This Here’s the Rubber Duck

We bought walkie-talkies on Amazon last week, and I have to admit, I’m pretty excited. More so than any self-respecting adult should be.

Good thing I have so little self-respect!

The whole thing was Tara’s idea; she’d suggested a while ago that we purchase walkie-talkies so we can communicate more easily between vehicles while driving across the country. There’d be no fiddling with cellphones that way, and besides, service is spotty at best in some of the rural areas we’ll be driving through. Like the Continental Divide and probably 90% of Montana. The funny thing is, when I mentioned buying them last week, she completely forgot she’d already thought of that, said “What a great idea, babe!” and called me a genius. I was tempted to go ahead and take the credit – it’s not every day that your wife calls you brilliant – but in the end, I agreed that while the idea was smart, it was not mine.

I have already warned her that she can expect a lot of “Breaker 1-9” and “10-4, good buddy” talk from me. And I’ve been listening to C.W. McCall’s classic 1975 rock ‘n roll hit “Convoy” to brush up on my CB slang.

The best part is, even after we move, we’ll be able to use the walkie-talkies on our hiking adventures in the Black Hills.

We had a really nice holiday weekend that was both fun and productive. Saturday was spent at McMenamin’s Grand Lodge hanging out with our good friend Chris. We meet up with her every couple of months for a day of frivolity, and while the day was bittersweet knowing we won’t be having any more of these get-togethers, we did not let that stop us from having a great time. There was good food, lots of drinks, and endless conversation. We played shuffleboard and pool and walked around the gardens and talked about her coming out to visit us in South Dakota. Plenty of people say they’re going to do that, but I take it all with a grain of salt. I believe Chris actually will.

Sunday I spent hours packing, while Tara went into the office to catch up on work. I’d say we’re about 90% finished at this point; the apartment is looking pretty bare now and sounds echoey. We did take a break midday to grab sushi for lunch, and went over my parents’ house for dinner.

Monday we lazed around in the morning, then headed down to the Hawthorne District for one last hurrah in my favorite Portland neighborhood. And in doing so, crossed yet another item off our Farewell Tour.

After lunch and browsing/shopping through book stores and vintage shops, we shot over to Burnside and picked up a few records from Music Millennium. I know we’re supposed to be boxing things up rather than accumulating new things, records are the exception.

The rest of the evening was spent relaxing at home. Back to work today, but no end-of-the-weekend blues for this guy. Every day gone by gets us one day closer to the biggest adventure of our lives.

Countdown: 24 Days