Ears to the Ground

As the packing continues for our March 15th departure date, the storage unit is nearly full, and the apartment is almost empty. With only two plates, two glasses, one cup (I’m not a coffee drinker), a bowl, a couple of pans and a coffee maker, the kitchen has only the bare necessities. Counters, shelves, and cabinets have nothing on or in them. Our last meals are being designed around what’s left in the refrigerator or pantry, or by what utensils and pans aren’t already in storage.

Tonight, while Sandy was finishing up her 2011 taxes, I went to inflate the queen-sized air mattress only to find that we had packed it. It must have been in the “big bin” with the too-heavy tents. Since the mattresses went to storage this morning, tied on the top of the Jeep, we unpacked our “new” Big Agnes double sleeping bag. I slipped her Therm-a-rest and my closed foam pad into the built in sleeves. The arrangements for our last few nights of apartment sleeping were done.  What the heck, we’re going be sleeping on the ground for the next six months anyway!  For now we have the added comfort of carpeting below us, and a real bathroom only a few feet away.

Only two more days until we vacate the apartment, and drive north towards our new lives as gypsy AT thru-hikers…