are we there yet?

With a week and a half to go, I'm starting to get nervous and antsy. For starters, things have been so busy at work and then so internally politically stressful, there hasn't been time to start downloading and printing all the directions. And of course with Matt and his internet gone, and the neighbor's wireless signal sporadic at best, I can't very well do much of it here at home either. I also realized practically last minute, thanks to Ali, that I should put together a list of hotels near my campsites in case of weather so bad I don't have the heart to brave it. Afterall, it is hurricane season down there, and though I'll be mostly pretty far inland, I should definitely have a backup plan. And then there's supplies. Is there anything I haven't thought of that I still might need? Are there any teeny details I've not worked out? I made it up to EMS last Thursday, bought the lantern I wanted and a length of rope thanks to Dan my EMS hiking guru. I've made my packing lists. I think I've thought of everything.

In Travels with Charley, John Steinbeck wrote of the anticipation of leaving for a trip. He wrote, "In long-range planning for a trip, I think there is a private conviction that it won't happen." I'm near enough now to my departure that I'm beginning to feel it fully. So I try not to imagine the trip as a whole; rather, I keep imagining driving out of South Philly, headed for I95 South with a car full of a week's worth in supplies.

I know it's not the most magnanimous trip man has ever taken. I know it's not the most adventuresome or the most foreign destination. I've watched Sara take off for India so many times, for example. I've listened to people's stories of Africa; I've watched documentaries about Africans coming to America; I've read about Arctic explorers and ancient seafaring pilgrims; desert caravans; The Heart of Darkness; the horror. But it's the most magnanimous trip I've ever taken. And that's enough to shake me up and give me gooseflesh. It's just a personal challenge. And I'm taking it fully seriously and respecting it for exactly what it is.