Today was my first day of travel.
Before I could travel, I had to do a number of things that took me most of the
day.
In order to pack for my trip, I
wanted to do my laundry today so that I would have the maximum amount of
clothing to choose from. Because of the time of year, I chose to bring both some
lighter winter clothing and some spring/summer clothing. I had completed my laundry,
folded my clothing, and took out what was not going. I had been thinking about
taking my medium-sized suitcase. I even got it out and started to put a couple
of things in. I looked at what I was bring and decided that there was no way
that I would be able to put everything into my suitcase that I needed/wanted.
So…. I pulled out the big suitcase. I will be gone for just over two weeks and
I am bringing enough clothing that if I can’t get a load of laundry done, I
have enough clothing except for underwear. I can wash out some underwear in the
bathroom sink if need be.
I also didn’t get a chance to print
some business cards yesterday. I set that up to print while I was trying to
complete something else.
Before I was able to have the time
to pack, I had a couple of medical appointments this morning. So, I was able to
manage to get the laundry into the wash machine early enough that I was able to
put the clothes into the dryer before I left for my appointments. A couple of
months ago, my doctor had a blood test done for cholesterol and put me on some
medication. Today, we were reviewing the results of a blood test that was done
earlier this week. He was very happy with the results and is letting me go
without the medication until I come home again. I just have to watch what I
eat.
Every time I tried to complete a
task so that I could get everything completed by the time my husband came home,
something else came up. I almost forgot the books that I make annotations in
regarding records that I find. I don’t know how many times I reopened my
suitcase to add something more. I had to print off some flyers and invitations
to a family history fireside chat in May.
Finally, I was able to pack my
laptop and remembered that I should take a spare pair of glasses. I found about
three pair that I can use as a spare pair. I almost forgot where the suitcase
locks were. Finally, I was packed and I didn’t think that I had anything more
that had to go in. I can just lift my suitcase to put it into the back of our
vehicle. Fortunately, there will be a few things that won’t be coming back.
As most family historians know, when
you visit an archive, you can get excellent service if you give them a little
gift, preferably something from your part of the world. As most people that are
going on this trip are from the Ottawa area, they are bringing souvenirs of
Canada. I decided that I had to be different. I am the only person from Newfoundland
going on this trip that I am aware of. So, about a month ago, I went looking. Do
you realize how hard it is to find souvenirs when it is not tourist season?
Well, I managed to find six shot glasses, three of each of two different
designs, small Newfoundland flags, some large chocolate bars, and, we just
happen to have a number of pins representation of the Canadian Army. I can only
hope that these will work their magic for me and get me the help I need to find
certain records.
By 5 pm, I had everything into the
vehicle, my husband had changed and we opted to stop along the way at a Timmies
for some supper. I just happen to have some gift cards for Timmies that we hadn’t
used yet and we didn’t have to pay any money.
So, now, I am ready to crash to get
some sleep before getting on a plane tomorrow morning to travel from St John’s,
Newfoundland to Toronto, to meet my brother and most of the other members of
our group going on our expedition.
