Women and their shoes

Maybe I should say me and my shoes. I had no idea I was one of those women that felt strongly about wearing the right shoe with the right outfit. I normally have no issue packing. I travel for business all the time.

But when traveling abroad I cannot tell you the times that someone guessed my nationality because of the shoes I was wearing. (Apparently we are notoriously bad dressers.) I am determined not to embarrass myself this time.

So when I started to pack for my South American cruise, I packed the appropriate shoe to go with the outfit I would wear if I were home. But there is the rub. I will not be home and I do not want to have one piece of luggage just for my shoes. That is plain silly.

So I unpacked the red sandals, the high-heeled pointy-toed brown pump, the black short-heeled pointy-toed pump, the medium brown sandal, the taupe sling backs, the black leather flip-flop with adorable black bow, and my sneakers. (I had already decided against the hiking boots; after all, I would only be in the jungle 2 days.) This did not include the cutest black and white buckle-toed plaid shoes I was planning on wearing on the plane. Egad it was like a different shoe for every day.

I am starting over--re-thinking my clothing options, which of course, drives the shoe choices. I need the sneakers, and a sandal and something dressy. Sigh. I will have to build my wardrobe around the shoes not the other way around.

Packing Peanuts

I received a chickadee winter roosting box for Christmas (something I have been pining after for a few years.) In the box were the ubiquitous packing peanuts, but this time with a twist! The box was packed with new starch peanuts. They are 100% biodegradable. According to a slip of paper in the box “Just a little water will dissolve them right before your eyes. They are environmentally friendly; water soluble; safe and easy to use; durable yet lightweight and best of all suitable for composting." I picked one up and stuck it under running water and lo and behold it dissolved. Finally someone came up with a fabulous solution to the packing problem. Drs. Foster and Smith puts its money where its mouth is when caring for the environment. I like that.

Northern Exposure

I am heading off to Anchorage for a business trip tomorrow morning at 5am. I will be taking some vacation as well. As luck would have it, the Kachemak Bay Shorebird Festival is the 4 days preceding my business trip. I do not know if I will be able to blog from Homer, Alaska; if I can I will let you know what is happening. I will be driving back to Anchorage on Sunday. Then after the conference, I will be spending some time with the good folks at Wilderness Birding Adventures on a Northern Owl weekend.

Packing for something like this is always a struggle for me. Since I often squeeze in some birding time on business trips, you would think I would have a system after all of this time. The crux of the matter is the outdoor clothes are often bulkier than business wear. This trip was particularly hard to pack for, since the forecast says mid 40s and rain the entire time I am gone. So, I had to pack, not only the rain poncho, but rain pants, Neos, and cold weather gear, like long underwear, wooley hat and gloves. Yikes, I hope I don’t need all of this.

So I will be out of touch for about 2 weeks. Hang in there. I will have cool stuff to tell you when I get back.