gear. part 2. • 15 comments • Remember the Gregory z30 backpack from our first gear post? Well, it turns out that it's just not big enough. As much as we love the back-venting system, it reduces much-needed space. So, we have exchanged both bags (the Gregory and the MEC Brio 60) for: MEC Brio 50 Plus Backpack and the MEC Brio 70 Backpack Compared to the other backpacks they sell at Mountain Equipment Co-op, the value for these is amazing. With a combined space of 120 litres I think we should have all the room we'll need. Coglan's Emergency Blanket - This 'blanket' cost less than 2 dollars and it's size, when folded up, is slightly bigger than a credit card. On Sight Universal Pouch - We purchased several of these pouches. Other travelers swear by packing cubes. These are essentially the same thing. They allow you to organize items separately so that you're not rifling through your whole bag for one item. We purchased different sizes and colors as well as some that have plastic instead of mesh. MEC Travel Pouch - A similar idea to the last item but with more organizational fun. MEC Document Holder - The title explains it all. Tissue On The Go! - This cost just over a dollar and is really tiny. We're also taking a full roll because every travel book/blog we ever read said that it's an essential item. Charmin Toilet Seat Covers - If people weren't so disgusting, these wouldn't really be necessary. However, we have a feeling we won't be using these anyway... better to get our quad muscles ripped. Transcend External Hard Drive: - We had all of our previous photos on two computers and thought that it didn't matter if one broke. When my old Macbook's hard drive broke, we realized that our pictures from Tokyo were only on that computer. Although we lost several great photos, we had them on Facebook, and had given some CDs to family so we were able to salvage most of them. This thing will prevent that loss from happening again. It's encased in rubber and is apparently drop-tested using US Military standards. We went with the 500 GB capacity in hopes that it will accommodate the ridiculous amount of photos we will most likely take. MEC Pocket Dry Bag-We're planning on using this to keep our camera dry between uses on rainy days. Silk Sleeping Bag Liner: -These have come highly recommended by other around-the-world travellers as a way of avoiding suspect sheets and bed bugs. CLIF Energy Bars: - As far as energy bars go, the flavors of the CLIF brand aren't so bad. The added bonus: they fill you up for hours. Tekk Cutlery: -Small and cheap. I'm sure we'll use these at some point. SuperSak Laundry Bag: -33 cents well spent! SweetWater Purifier Solution: - We were given a great tip about this stuff from the guy from MEC. We were considering the steri-pen but read some bad reviews online. Everyone tells us we're better off drinking beer, but Mina isn't a fan. If any of you have had any pleasant experiences in Mexico City - we would love to hear them! Particularly a nice place to stay. Yep, this means we're finally heading out of Toronto. Stay tuned for status updates! photos from mec.ca
it's official! • 23 comments • All the conditions the offer have been met, so the house is definitely sold now! It's a particularly exciting day for me; I quit my job of four years. I handed in my two weeks notice to my boss today. Although there were some interesting projects and problems to solve at work, I'm very excited to now be moving forward with our plans. The possession date for our house is October 28th so we're hoping to start our voyage the next day. -Alex
a matter of time... • 18 comments • Guess what? We got an offer on the house and we accepted it! It's still subject to financing, but we're confident that it'll be official by next week. This is a huge relief to us. In the past few weeks we've had to reject other offers for various reasons, which was incredibly stressful. Showing the house to "Sunday shoppers" wasn't fun either. It seems like all that frustration is finally over. Now we can focus on sorting out the last few details for our wedding, selling remaining possessions, and planning our departure. The hardest part is finally over!
the forks • 11 comments • The Forks would probably be considered the primary 'tourist attraction' in Winnipeg and we use that term loosely. We are not sure if it actually attracts any tourists - but if you're visiting family/friends here they'll force you to go there. We decided to spend the afternoon there one last time. The skatepark was particularly busy when we walked by. Apparently this is one of the largest skate parks in the country. Tony Hawk filmed some scenes for a movie here a few years ago. We can't believe fall is approaching so quickly. As long as we don't have to be here for another Winnipeg winter, we'll be content.
things we'll miss - backyard lounging • 12 comments • I built this deck 2 years ago - and it's still together! We've enjoyed many BBQ meals on it. We're going to have to make sure we put our feet up and relax one last time before we move. - Alex
painting • 7 comments • Last week we feverishly got some rooms painted before our first house showing. Mina doesn't know how to paint without getting paint all over herself: Painting can get really frustrating so we try to make it fun by listening to some tunes and dancing around while we're working. This time we threw some old podcasts into the mix - namely The Ricky Gervais Show. The painting is all done and we've been steadily showing the house. I guess all we can do now is wait for the right buyer. How could they pass after seeing our mad painting skillz? -Alex
yard sale • 10 comments • Purging all our belongings is proving to be much more of a daunting task than we expected. This blog seems so materialistic - we are hoping to completely change that tone once we start traveling - so please bear with us. At the end of our recent yard sale, I felt like we had as many things as we started with. Despite the fact that we had made a decent amount of money, we took a lot of 'stuff' back in. Where did these things come from? I am cursing myself for all of the unnecessary purchases I have made over the years. I am making a vow to myself, when we return, I will not buy that shirt because it's on sale (and never wear it) or that 'too-big' skirt that I can alter (I can't sew) or anything that I don't absolutely need. We'll see how that goes. - Mina
friday night at the bridge drive-in • 16 comments • There's so much going on lately and the two of us are feeling more than a little overwhelmed. Last night, we took a break to hang out at the Bridge Drive-In (BDI), a local retro ice cream parlor. While parking, we were entertained by this man in the parking lot, cranking out tunes on an accordion: The BDI is situated on the banks of the Red River. The parlor's namesake is a walking bridge over the river that connects to the BDI parking lot. The bridge opened in 1912 as a vehicular bridge. It has since been made into a walking bridge, providing views of passing boats, among other things. Too many choices: We got a root beer float and a dipped cone. The ice cream was nothing special, but it was a fun distraction from our 'to-do' list before leaving.
should it stay or should it go? part deux. • 20 comments • Thanks to everyone for the helpful suggestions regarding our previous post about our wii, bikes, and macbook. We are still torn about the bikes, but the other two are definitely 'going'. While we agree with some of the comments that the easiest thing would be to get rid of absolutely everything, that's easier said than done - especially when it's not your stuff! We have both accumulated some things that are very precious to us andwould really hate to part. We love our drums. Even though the guitar is cheap and old and kind of broken, it has some sentimental value and it's hard to let go. Well, those are some things we just have to put into storage. Now, here are some more things we're not sure about. 1) our car. (2006 honda civic) We're fortunate enough to never have had a loan or a lease on this thing, which is why we don't want to sell it. However, even if we were to lend it to someone, cars depreciate incredibly quickly and it may be a better idea to recoup what we can now and at least earn some interest on it in the bank. 2) the iPod(s) Clearly we have some sort of apple obsession. We are torn about the iPods. I use the shuffle while run ning and won't get rid of it. Alex likes the touch and it is the best one to keep out of the four. So that leaves the video and the nano. They're small - maybe we should just bring them along to have extra movies/music/battery life? Do you think it would just be more of a hassle to have them? We find taking the extra ones on short trips have come in handy, but all around the world...we're not so sure. We can't wait to hear your thoughts. There's only a month and a half until our projected date for starting our trip. So much to do in so little time. -Mina
