Gearing up to head out

After more than five months of planning, plotting, researching and dreaming... we have suddenly found ourselves in the final days of counting down to our next great adventure.  There is always a lot of chaos in the last few days before travel - lots of last minute errands and sudden unforeseen roadblocks - but I think that we managed to mitigate a lot of it this time.  We set ourselves some deadlines for online purchases, allowing for shipping time so that we would not need to wait for last minute deliveries.  We pulled out the suitcases weeks ago and started organizing our trip supplies, going through things like sunblock and medications and checking to see what was good and what needed to be replaced.  I've stayed on top of laundry to ease our way into packing (and ensure we will arrive home to at least *some* clean clothing).

We have not taken a real vacation in about three years.  I am not only excited about this trip just for the trip itself, but also because we will be traveling with a good portion of my family from out-of-state, whom I see not more than about once a year, and only for a day or so at a time (my eldest sister, her husband, and three of her daughters)  We are traveling with a group of 8 on this vacation, which means that while we will visit some of the same excursions D, G, and I have seen in the past... this time some of the trips will be more along the lines of a private tour.  The boat ride up the Black River will be in a smaller boat with just our group, rather than the large pontoon we rode on back in 2010, and captained by a conservationist who might possibly be as enthralled with birds as I am. We will also be seeking out new adventures which weren't around on our last trip 3 years ago, spending time up in the mountains on a farm where we can explore the grounds where our food is grown before heading to the kitchen to witness the cooking techniques.  We have a few days with excursions planned, but most of the vacation will be simply relaxing, enjoying the company, and taking local adventures as they present themselves (perhaps a yoga class on the cliffs, or some paddle boarding out in the ocean off the beach)

I am looking forward with great anticipation to the photographic opportunities before me.  I feel that I have a firm grasp on the mechanics of my equipment, far more than I did in the past, and I have been taking some time to study new techniques to employ on this trip... (not only just the basics - like remembering to bring my polarizing filters - but funky techniques like HDR)  I have concentrated on my gear more than I've concentrated on my clothing for this trip - the bathing suits were folded up and ready a couple weeks ago... whereas my gear is still sitting out waiting for inspection as I debate between the weight of a fast lens vs. the portability of a smaller one.  I have always taken too much stuff in the past, with that little "just in case" voice in the back of my mind, so scaling back is my challenge.

That is where I stand tonight... multitasking between updating software on the travel notebook computer and making the hard cuts on my gear.  (or finding a way to make it all fit with creative packing)