Plannification

I forgot to mention the Great Wolf Lodge in my last post; see image below for a taste:

Though this picture depicts the Boulder Creek/psuedo camp lodge/fat white family fun fest side of things, it only explains about half of the experience. The place is an indoor waterpark, complete with a kiddie wave pool, kiddie water slides, a kiddie hot tub, and a very grown-up bar, where you can charge things like "Maui Mojitos" to your parents' waterproof electronic payment-tracking bracelets. I got to see my relatives from Seattle, which was great, and spend a little extra time with my grandparents and other cousins before heading back to New York. I also got the fine opportunity to experience first-hand my parents snoring in stereo, loudly enough for me to gather my linens into a nest on the balcony and finish my night outside. There are some things I'm not ashamed to admit I'm too old for, and playing in waterparks with my 8 year-old cousins is not one of them; sleeping inches from the gurgling, somnolent masses of my parents, however, is.

On a more cheerful note, my trip to Iceland is coming UP and the planning is almost finalized. I went on an actual shopping spree at EMS yesterday -- I've never done one of those before! -- and bought all the necessaries, including trekking poles, which Don says are for "wusses" but I think will come in handy. Iceland's Landmannalaugar Park -- which is where we'll be hiking -- is devoid of animals, most vegetation, and people, so that takes out a lot of stress about storing food, outdoor dangers, and getting lost in general: the trail is well-marked and totally visible, since there is nothing blocking your view for miles (besides the mountains and glaciers themselves, and the occasional patch of night-black fog... or sandstorm... or snowstorm...). The huts we'll be staying at along the way are apparently well-stocked with little stoves, pots, pans, and utensils, which also takes a lot of the pressure off of preparing for that stuff. We'll just need water bottles and lots of beans, quinoa, peanut butter, electrolyte powder... any other suggestions? We'll be carrying all of the food with us (4 nights), so any advice on doing this kind of thing -- e.g., how to not get sick of eating lentils, how to estimate how much to bring, are powdered eggs actually good, etc. -- would be greatly appreciated!

I'm also trying to figure out what would be good entertainment to bring besides a book -- mini Scrabble, cards, a flask of Early Times, stargazing equipment?

This will also be my and Don's first real vacation together ("awwweee"). I'm really looking forward to having some straight chillin' time with him, since we're usually so busy during the week that we don't see each other til 11 o'clock at night! (A pathetic over-achieving yuppie lifestyle, what can ya do?) There's nothing like discovering a jaw-dropping rainbow-colored rhyolite vista at 6am with a loved one...

And here's a crude map of where we'll be hiking, from Landmannalaugar to Thorsmork: