We’re loading up our 5th wheel to head to Gladwin this Thursday for a few days of camping and performing with our dulcimer club. Since I haven’t really unpacked from our Upper Peninsula trip, I don’t know if I’m packing or unpacking. It is lots easier to load up the trailer than it is to prepare for a truck trip to the Upper Peninsula. When heading to the U.P., we pack our vehicle then when we get there, we unpack, then pack to come back, and unpack when we get home.

This week we will take our 5th wheel to Gladwin but at least the stuff stays in the trailer while we’re there (sorta). The weekend should be fun.

A little over a week after we get back from Gladwin (on the 10th), we will be heading to the Midland Dulcimer Festival. Thankfully, stuff can just stay in the trailer, so as I pack for Gladwin I’ll be including the some of the stuff for Midland.

We’ll be at the Midland Festival from August 19th or 20th until the 24th. It’s always a highlight of our summer. Lots of fun with good friends.

To complicate things, two days after we return from Midland, I’ll leave to fly down to be with Mom (on the 26th). That’s three weeks from tomorrow.

Today I reserved a rental car to use for the two weeks I’ll be down there alone. I hadn’t planned on renting a vehicle since I got along quite nicely last time just using the golf cart, but things have changed. Just before I came back from my last visit with Mom, I had to move her from one nursing home to another. When Mom was at Courtyards, I only had to go about 1/2 a mile to see her. I could zip over in less than five minutes. Now that Mom is at Cypress Creek, it’s about three miles from our condo. The golf trail to get there is pretty bumpy in places and if it’s raining (which I understand it’s been doing a lot lately), it will be hard to go to see her.

This whole packing/unpacking business is complicated even more because, when I get back from Florida on September 9th, I’ll have one day to repack for a return trip with John by vehicle back to Florida. We’ll leave Michigan on September the 11th to drive back down and we’ll stay until the end of October. As I’m packing to go to Florida, I’ll also be packing the stuff in separately that I’ll bring when I we drive back down on the 11th. (I will try to travel light when flying, and bring the rest when we come back.)

It’s a tad mind-boggling. Good thing I love lists.

I’m unpacking from the U.P., packing for Gladwin and Midland, while also packing for two Florida trips. Whew… Guess I’d better get busy!!