getting ready

Well, we're busy tearing our hair out with last minute things that we can't see how we can possibly finish in time. The worst part of a trip is always the preparation. Once you get on that airplane, there's nothing left that you can stress out about in that area, so you can sit back and sigh and just let the trip happen. In a little over 24 hours, we'll be on our way. :-)

Meanwhile, Signal's been getting advice from some locals that All41 brought back with him from his last trip to Australia in 1995. Signal's all ready for the trip. Although...perhaps he's just a bit too ready. :-p



I'm hoping to do some caching of course, although I'm starting to think that I'll end up doing much more waymarking. There are a few very nice waymarks that haven't been created yet, especially more away from the mainstream in the outback. I've already started up a few waymark pages in anticipation of creating them.

I've tried to count up all the caches I have, but it's been so long since I've logged. If I'm correct (although I'm likely forgetting a cache or two over the past couple months), then I should be around 1185. It's possible that I could get my 1,200th cache while there, which would be super cool. But I really need to catch up on my logs to feel safe with my calculations (and also have a chat with a few people who have gone caching with me over the past few months to see if I'm forgetting anything). But we'll see.

All41 joined up with Skype, and just had me do it today as well. Skype is a service that allows you to make phone calls over the computer. You can also do videos if you have a the capabilities. All41's laptop does, but mine does not. Skype has surprisingly good quality, both the video and the audio for the phone call. If the person you are talking to has Skype as well, it's free to make calls to them, anywhere in the world. To make phone calls to and from Australia (if the other party does not have Skype), is 2 cents a minute. Not bad, considering that 13 years ago, most of the phone calls that All41 and I made to each other before he found a better plan, were $1 a minute.

So for the past week he's been making a bunch of calls over to Australia in the evenings, planning everything out. He'll turn on the speaker for his laptop so that I can listen to the other person. I've been enjoying the Australian accents and wonderful characteristics that I've missed all these years.

We tried Skype with my parents a couple days ago. They were at their house, and we were at ours. About 2 miles apart. :-p But they have a video camera in their laptop as well, so we all clustered around our respective computer screens and grinned and giggled over seeing each other. It is cool the possibilities now.

So, if we manage to get internet here and there on the trip, we'll be using Skype to keep up with family and friends. People can get ahold of me using my account name, ambrosia_apples.

I'm participating in a geocoin exchange that's rather fun. First time I've done something like this, but this one sorta jumped out at me and decided to do it. Participants submitted their name and a nearby cache. We each get another's name and location, and then activate a coin to be adopted by the other. Then, we drop the coin in a cache with the mission to get to the other cacher. My coin is coming to me from the Netherlands, and the one I'm sending is suppose to go to Germany. I hope they do well!!! I emailed the person I'm sending a coin to, and asked if they wanted me to take the coin to Australia and either dip it and bring it back with me, or just leave it in Australia. They thought that it would be fun to have me leave it there in Australia. :-D

Here's the gc.com forum link about the coin trade: Suprise, Trade & Travel

Here's the coin I'm sending out: Whitby's July Geoswag Coin and Pin Club Geocoin

Here's the coin that's being sent to me: Ambrosia's 12 Provincien Geocoinrace GeoTag