THANKS!

Happy Memorial Day! First, thank you to all of the service men and women who are serving or have served our country and give this day meaning. :)

Next... the all important vacation. I am all over this camping thing. I have thus far acquired hiking boots - Merrell Chameleon Arc Mid Waterproof Hiking boots from REI.com:

and hiking pants - Northface Paramount Convertible Pants also from REI:

I tried the hiking boots out on Saturday. No, not in the woods... but at the outlets! I know, not what they're meant for, but heck, that was a lot of walking. I will tell you that they are pretty darn comfy. I don't think they really needed breaking in. I was hoping to test their waterproofness since it was raining, but of course, by the time we got to the outlets, it had stopped raining. Regardless, I can tell you they are comfy and light. Not all that attractive in my opinion, but none of the hiking boots are. I think it's time I design a girly-girl line of hiking/camping gear. There is clearly a need.

As for the pants, I will tell those of you interested that they run small, just as I had read in the reviews on the web site. Therefore, you will need to buy a size up, something I am generally opposed to as it is bad for my self-esteem, but most of the other hiking pants look pretty unflattering compared to these, so I sucked it up. Also, these convert into semi-attractive shorts at a decent length, unlike many other convertibles which are still really long when converted into shorts, looking like something my mom would wear.

I think all I really need to buy now in terms of gear is a good waterproof jacket, as I've got a couple of fleeces I can layer in, some hiking socks, and one of those compressable pillows. I think the rest I can borrow or rent. Too bad vacation is still 6 months away. =P

For any of you interested in hiking the Inca Trail, there are still plenty of permits available for December 26th! You can use this website: http://www.inc-cusco.gob.pe/Kratos/site/Main.html to check daily availability. Only 500 people are allowed on the trail every day, including the guides and porters. If you look on our date, 24 permits have already been requested, and I think that pretty much accounts for the 4 of us, our 4 personal porters, our guide, our cook, and maybe 3 or 4 more porters that carry the tents and kitchen gear, and about 10 random people. We have signed up with http://www.llamapath.com/ for the trek and based on many of the reviews, they have good food, good guides, and treat their porters well, which is one of the reasons we chose them. While in Cusco, we are staying at the Ninos Hotel, whose profits go towards helping the orphans and poor children in Cusco. I love the idea of my vacation doing a little bit to help out.