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Southeast USA 2009

Southeast USA 2009 Day 1: Getting Ready

Friday, September 25, 2009

Most vacations, I like to start off with a day off from work so I can get some last minute shopping and laundry done. Today was no different, as Daniel and I headed out to get some quick breakfast and to stop at the bank. I noticed that my TPMS monitor had come on in the CR-V yesterday, and today when I got into it, I noticed there was a slight list to the car. I figured I would stop and get some air before I ran my errands today and then get whatever the problem was fixed when I returned. On the way to the bank, I heard the distinct ‘click-click-click’ of a foreign object lodged in my wheel. When I arrived, I was hoping to see just a small rock in the wheel, but lo and behold there was a huge bolt!

Not wanting to risk being stranded on the day before the trip, I headed back home where we then got into Daniel’s Prius to do some errands. For this trip, I decided to retire my old red backpack that has traveled with me everywhere since the early 90s. It was tough to retire, but the fact that most of the zippers were stuck on one side, I decided it was time to upgrade. We ventured to REI where I picked out a nice Jansport blue backpack.

We finished up the errands and enabled our iPhones for MMS, and then as Daniel went to work, I got my tires fixed. Turns out my two front tires were over-worn from lack of tire rotation (I know, I know I have totally slacked on this CR-V!) so not only did I pony up the cash for a tire fix, but also for two new tires. The experts at America’s Tire had my repair job done in about 25 minutes. I was glad there were no other customers.

Heading home, I was thinking about the Michael Palin series “New Europe” which I have not seen all the way through. I bought the DVD in London in 2007 and have never converted it. It seemed like a good time to try, so tonight I have been attempting to get it converted to my iPhone to watch on the plane.

My Mac seems to not like converting foreign region DVDs, but thankfully my PC does not have such an issue. I am currently using a combo method which seems to be working. I might not have enough time to do the whole series before I depart, but I will try.

The rest of tonight will be spent packing and cleaning the apartment so that when I return it will be nice and inviting and not a mess.