Today is the day of departure! A lot to do with little time to do it. Putting the finishing touches on the van, and *hopefully* the rear fog lights. If not, we will have to attempt to install them in Chicago! Slept in till 9:30 today, but I will need the energy!!
New pics of the van with decals are posted now. I did a decent job of keeping the lines straight! 
Chris asked me for a packing list of things that he should have in the van when we meet in Chicago. Here is what I can think of so far that he should have:
my snowpants
my airwalk jacket
my red winter jacket
first aid kit
flashlight
tire chains
ice scraper
cb radio
maps of alaska, canada, and basic route information
spare tire
additional tire
2 super-warm sleeping bags
blankets/pillows
ac power converter
food and snacks
digital camera
digital camera battery charger
digital camera usb uplink cable
laptop and accessories
headphones to listen to music privately
cell phone charger
cell phone
book in case we have to die a slow and painful death
water
cooler
blank cdr’s
nextel laptop adapter
gps
flares
music to listen to
fix a flat
tire pump
battery charger
I am responsible for:
snow shoes
camping goo to build a fire
matches
fruit and produce
misc snacks
clothing
hat
gloves
sweater/sweatshirt
pocket knife
buck knife
laptop
digital camera
ipod
phone cable for laptop modem to dial up
Today I went shopping for some snow boots to take with me. Finding a nice pair of hiking boots/snow boots in Florida seems rather hard. I’ll have to go again tomorrow and try again. Sounds funny, but I also need some boxers. I don’t have enough to go over a week without laundry. Guess I’ll be at the mall tomorrow evening!
I was scolded for having a flashback to High School. People tell me I need to write more relevant things in their lives so they can comment. Mmmmhmmm. You guys suck!
The Alaska trip seems to be coming along at a good pace. I’ve got my money stashed away and Chris seems to have a good visual of the trip as a whole. I know that we’re going to try and see Anchorage, Nome, the Bering Straight, and the Artic Circle. Denali National Park looks really nice. The whole Alaskan Range thing makes me all get all excited, expecially the thought of seeing Mount McKinley in person so I’m hoping we can work it into the schedule. I think we’re going to start near the southeast corner and work our way clockwise around. I’ll have to ask Chris on that one — he says he has a map of what he’d like to do.
It’s going to be cold up there. I’m already in a panic about clothes. I don’t even own gloves or a hat or anything. I guess I’ve truly become a Floridian in that sense.
Chris asked me if I would register a domain and host it where we can post pictures, comments, and a bunch of information about our trip. I’ll probably order that later today and link to it. Be on the lookout.