Less Than Two Weeks

It's been a very busy past few weeks since the last update especially since I'm not taking any work devices (mobile phone or laptop) with me on vacation.  I'm in the midst of a major project and the two week hole is going to be tough but I've got great people working with me who will be able to pick up the slack in my absence.

It's down to final details before departure.  Went and got my yellow fever shot a few weeks ago as I'll need it since I'm going to Zambia.  That was a quick $170 out the window for about 30 seconds of work.  Got it done in New Haven and was able to be back to work in less than 45 minutes.

I finally got the hotel arranged in Gaborone!  The Cresta President will be my home away from home.. for the one night I'm in Botswana.  It's centrally located and should be easy to see the "sights" from there.  However, I need to arrange a taxi from the airport as I understand that taxis aren't frequently seen at the Gaborone airport.

I was also able to arrange my Amtrak tickets to and from NYC.  I have decided to head down on September 1 to make sure that I'm not rushing around the day of departure.  In addition, I also didn't want to park my car at the airport for two weeks while I was gone.  Fortunately, the Amtrak station is only four blocks from my home so I'll leave my car elsewhere and get a ride home then walk down to the station with my luggage on the 1st.  I've got a train scheduled out of NYC with enough time after I touch down that any delays in Immigration (shouldn't happen due to having Global Entry) or Customs won't affect me.  I will hopefully be back home by 2 PM.

Yesterday was test pack day for the trip.  I wanted to test pack to see if there was any additional clothing that I needed to buy or a bigger suitcase to acquire.  I made a trip down to Innovation Luggage in Westport to pick up some travel items.  I found some packing system items that helped greatly when test packing yesterday.  Fortunately, I have plenty of room in my main suitcase and hadn't even packed the carry-on.  Looks like extra luggage won't be an issue.

All is proceeding well.  The last item left to do is to select a hotel room for the day in Johannesburg before flying home.  Oh... and the trip to Mt. Rushmore this weekend...