Gearing Up for the Trip

My parents picked me up from Whistler where I'd been working since January and we drove down the Sea to Sky Highway. I have to agree with those who say the highway is terrible. It's actually scary, winding down the coast, alongside cliffs when you have no median between the lanes. It also doesn't help that the majority of the drivers feel the need to speed.

We stopped at Squamish, had some breakfast and I went off to WalMart (guilty as charged) to quickly put together a summer wardrobe. As you might guess, all clothing in Whistler is extremely expensive and geared towards winter wear. I had no opportunity or spare change to buy shorts and tank tops. You should have seen the looks employees gave me as I tried on pair after pair of shorts, shirts, skirts, etc. From there we drove down to Vancouver, checked into a hotel and spent the rest of the day getting more equipment for my trip. I needed another memory card and battery for my lovely new digital camera. I'd expected the Greece trip would pan out back in November so I was sure to ask for a new camera for Christmas. I needed a water bottle, lots of sunscreen for those hot Mediterranean days and a big boost of confidence. I was excited for the trip but scared all the same. I had been on lots of planes in my short life but never one for so long and not over an entire ocean. But tomorrow felt so far away I pushed all my worries to bottom of my to do list. Lunch was in a food court. And then on to the most important of items. Books! I am one of those people who has bookshelves everywhere and boxes of books stuffed away in storage. So obviously I needed some reading material. This is a delicate issue as the book needs to entertain for the whole flight but not be too big and heavy to weigh me down. I spent about an hour and half narrowing down my selection. I know this sounds crazy but trust me it was important. I ended up with "Collapse" by Jared Diamond. It's a book about how societies in history have failed or succeeded. It's actually quite interesting. And at the last minute I also bought a bargain book, "A Brief History of Mutiny" by Richard Woodman. Mr. Christian anyone? I also had my travel guidebook that I'd purchased at the lone bookstore in Whistler. It's an Eyewitness Travel book called "Greece: Athens and the Mainland". I honestly believe that the eyewitness books are the best travel books out there. The reason being that there are actually pictures of the places listed. You get an idea of what it looks like and you can use that to make up your mind about where you want to go. So after an exhausting day, gathering up the last items I'd need and a bit of an issue with checking in online, I went to sleep, still avoiding the thought of getting on that plane.

I needed a water bottle, lots of sunscreen for those hot Mediterranean days and a big boost of confidence.