behind.
At home the kids are starting to show some nervousness because of my leaving, and they are only 4 and 2 years old! I can sense my wife is excited and nervous at the same time. It will be an adventure for all of us. There are still some home projects that need my attention, such as fixing the garage door and more…
And packing, yes packing. Imagining all the things that I might need while on the boat. We might be able to do small shopping while at McMurdo Station, but not much, just the essentials. I think of Christchurch, New Zealand as my last opportunity to get what I might forget from here, but I really do not want to forget anything!
I was reminded or the urgency to start packing when an envelope arrived home from the US Antarctic Program. I found two cute tags for my luggage. No more packing procrastination.
Luggage tags from US Antarctic Program. My kids loved playing with them as soon as I took them out of their envelope.
Do you wonder what am I packing for such a long travel to a remote area? I was wondering a few weeks ago, but now I think I have nailed my packing list. I need to thank Dr. Swift for giving me his packing list. It proved to be very useful. Here it is, my packing list:
General
2 checked bags (back pack and duffel bag) carry on backpack with computer camera bag sunglasses, spare glasses flight information, hotel information information on NZ and Chile passport insurance documents agent and RPSC info for Christchurch and Punta Arenas, copy of packing list New Zealand, Christchurch, McMurdo, Ushuaia, and Punta Arenas maps info books & magazines, business cards
Aboard Long Flight
neck pillow, eye shade travel toothbrush and toothpaste, hand lotion, waterless hand cleaner, ear plugs Kleenex change clothes for plane (shirt, underwear, socks) zip-loc bags LED headlamp Batteries for LED headlamp
Computer equipment
MacBook computer protective sleeve, security cable, power supply, 2 external drives Cables for drives USB flash drive plug adapters for New Zealand and Chile, video adapter cables, Ethernet cable, USB data transfer cable, mouse,
Camera equipment
camera bag 2 SLR bodies lenses (17-50; 70-300; 70) Batteries (2) with charger Extra memory card cable for downloading and card reader Cleaning lenses kit microphone Flash flash batteries and charger point and shoot camera batteries for point and shoot Cables for point and shoot tripod digital voice recorder iPhone headphones iPhone cable
Shoes
shower shoes steel-toed polar sea boots with heavy socks pair running shoes shoes for indoors
Clothing
rain/wind jacket (for travel) Down insert for jacket Down vest foul weather overalls and jacket 2 fleece hats (1 baclava) gloves glove insert 2 pair jeans 1 pair cargo pants 1 pair sweat pants 3 thin fleece shirts 2 thick fleece jackets 6 t-shirts 2 sets long silk underwear 2 sets pijamas 2 long sleeve running shirts 2 shorts sleeve running shirts 2 shorts 1 bathing suit 3 pairs running socks 6 pairs socks for indoor use 4 pairs of thick socks 9 underwear
Ancillary
laundry bag washcloth small towel swimming towel 2 toothbrushes toothpaste dental floss deodorant Dr Bonner’s soap shaver shaver cartridges medicines nail clipper comb small sewing kit a few wire coat hangers travel mug