Getting our vacation ducks in a row...

And the are SO MANY DUCKS...

This week, in three days, in fact, we join the ranks of “those people” who take off for awhile and go somewhere awesome. Or at least somewhere somewhat off the beaten path. I guess Medellin, Colombia is a huge city of 2.5 million, so “off the beaten path” PROBABLY isn’t the best way to describe it, but... In our defense, we ARE going to a tiny little town where the internet (and the power, for that matter) come and go later in the trip.

But back to the ducks. Vaccines. Shots. I have to swallow live salmonella cultures for this oral one? Yikes! Passports. Paper copies of our passports. Cash. What credit card do we take? Do the hotels want cash or credit? Backpacks or suitcases? Okay, we’re not supposed to look like tourists for safety’s sake. What the hell does THAT mean?? Public transportation. How do we get from Cartagena to Santa Marta? Do we hire a car from the airport to the hotel ahead of time? And that’s just for the actual trip.

Taking a pill with "live salmonella cultures" on the box was disconcerting as hell...

Clean the house. Take the cat to Craig’s. Buy cat litter. Pack. Laundry. Not necessarily in that order... Do I need a rain coat? Or will my packable jacket suffice? I guess I shouldn’t take full size shampoo bottles, those take up too much space. Should we shut off the water? It’s only leaked when we run the washer. What about the plants? The succulents will be okay for three and a half weeks, will the hibiscus? Make sure the credit card bill is paid. And the mortgage. And the car insurance.... Eat down all the food in the fridge. I guess the frozen stuff will keep for almost a month. And the beer. Not so much the milk. Oh, and a jury summons, of course. Right smack in the middle of the trip.

I got creative with the contents of my salad for lunch trying to eat down the food in the fridge...

I wrote those first few paragraphs yesterday. Today, it's better. The bags are packed, the cash is withdrawn, the shampoo situation has been figured out, jury duty has been postponed, and the last pressing thing I need to figure out is what to have for dinner tonight, our last night eating at home.  Worst case, we order a pizza.