Time passes quickly.  After a year and a half of planning and dreaming, the dates for my safari have almost arrived.  It's been a long road getting here, and so much has happened in the 18 months since I started planning this trip, and yet it all passed so quickly.

Two turkey seasons have come and gone.  I remember thinking in April 2006 that I had to get through not one but two turkey seasons before the safari, and one deer season.  All three are now behind me.  In that year and a half I made a new friend, Pete, and he's been with me during both of those turkey season.  And we got him his first deer towards the end of last year's deer season.

In the time since I began planning the safari, my band of brothers at church and I have gone on three weekend trout fishing trips to the North Carolina mountains.  I have trouble with that one; it seems like those trips have been spread out over a period of long years, not just 18 months.  And yet the trips didn't start until after I had booked my hunt.

My work life was altered in a way that I never expected, with me being asked to become a computer programmer again instead of being a database administrator, something I'd done for a dozen years.  My wife and I have taken a couple of vacations; one to the Outer Banks and one up to the Amish country of Pennsylvania.  I've taken the South Carolina concealed weapons permit class and have gone on a night walk though a lowcountry swamp.  I've spent hours training my teammates at work on how to handle any problems that occur in any of my programs while I'm away.

And now here I am with just three weeks left before I depart.

I've made a checklist of everything that I think I'll need for the trip, and have begun to collect the few items on the list that I didn't already own.  I bought lots of extra batteries for my cameras and a few spare memory cards.  I've ordered power adapters to fit the South African plug holes, and picked up a new soft case for my rifle for extra padding on the way over.

I'm still waiting on my plane tickets to arrive, but I talked to my travel agent Kathi last week and she will have them mailed out to me shortly.  My paperwork is all in order, but I still need to make extra copies of everything to put in each piece of luggage.  I've got my passport and the ammunition that I'll take with me on the trip.

I've been looking at ways to keep in touch with Micki while I'm away, and have decided to rent a satellite phone to make things easy.  I still need to call my bank to let them know not to be surprised when charges from Africa start showing up on my debit card. 

Of all the things going on right now, I seem to be the most nervous about the flights over.  It's not the flying itself; it's the horror stories I've heard about guns and baggage not making it to Africa.  I'm preparing myself for that possibility that my rifle might get lost or stolen, or I might have to live for a few days in whatever clothing I can pack into my carry-on bag.  I'll need to tell my boss about these issues, and let her know that I might need to extend my trip by a couple of days if something goes seriously wrong with the luggage.  I hope she'll understand.

I'll be purchasing insurance for my guns today.  Safari Club International has a fantastic insurance program that covers guns, scopes, cases, and accessories at a cost of $1.25 per $100 of coverage.  Not a bad deal; two thousand dollars worth of firearms is covered for $25 for a year at full replacement value with no deductible.  At those prices, I'll probably add a couple of my more expensive weapons into the plan just for peace of mind.  The Browning shotgun that I bought from my friend Arnold for sure, even though that's not going with me on the trip.  And maybe one of my "scary black guns", or my Taurus semi-automatic handgun.

I'll probably also make a run up to Best Buy this weekend.  I still need to get some mini-DV tapes for my video camera, and I want to stop at Office Depot to get some of their fluorescent luggage tags and a box of pens to use for writing in my journal.

I've got all of my medication now, including some Malarone malaria pills which I'll start taking just before I leave.  My shots and vaccinations are done, and I've got an emergency kit ready to go that includes an Epi-pen, a course of antibiotics, and some steroids and allergy pills in case of a reaction to anything.

I probably won't start packing for another two weeks.  I want to wait until I've gathered up those few final items that I still need to find or buy, and there's just too much stuff to do around the house before I leave.