I Should Really Update That

Andy asks if I've made it to New Zealand yet.  In fact, I have -- about three and a half years ago.  It dawns on me that the description of my journal as "the ramblings of a 35-year-old wussy girl who somehow got it into her head to plan a relatively adventurey vacation in New Zealand" is a bit out of date.  Seeing as I'm pushing 39 now.

The link, for anyone who wants to read up on the adventure of November 2003, began around here:  http://journals.aol.com/nzforme/Sothisisatreadmill/entries/2003/11/28/the-journey-so-far-part-1-of-/227

Warning:  This was back when AOL had really strict character-limits for journal entries, so I had to write the journal about a paragraph at a time.  It was also back when I used (I know -- hard to believe) a film camera.  So I didn't have any of the pictures when I wrote the original entries.  So then I did a completely different set of journal entries summarizing the trip in photos.  That starts here:  http://journals.aol.com/nzforme/Sothisisatreadmill/entries/2003/12/25/the-trip-in-photos---part-1---queenstown/311

I took a moment re-reading some of that stuff.  Funny how so many things haven't changed all that much in the intervening few years.  I'm still messing around with the weak ankle ligament.  I'm still trying to get in shape (although, this time, because of all the time I've spent in the aircast, I'm doing it all by diet rather than exercise).  And, as it happens, I'm planning yet another adventurey vacation. 

If all goes according to plan ... (and, if it doesn't, I bought travel insurance) ... I'll be going on an Alaska cruise in about ... damn, a bit more than a month.  (I might want to look into that whole exercise thing.)  This trip is going to be rather different than most of my other vacations, in that I'm not going alone.  My folks are joining me on this one.

We hadn't really done much planning for this one (other than, y'know, paying the cruise company big piles of money -- because they let you pay them a slightly less big pile if you pay in advance) -- and then, all of a sudden, I realized we needed to book our shore excursions in advance, so we spent a bunch of time looking at internet brochures, calling each other comparing notes, and, ultimately, having a very silly three-way phone call with the cruise company.  I say "very silly" because, apparently, my folks do not have conference calling on their phone, which would explain why mom was on the phone with the cruise company and on the cell phone with me, trying to coordinate.  We've booked a whole passel of amazing activities (oddly, we were pretty much interested in the same stuff -- my mom even wanted to do the "zip line adventure") which should be insanely fun.

This time, I'll have a digital camera with me -- and if I get my act together (and can find the software that came with it), I'll be able to download pics to my laptop every night and journal with photos on a regular basis.  Of course, internet access is a bit pricey from the boat (probably no more than the extortionate prices I paid in London), so if the connection ain't zippy enough, I might have to leave the photos till later again.

Anyway, that's the plan.

....you know, I packed up all my cold-weather gear when I was cleaning my closet to make the place look nicer for buyers.  So, now my condo is off the market and half the clothes I need for this trip are (I kid you not) in a wardrobe box in the very back of my storage cage, with the words, "Note to self: don't go skiing" written on it in black magic marker.