I am travelling very light. I am learning to do with less as there is less storage on my bike and I tend to bring more than I need. This time I am probably bringing less then I need. I am planning some trips on my bike during 2010 and by the time you pack all the mechanical essentials, safety, emergency and electronic gizmos, you have no room left for clothes. I think on my extended weekend to Kelowna last year I only brought 2 t-shirts, shorts and an extra pair of pants and I thought that even that was too much. Plus I also wear full riding gear; jacket, riding pants and riding boots even in the heat of summer. This trip is a test for me to learn how not to overpack.
My essentials are my camera gear. I am leaving the big guns at home and only bringing pocket cameras. My Hawaiian Camera (recent purchase for this Hawaiian trip) is my new hybrid camera (Panasonic DMC-ZS3) which is capable of taking very good still images, has a 12x optical zoom and produces excellent quality HD video 720p30 . No camera is perfect so my backup is my Canon G10 which I will use for my daylight pictures at 80 or 100 iso and for my night shots. I require the manual mode for this, and also I have a radio shutter release for the G10 for my family portraits.
I hardly have any room for clothes. All of my cameras need a different charger, plus I have a Lenmar Unisource multi charger which is capable of charging virtually any camera battery I am bringing as a backup. As P&S batteries are very small I also have a small 100w inverter so I will be able to charge batteries in the rent-a-car and managed a small Manfrotto tripod in the suitcase.
Without going into full detail, I am only bringing; 1 shirt, 1 golf type shirt, 2 T-shirts, 1 shorts, 1 convertible/shorts, bathing suit and understuff. I am not sure if I have room for the Pink Crocs as they say you need hiking shoes to go up the mountain and it is colder than KW up there. I am bringing a small netbook with an extra 500 gig external drive.
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I don't like to leave you hanging with only a single photo so I will lead you to a short video which highlights a short section of I-5 on our way to Seattle last December. We had to drive down there two weekends in a row. The first weekend was to meet Troubador, Trobairitz and Chuck and visit the Seattle Cycle World & Toyota Motorcyle show. The following weekend we attended a birthday luncheon in Bellevue. We try to avoid freeways where possible and usually by-pass Seattle by taking 405 to I-90, but on this day we were headed to Pike Place Market to visit Chuck.
Stay tuned. I hope to be able to post some pictures while we are away, but realize that I am only using a Netbook with a small keyboard so entries may be shorter than usual and WiFi is only available from the resort lobby. There may be a requirement to wear clothes while posting.
Dear Bob:
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a great time in Hawaii. I have only been to Honolulu once... During my halcyon days of business travel. I flew to Honolulu to meet a client for dinner. Spent the night. And flew back to Chicago in the morning. I was there about 15 hours. It took much longer to fly there and back.
Have a safe trip...
Fondest regards,
Jack • Reep • Toad
Have a fantastic time, and bring back some nice photos.
ReplyDeleteBon Voyage, Bob. Hoping you and Yvvone have a great time in the sun. Don't get lost on Kilauea like I did one night. Park ranger rescued me the next morning. Long story -:)
ReplyDeleteLucky you! Have a fab time both of you.
ReplyDeleteHave a great trip! I haven't been to the big island in 30 years when I went for work. I spent a lot of time on the volcanoes with a bunch of geologists looking at lava flows. We never made it to Kona. I hear that it is a beautiful town and the whole island is a much better place to visit than Oahu. Less "touristy". I'm looking forward to the pictures.
ReplyDeleteWell, this sucks, frankly. here I am freezing my ass of and you are where it's warm. The world really is turning upside down.
ReplyDeleteIn my misery I am glad to see you are totally incapable of traveling light and in addition to your pink crocs (which are great for hiking- break a leg!)I see you like orange women's underwear. You are more fascinating every day.
Dis you pack a machete? they will charge you an arm and a leg to open a coconut for you. Mine are free when it's safe to go outdoors around here.
Have a safe flight and great vacation Bobskoot!
ReplyDeletePink Crocs and orange thongs. What a colorful combination. What a vision!
ReplyDeleteSeriously though, how much room can crocs take up in the bag! They have to be more important than cables and chargers for your gadgets. Pictures from Hawaii just will not seem realistic to me without at least one with a pink Croc in it.
Have a great time on the island, just don't get too close to the top of that volcano.
group reply:
ReplyDeletethank you for your kind wishes. Very soon we will be on our way to the airport, hopefully to a warmer place for a week in the sun.
It has been a long time since we have been to Hawaii. We had friends in Honolulu before they moved to Seattle. It's going to be great to have no timetable and just get up, ride around the island and take pictures. I can almost feel the pressure as all of you are expecting masterpieces but a lot of photography is luck to be there at the right time for the sunset. Also there are those "snapshots" which will bring back those memories as you view them years later. And also those "lost" stories which are not funny at the time they happen.
I remember a story (true) that happened when we drove our Jeep to the Rockies. We went up to Jasper and drove down the Icefields Parkway and ended up somewhere near Moraine lake (which was featured on the reverse of the Cdn $5. bill). We were approaching a viewpoint and I was getting my camera equipment out of the trunk. Mrs Scoot got out and went over to the viewpoint and came back to the car very excited and said, "There's a guy down there with a BIG camera". I said to her I will go down there but first I must take a few pictures of these Mountain goats on the side of the Mountain. When I was finished I went down the trail and encountered this guy with a professional tripod and a humungous camera attached. Being the photographer that I am I stopped to talk to him. It appeared that he was doing a National Geographic documentary on Mountain goats and had travelled from Edmonton many times to be able to capture pictures of mountain goats on the side of the Mountain. Finally after a long time, this time he accomplished his goal. All I had to do was step out of the car, aim my camera and got the shots without any effort. This day, I was lucky. If I can ever find this particular photo it will remind me of that day.
to me, photography is a snapshot, a memory to be cherished. If I can share my images with you and you enjoy them, then I will feel contented. They don't have to be masterpieces or a technically perfect image, it is a feeling of the moment which I hope will give you some joy, and I am humbled to think that you give me this credibility
I hope to be able to post a photo or two and I will have my netbook with me while I am away.
PS: sometimes I like to "play" with you with my images and place objects which you may or may not notice. And I see that Mr Conchscooter and cpa3485 have good eyes even though they are past their prime.
while I am away, I am not far away. I am as close as the nearest WiFi. My smart phone is enabled for USA roaming so I will continue to get my emails. If you need anything from Hawaii, let me know (bobskoot@telus.net)
Safe and happy travels to you both! Hope you have many of the "lucky moments" so you can share them all with us. Enjoy yourselves, these are the happy times of life!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat? No speedo? Don't forget to take speedo cable lube.
ReplyDeleteHope you get to relax. We will be expecting some awesome photos. No pressure, mind you.
I didn't worry about the orange thong. Once the line is crossed to pink crocs anything is possible!
You're probably on your way but, hope you guys have a great and relaxing time in Hawaii! And get lots of pics!
ReplyDelete