I am in the middle of finals week at UNCA and haven’t had much time to do research into Honduras. I have, however, been working on gathering my packing supplies and making arrangements for my vaccinations. The health departments has a waiting list about 2 weeks long and most of the vaccinations need to be completed a few weeks prior to the trip. It’s typically a good idea to get an appointment at least a month before your trip, but I always like to start early so when I fall behind I’m still right on time.
I’ve been trying to get through to the Henderson County Health Department, since in live in Hendersonville, to schedule my appointment but I keep getting their answering machine. I’ll keep trying since I want to have this scheduled for two weeks from today. That way I can get it over with between the spring and summer school semesters. I understand that some of these vaccinations can make you sick for a couple of days and I don’t want to deal with that on top of my school work.
I have also found some great deals on my packing supplies. For example I found these backpacking pants which are light weight, quick drying, breathable, and have legs which zip off to become shorts. These sell for $60 new to $40 if they are on sale in the stores around Asheville and Hendersonville. But I found that Goodwill gets them in on occasion. I stopped by three of the Goodwill stores and found a total of 3 which are my size and one which is a little small, but I’ve lost 30lbs since the first of the year and plan to loose 20 more before the trip, so they may fit by then. I also found a light weight breathable jacket which has a hood and water proof for in the rain as well as two pouches which clip onto my backpack or could be worn as a belt bag to increase my storage slightly. New this would have cost at least $225, I paid $20, I love Goodwill. I’ve also been shopping around for bug spray, biodegradable soaps and TP, sunscreen, and toothbrush/toothpaste options. I found a pen size spray on bug spray which is 100% DEET and the biodegradable soap at Walmart. These will be great for their size and effectiveness. I’m still looking for an environmentally friendly option for TP which wont take up too much space in the backpack, I will probably just buy some there. The toothbrush and toothpaste issue is a problem because I would either have to boil the water or use bottled water to brush my teeth. I am leaning toward buying these new disposable toothbrushes called Wisps which don’t require water. I am planning on packing only Carry one luggage which will include my Lowepro backpack and possibly a briefcase. I will be trying very hard to keep it all in just the backpack. I will be taking my camera (Pentax K20D because these will be some once in a life time photo opportunities for me), laptop (for blogging and because I’m a nerd), XO (for the kids to use and decide if this would be a good fundraiser), Nokia N810 (PDA and pocket size GPS), 60GB portable hard drive (for photo storage), 2 pairs of pants (described above), 3 shirts, 3 sets of socks and underwear, sandals, and hiking boots, plus miscellaneous items and personal care items. I’ll put together a more complete list as the departure date approaches and possibly include some photos of how my pack is setup. By bringing only carry one luggage we hope to make it through the airports quicker and decrease our chances of lost luggage.
If you would like more info about any of the things I’ve touched on in this or any other post let me know in the comments sections of this blog. I will be posting weekly until our trip and would love suggestion about topics, right now I have lots of things to share but I’m sure I will need your topic ideas to help me very soon.
