Packing List — The Revisit

Having survived my very first Hazon Food Conference, I now take a look back at the “suggested” list with some reactions and additions.

Essentials

Travel Coffee Mug and Reusable Water Bottle

So I brought both my KPCC Travel Mug and a really cute reusable water bottle. They were too large and rather clumsy, but completely necessary. So I purchased a really cool Hazon travel mug!!

Casual, comfortable clothes for the conference and Shabbat.
Holy Smokes — it was cold here!!! SOOOO glad that I brought cozy sweaters AND my wool pea coat. Most people DID dress nicely on Friday evening and many for Saturday as well. Note to self: two skirts next year. Nicer one for Friday evening and a denim one for Saturday.

Warm clothing including; Fleece jacket or sweater, gloves, hat
Really glad that I brought the coat, scarf, and gloves. Definitely need a new (and cute!) hat for the evenings.

Toiletries
As mentioned in the pre-conference post, I travel with my own toiletries. Never used the provided hair dryer.

Sunglasses
Totally needed! When not raining, it was very, VERY sunny here.

Alarm Clock
Our room was outfitted with an alarm clock. Which we never used!

Rain gear (umbrella, boots)
It really came down one day so I was glad that I had the boots with me. Glad that I had the umbrella too…but it was taking a shluffy in my room the day that it rained 😦

Earplugs
I did have them with me…but unnecessary. My roommate, who was super, super nice, didn’t snore. A welcome change…

Medication you need to have with you (ie, inhaler, epi-pen)
In my carry-on bag!

Some cash for the Sunday Shuk/Market
About $100 was sufficient. A couple of CDs so that I can bring back some new melodies to our community, the Food for Thought Sourcebook, and some gifts for the fam.

Your Hazon t-shirt
Had there been an official Hazon Food Conference T-shirt, I TOTALLY would have bought one. I’ll be suggesting a T-shirt in my post-conference eval!

Jewish stuff
So you may recall that I was undecided about which tallit and which siddur to bring. I ultimately decided to bring my ordination tallit, but then had to decide whether or not I wanted to wear it. More on this when I write about my Shabbat worship experience.

As for the siddur, I knew that I didn’t want to bring the Mishkan. I cited bulk as part of the reason, but in the end, I brought an equally bulky siddur. My little Rinat Yisrael went missing a couple of days before the trip. I was thinking about bringing my traveller’s ArtScroll, but DadGiraffe was just horrified with the political vibe I might be giving. So he l-e-n-t me his brand-new Koren Siddur.

{{sigh}}} I am totally in love!!!

Encouraged:

Yoga Mat
So of course I didn’t bring a mat. Nor did I bring any yoga attire. But I could see myself maybe thinking about trying yoga in the future. The problem is that it’s so damn early!

Walking shoes
OK — this place is REALLY spread out. So comfy, supportive shoes were necessary just to get from location to location. I didn’t take any long hikes. Though I wouldn’t rule it out for the future.

Dancing Shoes
Didn’t need anything other than my regular shoes.

Cycling clothing

Um…no.

Frisbee
Did not see a single person playing frisbee. Though I did not see a single person playing frisbee, I have been informed of one 6 year old who engaged in the activity on Friday afternoon, just prior to Shabbos. [Which, as I recall, was in the midst of my pre-Shabbos shluffy.] My limited understanding of the game, therefore, leads me to conclude that there must have been at least two people who played frisbee at the conference.

Games
Had Frume Sarah actually been moved to engage in game-playing, the social hall at Asilomar provided plenty of options.

Journal, notebooks, pens
Totally needed for note-taking during sessions. PC recently gave me a new moleskine journal. Such a difference. The paper is so creamy and porous. It just soaks up the ink.

Reusable shopping bags for your Sunday Shuk purchases
In addition to the reusable bag that my hair salon gave as a holiday gift this year, each conference participant was given a Hazon Food Conference ChicoBag.

Reading materials (the Conference book group selection was Epitath for a Peach)
Spent any free reading time exploring my RebGiraffe’s NEW Koren siddur.

Seeds for swap at the Sunday Shuk
Still no.

Musical instruments
No need. There were a few people with guitars, drums, and flutes. Everyone else added their voice.

ADDITIONS

Business Cards
Luckily I thought to grab some as I headed out the door last week. It was the easiest way to exchange contact info with people.

Flashlight
It was mighty dark at night. Asilomar is situated on 107 acres, has over 300 guest rooms, and nearly two dozen meeting spaces. It took me most of the conference to feel confidant that I knew where my room was located.

Ergonomic Pillow
Never thought that I would become one of those people who travel with a pillow. However, since that nasty bout of meningitis last year, my neurologist introduced me to the wonders of an ergonomic pillow. What I really appreciated was that he didn’t push a really fancy-shmancy (read: expensive) pillow. He said that this one from Ikea would do the trick. The only drawback? I have become so accustomed to the tremendous support that it provides that it is difficult to get a good night’s sleep without it!

Messenger Bag
This wasn’t really a purse kind of conference. My computer bag (sans computer) worked in a pinch, but think I’ll bring my cute messenger bag next time.

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Stay tuned for more experiences and impressions…