Well, it's April 4th and less than 30 days before I leave LAX for Heathrow and my European adventure. I think I've finished getting the stuff I need. Yesterday I went to Any Mountain and purchased a Patagonia down jacket and matching down vest. These are both light and compress into a very small package. I was a bit surprised at the cost but feel it's better to have something to keep me warm and not wear it than to be cold and have nothing to wear! (did that sentence make sense?? ).

I was roaming around the Eurail website the other day and found a recommendation for a telephone. The company, Call in Europe, is located on the East Coast. Their phones are pretty affordable and the cost-per-minute is the lowest I've seen. So now I've got a phone and a mini-PC. I feel like I'm pretty well connected, and plan to call Jennifer, my kids and some other friends from Europe as I wander around the continent.

A friend of mine is going to France later this year and bought a Lingo language translator. I happened to see it work and decided to get one myself. So, it was off to Amazon.com for a quick look. I've gotten that in the mail also and have practiced with it a bit. I think it'll help me get around. It covers 5 language (English, Spanish, French, Italian and German) and will "talk" for me!! How's that for cool?

Well, that about it for now. More later....

Paalam, Dennis