If you have packed for a long trip I bet you have had the same experience Carol and I are going through. I also bet the “stuff” you just have to take with you will tower up in bag after bag but your house will still look the same. We are taking an almost month long cruise that includes flying on two airlines to get to the cruise ship and then sailing through the Mediterranean to the Greek Isles and then sail all the way back to Fort Lauderdale. It is a lovely, peaceful dream trip except – for the problems in not having our tickets in our hands BEFORE we pack. Just as I wrote this we had a call that the tickets are on the way and will arrive tomorrow, Monday by Canadian DSL. So, the packing will begin in earnest.
Clothing should not be difficult if you have enough money to buy new. My theory is that you start out with the clothes on your back and discard these when you buy new ones and so on through all the days of your trip. Another version is that you bring all your old and ratty stuff with you and throw them away and buy new when you need things or when you get back. In contrast to this is the idea that you must be as spiffy and turned out as if you were going to be a part of a wedding party in the neighborhood. That means a lot of extra things that will be worn only once on this trip and this is troubling me. At least, in this instance, the new tux we bought me can be used when we get back for Josh and Alex’s wedding on January 5th which also is Carol’s birth date. The latter two events are cause enough to gussy up and I hope the wedding planners take her natal day in account during the proceedings.
Carol has figured out that she needs two big bags for her “stuff” and a smaller one for shoes. She has allotted me one bag and I will probably share her shoe bag. This does not include all the medical pills in special bags and all our bathroom supplies that surely foreign countries do not carry. Then, too, we need special pillows that the cruise line and hotels will not have. Because Carol fractured her spine she needs special support. So, we have to take pillows for her neck and back and to sit upon. I will also have to pack six sketch pads and my sketching tools. I expect to use them all. Nothing like the comforts of home.
When we get all ready to go we will have amassed a huge number of packages and bags that I no longer will be able to carry myself and we are blessed that Mike Taxi provides this service from the house to the airport and, when we return from the trip, back to home once more.
One thing is certain. After we leave we will remember things we needed and should have packed – but, we forgot.