To Lisbon!!!

The day is finally here.  A grand vacation to celebrate my wife and my 25th Anniversary!  This trip has been planned to have something for both of us.  The first part will be sightseeing in Lisbon and Porto.  We'll stay in proper hotels.  The second part is thru-hiking the Portuguese Camino de Santiago, specifically the Central Route.

With that, my venerable ULA Catalyst is taken out of my backpacking closet.  Despite all the years, I can still smell the PCT on her.  Jill calls it a stink that won't go away.  I call it the smell of victory.  She is total overkill for this hike.  I really thought of purchasing a new pack just for this journey, but then again, this pack has gone a long way with me.  She deserves this trip as well.

From a gear point of view, I'm only carrying clothes.  With the total weight about 15 pounds, I took the aluminum struts out.  I tried walking with it that way, but it really felt awkward, so I put them back in.  I am a bit concerned that airport security might have issues with them.  I guess I'll take my chances.

I scheduled our flight out of Mitchell Field for a 6 p.m. flight.  That gives us plenty of time.  We'll take the County Bus for the first time.  It is straight ride from our house.

The bus is on time.  Our flight is on time.  I don't sleep on planes, so it is going to be a very long day.