Now that I’m back in San Jose, California after a week in Florida, I have less than a week until I leave for Pakistan! A fun note about the GoGo Gear riding pants that I bought for this trip is that when I went to wash them for the first time. I noticed on the tag that they were made in Pakistan. It’s like my pants are going home.

I’m on a plane back to San Jose after one week in Florida to deliver Hunter Dain to her freshman year at the University of Tampa. I’m so happy for her to take this big step into her future. It was difficult to say goodbye, knowing that the part of our lives where I have daily interaction with Hunter is over. Eighteen years to raise a child goes by in the blink of a eye. The last thing she said to me was “don’t die in Pakistan” we’ve been joking about my demise in Pakistan for a couple of months now. But this really brought it to heart that she is harboring real concern about the trip I’m about to take.

One of the most difficult parts of planning this trip has been deciding what kind of clothing to bring. I’m expecting a great variation of weather from 90 degree temperatures in Islamabad to 20 degrees up at elevation in the Himalayas. Today I bought a pair of glove liners which I hope will be enough to keep my hands warm inside my motorcycle gloves.

There was a terrorist bombing in Quetta, Pakistan today. I’m not sure how I feel about it. These are the kinds of things that a sheltered American can ignore and go about their safe daily existence. But can I? With a few Google clicks I learn that Quetta is about 900 Kilometers (600 miles) from where I will be in Islamabad. About the same distance I am in San Jose to Los Angeles. If a bomb were to go off in LA would I feel the same fear that I am feeling now or would I shrug it of and feel insulated by the distance.

Failure… They are still wet.

I wore my new merino wool socks all day today. They were very comfortable. It’s hard to believe that wool socks can breathe enough to make your feet comfortable on a hot summer day but it’s true my feet sweat but the wool socks moved moisture away from my feet and I was totally comfortable.

I’ve read that wool socks are also better than cotton socks for travelers because you can wash them out in a sink and hang them up overnight. In the morning they are supposed to be dry and ready to wear again while cotton socks will not dry overnight.

It seems to me that the more I prepare for this trip the more uneasy I become about going. Everything was great when I said, “sure I’ll go that would be a great adventure!” But was it naive of me to think I could do this. Today I spoke with a representative from Kaiser Permanente, my health insurance company. I recently found out that they have a service called the Traveler’s Clinic. The Traveler’s Clinic researches your destination and makes immunization suggestions based on expected health risks in the country you are visiting. They are very thorough and provided me with a 30 page report detailing multiple issues I may encounter. Can I really get Dengue fever?