"The path of least resistance is the path of the loser." - H.G. Wells

We'll leave the house at 8 a.m. tomorrow and stop at a favorite restaurant in Harrisburg 40 minutes north of here for breakfast. They have great BACON. Then on to PDX so I can check in for the first of my flights. I'll leave at 1:30 and arrive in Amsterdam at 8:30 a.m. local, which is 12:30 a.m. Elmira time. Ten hours.
I have a layover of just under two hours before boarding a 10:15 a.m. (local) flight to Dar es Salaam, arriving there at 9:55 p.m. local, another 10 hours +/-. That's 7:55 a.m. Elmira time.
So I'll spend 22 hours getting from here to Tanzania.
I'm told it will take me about two hours to clear customs in Dar, and then I'll go by cab to the Transit Motel for a few hours sleep. I have to be back at the airport at 6:30 a.m. for a flight to Mbeya on the other side of Tanzania.
I might be just a little tired by the time I get there.
I learned today that I'm leading a devotional time for a group of pastors that afternoon. Cory forgot to tell me he volunteered me for that one. They will probably get a blithering idiot.

I spent today scrambling to get things done in anticipation for being gone almost three weeks.

• The coop is ready for chickens. I'll move them out the day I get back.
• The gravel Todd put down is raked and I marked where I want the rest of it to go. He'll bring it in and spread it later this week...I hope. 
• I got two rhubarb starts planted, but I'm not sure they'll survive. I looked several places and could only find them at a local discount store. They came out of the package looking pretty lame. 
• I set eight mouse traps - three in Fred's loft, three on the main floor, and two in the coop. I startled the little rascals in the loft and the coop when I was working today, and found the start of a nest in the loft. This is something up with which I will not put. 
• I got fresh bills at the bank so I won't have trouble at the currency exchange in Dar. They won't accept wrinkled cash. Let's hope wrinkled skin isn't a problem. 
• I packed, which may have been the most stressful part of the day. I don't have enough of the right kind of clothes and am pretty sure I've forgotten something important. A quick trip to Walmart isn't an option, so I'll have to do without it, whatever it is. And at some point I'll need laundry done. 

I've got books, music, games, and study materials to keep me occupied on my flights. I've been eating salty foods all day per my cardiologist's recommendation so I'll retain fluids, hopefully forestalling any episode of the sort that messed up my trip to Puerto Rico. Beef jerky and GORP in my carry-on to continue the theme. 

Pam's got a bad head cold, has little voice left, and has a nasty cough. I'll be in my chair tonight for what little time I'll spend actually sleeping. Too much stuff in my head. 

Get up early to shower, pack the toiletries, and off we go. 

I don't expect any way to contact the outside world in Dar, but by the time I get to Mbeya I'm told I'll have internet access, so maybe blog posts will resume then. Or in Amsterdam if there's access, time, and inclination. 

Later, folks.