Into the Southern Heat

I'm sipping on my latte a couple of hours earlier than usual.  The fan is going overhead, and I'm relishing the last semblance of cool, natural morning air, knowing it's gonna be a lot warmer in a few hours.  We'll be taking off this morning and flying to Houston.

I looked at the weather forecast the other day and have read this morning headlines.  It may not be pretty down there with temperatures in the mid-80s, humidity in the 80s and "feels like's" of 92-94 degrees for the next several days.  And, with that, they're talking thunderstorms and a big tropical storm.  

So, I'm gonna throw that rain jacket into the suitcase and hope for the best.

We'll be living essentially in air conditioning for six days, so I'm throwing in the Airborne too.  Without a lot of fresh air to breathe for any extended periods, I have a feeling it will be essential.

Our purpose for this trip is very exciting, but thoughts of the heat are not.  We'll live through it, though. 

It could be worse.  We could be Annie who's gonna be occupying a tent all day long for a week at the National Boy Scout Jamboree outside Washington, D.C., during the first week of August.  Now, I'd say she's gonna feel the heat!

I was noting to Bill last night how priorities have changed over the years as we pack for trips.  My clothes and bathroom essentials have been kept to a minimum---all in an effort to allow enough space for the techno stuff one has to take along.

And, my assortment doesn't even include a GPS.  Bill's does----probably two of them, in fact.  I'm sure he's looked up some geocaches to find while we're in Louisiana, but he also borrowed Debbie's GPS last night for navigating addresses to motels, restaurants and Texas/Louisiana residents we plan to visit. 

My personal menagerie of techno toys and accessories includes the cell phone, along with its in-house and in-car charger; my digital camera and it's chargeable batteries, along with the charger.  I brought extra double A batteries, just in case.  And, of course, I don't travel these days without my laptop.  In fact, my laptop case will serve as my over-sized purse while we're flying.  

I plugged in the computer for a few hours last night so it can be operated on the battery either in-flight or at airports.  Of course, I'm hoping the wireless card will work in Salt Lake City Airport but am smart enough not to hold up too much hope of landing a service during our short time there.

On these trips anymore, I don't care about what I eat nearly as much as I care about the accommodations and that they have wireless.  The great fun of a trip like this is taking the pictures, observing, listening, enjoying the off-the-wall, unpredictable happenings and reporting about them on the blog.

So, I hope there's enough gear stuffed in with the jeans, blouses, undies, shampoo and chondroitan supplies.

That raincoat may be an essential,  but much more important to me is a bunch of equipment that works so that I can satisfy my cyber-obsessions.  Wish me luck, and, if all goes well, you may see the results over the next several days.  

In the meantime, Bill and I will be chalking up some miles today and hopefully ending the day in our techno-equipped overnight residence in Galveston.