Packing for NH8S

As I type this Post, it is exactly 42 hours before my plane leaves Charleston airport.  Time is truly getting short!

GOOD NEWS!  The Swains Island DX'pedition has been informed that we will receive a grant of $4,000 from the Colvin Foundation!

DXCC and LoTW  Today we were notified by ARRL that NH8S has been approved for DXCC and for Logbook of the World (LoTW.)  That is great news!

On a personal front, I'm working feverishly to get the last few items staged and packed for the trip.  As you can see in the photo at the right, I have packed my WVDXA Jacket in case it gets chilly (uh, huh!)  This is a photo of what will be my "Checked" bag.  I'm looking at a $25 "Checked Bag fee" both going and coming for this bag.  I've packed nearly everything inside Ziploc bags on the off chance that the bag might get dropped in the ocean during the transfer from the boat to the island.  That also helps in keeping things organized inside the suitcase.  On the down side, things in plastic bags do NOT stay where you put them.  The arrangement keeps modifying itself according to the influence of gravity.

I hope to be able to relax a bit on Friday (tomorrow) before beginning the Marathon!  I will be up by 3 a.m. on Saturday, my flight leaves at 5:50 a.m. and after a short lay-over in Chicago and one in Los Angeles, I'll arrive in Honolulu, Hawaii at 9:28 p.m. EDT (3:28 p.m. Hawaiin time.)  That means it will take me 15-1/2 hours of flying (and waiting) to reach Hawaii.  The entire NH8S team (those who are in KH6 at that time) are scheduled to attend a dinner at 6:30 p.m. in Hawaii as the guests of some KH6 hams.  That means dinner will be at 12:30 A.M. on Sunday by my personal clock (EDT!)  Assuming it takes 2-1/2 hours to eat then return to my hotel, I'll have been up for 24 straight hours on Saturday.

Thanks to all the WVDXA members for the good wishes and prayers.  Hopefully the ionosphere will cooperate and Hal and I can put every last WVDXA member in the NH8S log.  DX IS!