Vacation Preparation!

Hello Folks! We’re nearing that time of year where Brad and I embark on our vacation. In just a few days, we will be traveling on an 18 day adventure to Argentina, Antarctica, and Peru. Now, taking a vacation never seems to fall at a convenient time. This year my vacation just happens to fall in line with an end of the year deliverable and Brad is managing his technical chaos. However, if I have learned anything… sometimes you just have to go.

In preparation for this year’s trip, it all started a few weeks earlier upon receipt of our travel recommendations for Antarctica. Included in the documents are an itinerary, clothing recommendations, hotel stays, and some pretty great advice for enjoying our time on the most southern continent. My first objective was to procure at least one each of all of the required clothing for the trip. This turned out to be way more expensive than I had budgeted. Apparently adding the label “expedition” to your clothing hits the “times four button” on cost. To keep the additional clothing under budget, I spent each afternoon going through the local Goodwill store, and perusing clearance sales on websites such as backcountry.com and geartrader.com. Since I’m more concerned about staying warm than I am about fashion, this seemed like the best option. In my adventures, I found some snow pants and a heavy thick sweater to wear. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find everything at a discounted price so I utilized whatever coupons I could find for other sporting stores.

Without fail, as soon as I purchase my first set of gear… I realize I have insufficient quantities of clothing for a three week trip in general (jeans/ tops/ etc). SO! Now I get to repeat the same transactions above, but for regular clothes as well. Hello Goodwill, my old friend. We’ll see each other soon.

Next, it’s time for the inoculations. Okay, so I have to admit… I almost forgot to do that this year. The good news is that Argentina and Antarctica didn’t require any additional shots which I haven’t already received for other trips. Peru, on the other hand, required a yellow fever shot and malaria pills. I also elected to get the flu shot as well. The shots were pretty straight forward, with no side effects. I am NOT looking forward to taking the malaria medicine. For new readers to the website, let me tell you, I got so sick from the pills on my last experience. While we were in South Africa, I wound up throwing up and missing a safari because I was so sick from the pills (I wasn’t aware it was the pills at the time). While in South Africa, I was on a pill called Malarone which is a daily pill you take for 2 days before you arrive in the area, the duration of your trip, and 7 days after. For this trip, I’m taking a pill called “Doxy” which is a daily pill taken 2 days before exposure to the area, during your trip, and 28 days after. I can only hope for a better experience on this version. I’ve also opted for a prescription of Cipro (Travelers Diarrhea Medication). This is a just-in-case medication, definitely not something you want to be caught with your pants down on.

Leaving the Doctor, I feel Great… Then I got the bill! Yikes! I have medical insurance, why isn’t this considered preventative?!? $320 Later…

The next step is to prepare my work to leave on vacation. I’ll get to that in a little bit…