Getting Ready...Geeez Louise!!!

Oh man. Have you ever felt completely overwhelmed with a task at hand; as if your frail little body were being crushed by the tremendous force of stress all because of your seemingly impossible circumstances? No? Me either. However, I've just come to the realization that this trip is difficult and we haven't even left the house yet. The rigorous demands of packing and unpacking and re-packing and shutting off your cell phones and heat and turning back on your heat for your housesitter and making twice and thrice certain that every minute jot and tiddle is looked after for your leave of absenceis an intense process.

However, over the past few years, I, yes I, Joshua Stock have begun reading. I know, it sounds crazy, but I actually enjoy reading. Contrary to popular belief and countless recent studies I may be what scientists worldwide refer to as "the missing link" between snowboarders and the literate. So, according to some of my most recent reads, every author of every travel guide I've read so far claims that the trick to packing light for a long international backpackers journey is to start with a small bag. Then take half of the things you thought about bringing in that small bag and take them out of your small bag and hide them in a small dark corner so you forget about them as you go about the chaos of preparing for your international adventure. Later, when you've boarded the plane and you're rehearsing your backpackers checklist in your head to recall something you may have forgotten to subdue that uneasy feeling, it hits you, "The garage door? Yep, that's it. I left the garage door open. No. KEVIN!" you remember everything you left in the dinge and you agonize over your stupidity for ten grueling minutes. Next, you travel on a whim, easily, freely, without a care in the world, anywhere your little heart desires, because you don't need to worry about the 50 pound monster USA Supersize FREEDOM pack that is drenching your back with sweat in the scorching foreign heat, ultimately rending your travels miserable, because, Oh yes...you forgot half of it at home.

We had a "GO AWAY JOSH & VAL but come back soon" party on Sunday. A bunch of our friends came out to say goodbye and we had so much fun grilling and eating and skating that we forgot to take more than these three pictures. Anyway, thanks for coming out everybody. We'll miss you.

As we prepare for our last day in Summit County, our hearts both leap at the excitement of endless possibilities and at the same moment cower under the "Oh, I know I'm forgetting something," and "Do you think they have toothpaste or toilets in Japan?" blues that come from over thinking the departure process. So, officially, after raiding Val's bag and hiding half of it in the cubby hole behind the wood burning stove down in our basement (she'll never find it there) and replacing her bag with an almost exact scaled replica (three quarters the size of her old one) and painting it to look identical, I am officially calling it quits on worrying over whether I am bringing along enough antibiotic ointment and my four extra lighters (in the off chance that the entire powergrid for Europe goes offline, stranding us in a dark corner and my other three lighters run dry of butane). I hereby renounce my backpackers checklist and all other worry-wart propoganda and take on a free spirit that throws josh into the wind. No more worrying for me, and I leave you all with a quote from a good friend and trusted companion as Val and I prepare to embark upon another of life's travels: "Get the heck outta here." Now I have to go. I think I left my batteries in my clock radio, and I hear that can't both drain them of power and cause a chain reaction that could lead to any number of disasters.