Luggage and trips down memory lane...

I hate to beat a dead horse... but the day was spent packing and re-packing for 10 days in Alaska.
We moved our bags and gear into the living room a few days back. My duffel from last year's trip just didn't hold enough so I ventured down to the basement for the old tried and true rolling duffel from High Sierra. We purchased these bags the year before we moved to Denver. You can pack a backpack put it in these duffels and check them at the airport. Everything is safe and sound until you get where you're going (as long as it shows up).
Its amazing for me to think back over the last 5 years about where that duffel enabled us to go and what we were able to see and experience while we were there. Now that same duffel is headed to Alaska!
I've shuffled camera gear around from one carry on to the next over the last month. I have a really big lens that just doesn't fit in any ol' camera case. Last week we picked up a new travel laptop to download pictures to so the demands on the carry on just became more demanding. At the end of the day, I think I'll take my laptop bag from work. It'll be tight but as functional as anything else in the end. One more trip to the camera gear store (and REI) and we should (read, "might") be ready to pack for good.
In the mean time, Pam has kicked her photography to a whole new level. Its very cool to see. I consider myself more of a statistical technician. I'm becoming more competant with the technical aspects of photography and my camera. I take hundreds of photos a day so statistically a few of them are decent. Pam on the other hand, just has an eye for it. Her composition is really nice and she's quite creative (I started using the word "quite" last year after hanging out with some Canadians. It means the same as "very" but sounds SO much more sophisticated...).
I anticipate that very shortly Pam will be the teacher and I'll be the pupil. Life goes on...
On an entirely different note, yesterday we got to spend some time hiking in some beautiful country with a couple of my favorite people. Life is so good...
I think I'll go re-pack again...