Pack It All In

Well, it's that time again...the night I try to fit my entire closet and bathroom into a duffle bag, while  repeatedly asking myself why I have seven travel size bottles of Herbal Essence Hello Hydration shampoo and 13 packages of wet-wipes. Those numbers are literal. I seriously don't know how I accrue so many travel size items or why they are not getting used. I can confidently say I am going to have some very hydrated, very delicious smelling hair over the next two weeks because I have enough shampoo to wash my hair every day, twice a day for a month.

I am heading to Fiji for two weeks with my co-worker, Ashlie Simon, and 14 students. Ashlie is the photography teacher at MHS, as well as a former student of mine. Yep, you read that right: a former student. (Still not sure how she's old enough to be teaching across the hall from me, but that's a different blog topic...) This will be my fourth summer trip with National Geographic Student Expeditions, and I think I am most excited about this destination over any other. We will be staying in four different locales in Fiji, including five nights in a Fijian village, living in locals' homes. We will update our blogs as much as we can based on electricity and wi-fi availability.

Before I can get completely focused on the trip and how great it's going to be (and I know it's going to be), I have to figure out how to get this duffle bag zipped. Chris experienced the packing process with me tonight, and I'm pretty sure he is having second thoughts about our relationship after seeing how many shirts I feel I need for a two-week trip. He is an extremely experienced packer/traveler, and as much as he tried to help, he pretty much just stared at the bag and said "there's no way....there's no way" over and over. BUT, I DID get the bag zipped. Minus the toiletries. Oooops. I'm going to sleep on it and feel sure I will wake up to find my bag has grown an extra pocket overnight.

See y'all on the other side of the dateline.

You're Going to Iceland?? WHY?

That's the question I've been asked most since I first started telling people I am going to Iceland for two weeks. Of course, a few people have responded with "awesome!" or "that's so cool...that's where Game of Thrones is filmed!," but for the most part, I get quizzical looks when I tell people where I'm going.

Honestly, when my friend/travel partner/co-teacher Cathy Bottoms asked me way back in September if I'd like to go to Iceland, my initial response was probably also a quizzical look. Within 10-15 seconds, however, I heard myself saying, "SURE!" I then immediately began wondering how I was going to stay warm. I love mountains and snow, but I mostly like seeing them through a window while I'm sitting by a fireplace, under a blanket, preferably drinking something that warms me from the inside out. Instead, for at least two nights of the trip, I will be looking at mountains and snow from the plastic window of a tent. On the ground. In a sleeping bag.  I guess the saving grace is that we'll have only four hours of darkness each night, so it will only be in the 30s or 40s instead of the 20s. Luckily, I'm only sleeping outside two out of 14 nights, so I think I can manage. I slept outside and didn't shower for a WEEK in Africa...this should be a piece of (very cold) cake!

Of course, I've spent more money preparing for this trip than the actual trip costs (not really...but close), but you can be sure, I'm going to be warm! Layers, layers and more layers are the theme of the trip. I will be traveling with Cathy, 16 photography students, two National Geographic Leaders, and a Nat Geo photographer. We will be gone two weeks and will cover the entire county of Iceland, which is only as big as Kentucky.

I've started packing, and of course, as is always the case, I have way too much stuff. I'll be paring down my packing list this weekend, praying that I can somehow survive two weeks of trekking around Iceland with only 50 pounds of stuff.

Wish me luck and please pray for unusually warm temps in Iceland for the next two weeks! Stay tuned.

Next Time You Need to Go to Target Before a Big Trip...

come shop at my house instead. You know the aisle that has all the travel sized products? That aisle now exists on my bed. I'm having a sample sized sale at my house when I get back. Come see me!

Panic Napping

I should be in frantic-panic-packing mode right now. I'm actually in panic-napping mode. I just woke up from my becoming-much-too -regular afternoon siesta (yes, it's called that in Italy too). I used to work out in the late afternoon. Now I nap. The trade-offs for each are equal, although my abs would argue that point. Anywho...I digress.

My airport limo - and by limo, I mean Carly Cannon's Nissan Murano - is picking me up in 16 hours and I have not packed one stitch of clothing. I just woke up from a dream in which I arrived in Italy with clothes packed, but NOTHING else. No toiletries, no camera, no shoes except the one I wore on the plane, no nothing except a lot of cute skirts and every color tank top Target sells. And in my dream (operative word being "dream"), I wasn't the least bit panicked or flustered. Just as I am, at this moment, feeling no urgency whatsoever to get up and be productive, despite the fact that I am leaving the country tomorrow for two weeks with 13 teenagers of whom I am in charge. Where has the Type-A Holly I know gone??

I'm getting a little panicked about not being panicked.

The Countdown Begins. Again.

Once again, I'm gearing up for the next big adventure. My friend and colleague, Carly Cannon, and I are leaving Thursday for a two-week trip to Italy and Greece. We will travel with a National Geographic photographer, Massimo Bassano, two Nat Geo leaders, David and Carolyn, and 13 girls from MHS. Did you read those last five words? 13 girls. 13 girls, ages 15-17. And three women. God speed to Massimo and David.

For whatever reason, I'm not nearly as stressed about preparation for this trip as I was about Africa. I suppose this is because unlike last year, I am not worried about sleeping on the ground in a tent, contracting malaria or getting eaten by a lion. I am hopeful that my biggest worry on this trip is what gelato flavor I will be trying each day. And by "each day," I mean each and EVERY day. The biggest challenge of the packing so far is, as always, shoes. How does one walk all over Europe looking cute but also being comfortable? It's 2011...I can program my DVR from my phone while driving down the road in a different country. Can't SOMEONE make cute AND comfortable walking shoes!?

We will be visiting Florence, Rome, Athens, Nafplio, Delphi and several small towns and villages along the way. I have been to Europe, but never Greece or Italy. Can't wait to get there!

Ciao! (You are all going to be soooooooo sick of reading that by the time I am finished with this trip!)

Tripod Dilemma Solved

We're about to board. Feeling a little "anxious" (as my mom would say) but very excited. And no worries on where to put the tripod...I left it in the trunk of my car. So all my photos taken with the mega-zoom lens will be blurry...oh well. I'll say I did it on purpose in the name of art. Besides that, everything has gone well so far. Africa may not be ready for us, but we're ready for them!

I Should Sell Tickets to This

I am almost finished packing. Backpack: 35 pounds. Duffle: 28 pounds. Camera Bag: 15 pounds. Watching me try to get the backpack on my back and the camera bag and duffle on my shoulders by myself and carry it up and down the stairs four times as suggested by campers much more experienced than I: PRICELESS. I should do the whole thing all over again tomorrow night and sell tickets for the viewing of such activity. Trust me, it would be much more entertaining than most of the summer movies out right now, and I will only charge $7 a ticket. OK, $5. And the first person that shows up and helps me figure out where the tripod will fit gets in for free!

Tanzania, Houston Has a Problem

OK, so I just weighed my backpack and my camera bag, both of which I will be carrying on my body quite a bit during the safari. 29 pounds. Perfect! Except that the backpack only has my sleeping bag, sleeping mat and collapsable chair in it. That's it. No clothes. No stash of granola bars and almonds. No mosquito net or cute floppy hat. No toiletries, no tripod, no Tevas. The guy at REI told me not to carry more than one fourth of my body weight on my back. (He added "one third if you're in really good shape." OK, so one fourth.) I need to gain 60 pounds this weekend.