I know its a month early but we are getting the camper ready for the big trip. We have tested the camper a couple more times at a local park and had a great time. We did learn however, that our el'cheapo sleeping bags are not up to the task. Last weekend the temps fell to the mid 50s and I was freezing! We had a few visitors to our campsite; peacocks, deer, and this 5' gator.
Sam's Club has SwissGear, zero degree rated polyester, hollow core insulation fibers, mummy sleeping bags for $40 each. I bought two. They only weigh 6.4 lbs. each and come in a small cube package. They are about half the weight and cost of the cotton bags I had been eying and since they are machine washable and dryable I think they will serve us best. We will also carry two lightweight blankets and as it stands now, and a queen sized air mattress. The camper comes with a 2" thick foam mattress which might be enough. We will try it both ways once on the road and if we can dispose of the air mattress, some lucky stranger will become it's new owner. We need to lighten the load as much as possible.
I'm still shopping for a notebook or netbook PC. I have a BlackBerry Storm which is almost enough, but not quite. I'd like to edit this blog, save and post pictures, get and send email, and maybe watch TV once in a while. That justifies a real PC. The BlackBerry has a tethering feature that allows me to connect to the Internet through the phone. I'll buy something in April so I can test it out before leaving.
I want a better camera for the trip and Panasonic is expecting April delivery of their new waterproof, pocket sized, DMC-TS1S Lumix digital. This looks like the perfect camera for this trip. I love the waterproof aspect as our old Casio camera has gotten wet many times on our travels, I have no idea why it still works. The new Panasonic also has an HD Movie capability. This could make for very humorous videos when Theresa tries to pet the pretty eagles and badgers and feed the nice bears.
Last on our shopping list is new riding jackets. I'm told First Gear makes the best stuff so we will order them this month so we can test them before leaving. I love our current leather jackets but they take up so much storage space, I think they will have to stay home.
If anyone has any good ideas about what we should take or leave, please feel free to kibbitz.
