We have been training with our loaded packs for months — finally our trip is here. We leave early tomorrow morning and fly to Washington, D. C., and then onto Geneva, Switzerland. From there, we'll travel by shuttle to Les Houches, France. We will acclimate for a day and then start our Tour du Mont Blanc hike! People have asked, "Are you ready?" Hard to know — we've done our best with our training. Of course, we could always do more. However, we feel like we'll be fine as we have been training, packed lighter, and incorporated some "recovery days" into our hike.
One of the keys to our "packing lighter" is bringing different, smaller packs, than we did on our last hike in the Alps. For those equipment geeks out there, my pack is 32 liters and Greg's is 42 liters. We had planned to check Greg's pack and carry mine as a carry-on piece of luggage. Funny, when we were checking in to the airline this morning, we discovered that United Airline changed their policy on carry-on luggage and now you only have a "free" personal item. Can you believe it? For an international flight! Because we are frugal :-), we decided to check both bags (with a prayer that they both arrive) and we are carrying on a small nylon bag with a couple items on the plane. It seems like all the airlines are determined to "nickel and dime" us these days.
Finally, I had set a goal to work on my French every day this summer. Je parle un peu. I'm sorry to report that I didn't meet my goal. I guess I needed a coach to hold me accountable for my goal :-) However, sons Steven and Andrew (who both speak French) have been helping me with creating a list of key French phrases to use on the trip. I am going to try everyday to say something in French to the people we meet. Two key phrases include Je voudrais un cafe and Vous avez des toilettes? Please ask me how I do with this goal as I'm in obvious need of accountability after not following through this summer. I'm using "self compassion" with myself.
We are planning to post photos when we are able to get Internet — if you don't hear from us, it's because we're off the grid!
