GETTING READY

When you know its for real, you are really going to do this...you realize that there is a whole lot of stuff that needs to be done.

If you were not a list maker before, you are now. Lists of what you want to sell, and what you think you can sell them for. Lists of what to take, what to buy to take with you and lists of phone numbers, emails addresses and important documents that you need to take with you or have apositiled before you leave.

One of our items on our list was shots. Yes, shots. We decided to be proactive and made an appointment with our local Health Department Travel Nurse... who would have known? She was a font of information. Ecuador is not a country that you need to worry about gettting shots if you plan to visit. We hope to travel to other countries in South America so we decided to get our shots ahead of time. Randy hates doctors and needles so the idea of him  thinking of doing this and setting this all up was really surprising to me.

We are now covered for Yellow Fever, Typhoid, Hepatitis A & B. I added the H1N1 and Randy added the Pneumonia and Shingles shot. Oh joy... We left with 2 shots to each arm and a iced pack with our oral Typhoid pills attached. If you ever see anyone walking around with a orange rubber arm band its an Oral Typhoid dose reminder.

Our friends who have moved to Cuenca Ecuador are returning to the Tri Cities in April. They have offered to take a suitcase when they leave . As we are only going to take what we can carry in two suitcases each, this will be a big bonus for us. So now we have to make a list of what to pack in there, and be sure it falls within the weight limits. So as we work on the list, I am sure a debate will ensue over what is most important, and a new list will arise... what not to forget for the next suitcase.