July 9Th (T-9 Days)

Stuff to take and stuff not to take, that is the question. Obviously I'll need jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts, socks and all that junk one needs to get dressed and stay warm when on a boat. The question I have is what about the toys I need to bring. The GPS, a cell phone, binoculars, a leather man tool, Ipod and any other thing I could need or not need. This is an opportunity to use all the cool tools I've been collecting over the years, thinking I'd go camping or something similar. Now I've got a chance to actually use all that stuff. Who knows maybe the Loran (GPS for boats) breaks and my lowly Garmin will save the day. The engine could blow a head gasket and I could use the Letatherman tool to make a new one out of a wetsuit. There is huge potential here for me to bring the right tool to do the right thing to save the day..... Yeah right, who am I kidding.

Here is some of the swag I'll bring and maybe I'll use it or maybe it will just be dead weight. The blackberry is coming as it will do double or triple duty as a phone, quick camera, game boy, Ipod, or send the odd email during the insanely long flights. I've got a couple of knives to bring, one straight edge and one serrated. I don't know two different blades but now is the chance to find out if there really is a reason for each to exist. A small flashlight as I've got a feeling I don't want to wander the dock at night without knowing where the edge is and where the water begins. I'll be bringing a digital camera (Nikon Cool Pix) so I can snap a quick shot of our daily mistake or triumph. Lastly a waterproof digital watch that has a light or is back lit. This is actually the one item that was suggested to me by a friend who has been on a trip of this sort to Alaska. My buddy Bernie mentioned there will be a time when everybody is asleep and I'll need to check the time or use a small light to find my way around the boat (bathroom break) where a flashlight will be too much. The suggestion was to get a cheap watch at Wal_Mart that I won't worry about if it gets trashed, but has a good light to it.

That's it for this posting, I really need to get to packing my clothes, all my toys and ship the goods off.

Right on.
J

don't forget, www.CameraLandNJ.com