Pssst. I’m officially unemployed. It’s weird. It’s great. I’m glad it’s not permanent.
My parents are both retired, and they highly recommend their lifestyle choices. For a few years now, Dad and Lynda have sent me pictures of their feet, usually with a sunset, beach or the Bellagio fountain as a backdrop. Mom and Steve send images of calm lakes and shorelines, without pictures of their feet.
When I decided to quit writing for the newspaper and return to college, I gave myself several weeks for “me time.” So far, this has included cleaning out my shed and planning a trip to Costa Rica with my sister.
You would think planning a trip would be more joy-filled. However, my sister and I have vastly different ideas about just about everything. She wants peaceful accommodations away from other people. I would prefer a lively hostel where we could meet travelers from around the globe.
Also, I was just being crabby while trip-planning. Finally, I realized that none of the trip-planning ideas sounded ideal because ideally, I wished I was planning the trip with my Handsome Woodsman.
I have 100 percent confidence that once my sister and I get our backpacks moving, we’ll have a trip to remember until our retirement days. We may even send our parents pictures of our feet.
PACKING TIPS
When we bought our matching Osprey Farpoint 40 backpacks, my sister sent me a link to the “Hey Nadine” video blog. This young gal has traveled to more than 49 countries (many of them solo) and looks like she still gets carded at the bars.
Of particular interest was her packing tips — how to leave most of what you think you will need at home.
We took notes, downloaded her list of essentials. We placed everything in plain view on our beds, ready to cram our recommended items into the backpack Nadine had recommended.
After the first test zips, we both still had many must-have items remaining on our beds.
What the heck? Nadine’s bed was covered with stuff and we watched (in fast-motion) while she expertly shoved all those girlie things into her backpack.
“Heather,” my sister said gravely. “Nadine is a size 1. That means all of our clothes are at least twice as big as her clothes. We need at least two backpacks each.”
Don’t worry. I made sure the rubber chicken will be onboard.
The big problem is the liquids. We’re heading to Costa Rica, which means we will be dousing ourselves in bug spray morning and night. We’ll also slather our alabaster skin with suntan lotion. Both of these protective items are extraordinarily expensive at 10 degrees from the equator because Costa Ricans know blonde chicks will be miserable without these liquids.
So much for the easy-lifestyle backpacks. We’ll be huffin’ it with our Osprey Farpoint 40s on our back and a bag filled with liquids grudgingly passed from sibling to sibling.
WHY COSTA RICA?
Folks have asked me “why Costa Rica?” Here’s the honest truth. I put a post on Facebook asking friends where I should travel this summer. My original choice was Sud Tyrol (at the border of Austria and Italy). However, my travel companions changed their mind.
My college buddy Patrick had suggested Costa Rica. In fact, when I did not choose Costa Rica as my first choice, he was really mad. He lectured me. He told me I was making the wrong choice. He made me feel small and unadventurous.
Plan B is Costa Rica. Coincidentally, two tickets to Costa Rica costs half the price of one ride to Europe.
Meanwhile, I’ll miss my summer garden. Green tomatoes, zucchini, and squash will be bountiful about 10 minutes after I board the plane. However, my house-sitter, Thor, will be here to send me pictures of the harvest. If he kicks back in the green resin lawn chair, he might even include a picture of his feet. He’s helpful, but I don’t expect him to shred the excess zucchini and tuck it into Ziploc bags to freeze for my return.
My sister and I plan to gobble every exotic fruit we can find and send Thor pictures of our fruit baskets and our feet.
Garden enthusiast Heather Hacking can be contacted at sowtheregardencolumn@gmail.com.
