“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”
– Benjamin Franklin
When I travel this is my motto. I research. I create check lists. I have even been known to pack my bag a month out from a trip just to make sure I have everything I may need and no excess.
Doing all of this has helped me make sure I have never had to check a bag while traveling overseas. And while I would love to not have to check a bag on this journey I know that is not going to happen. So my goal with this trip is to have everything packed in two bags with as little weight as possible.
In that vain, I have done some research on compression gear and light weight materials. I have read blogs of others travelers. And I have shopped on every outdoor gear website I can find. But none of these things are as good as actually talking to someone about what the best items are to bring.
This weekend L.L. Bean opened a new store in Richmond and I got so excited. Here is a chance for me to go and look and touch the gear. I can even ask questions of the staff. So my mom and I got into the car and headed up to Short Pump.
The store was smaller than I expected but they had the exact compression gear I was looking at as well as head lamps and compression pillows. I picked up a pillow and headlamp and started trying to figure out what size I needed for the compression sack for my sleeping bag. I got super confused.
I ended up asking an employee who had to refer me to another employee, Caleb. Caleb was a wealth of knowledge. I told him what I was doing and he got so excited. He walked me through each item I was looking at.
Turns out what I wanted to put my tent in would have damaged it. The headlamp I was looking at didn’t have the best battery life. And the pillow I had wasn’t quick drying. I would have never known.
Caleb pulled out pen and paper and started writing me a list of the gear I should be looking at. He also gave me his personal email so I could ask him any questions I may have before I buy anything. He wanted to make sure I had the right gear so when I got on field I wouldn’t be without.
Even in something as seemingly simple as preparation I keep seeing that I can’t do this on my own. God also keeps showing me how He will provide a way. And as long as he provides the way I will keep moving forward.
“Consider the ravens: they never sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!”
Luke 12:24
Side note: Caleb took the information on the World Race and said he was going to look into it because it sounded right up his alley 🙂
