Safety and shopping

As Jeff mentioned, my new favorite website is Onebag.com. This guy really knows how to travel lightly and safely. This morning I was reading a few of his safety tips and thought I would pass these along, because anyone who does ANY traveling should know these things.

Go to www.onebag.com/safety.html, then scroll toward the bottom of the page where you will find links to open a pdf entitled "How to survive a hotel fire" and another entitled "How to survive a plane crash." Although he points out the astronomical odds against even being in a plane crash (MUCH less likely than being in a car accident on the way to the airport), he points out the fact that your odds of surviving a crash are extremely good. Even better if you're prepared. I like to be prepared. So check it out. You'll be glad to know these things if the situation ever arises.

The hazard of reading Onebag.com is that you become convinced you need all of his nifty stuff. Which, of course, we do! It feels like we've been on a spending spree - the folks at REI are going to start greeting us by name soon. I commented to Jeff that it feels like we're having a joyride with an inheritance. That's probably because we're normally so darn thrifty. There are things, though, that we just have to have, and we've got to be very careful about the weight and the size of our baggage, since we'll be hauling everything on our backs. We will also be flying on some small local airlines that have much lower weight limits than the big international airlines. One thing I do know - if we have to choose between clothes and camera gear, we're going to be wearing the same outfit in every photograph!

A few weeks ago Jeff pulled our backpacks down from the attic. I hadn't seen my pack since I moved into the house 13 years ago. That pack took me to England and took me all over Europe - on planes, trains and automobiles. I hitchhiked with it, squeezed into train cars packed with people and critters (mostly poultry), and walked lots of miles with it on my back. Of course, that was 1982. Funny how our bodies change in 27 years. Once we brushed off the spiderwebs and dust, I tried it on. Got it up on my shoulders - no problem, fits my shoulders just fine. Then I tried to close the hip belt. Hmm... not so much. And it wasn't just an inch or two short. Dang! And I thought I was fat in 1982. So, a new backpack had to be ordered. We followed the advice of Mr. Onebag.com and ordered the MEI Voyaguer - THE bag to beat all bags. Not so backpacky looking; more of a luggage type style, but it's supposed to be ultra comfy for hauling around on your back and its rectilinear design ensures maximum packing capacity (if you spend much time on Onebag.com, you'll become quite familiar with the virtues of rectilinear design).

The outfitting continues courtesy of E-bay and Campmor and Sierra Trading Post. FedEx and UPS have worn a path to our door. But we're gradually collecting what we need and hoping we're getting the right stuff. Time will tell...