Adventures in Vacation Packing #3

The most important of all to take with me!

This picture makes me happy. Here I am writing about the weight and size of this that and the other and I almost forgot to mention the most important thing to remember to take on vacation. A loyal travel companion. I don’t post a lot of personal pictures here but I mention Donna so much I felt you deserved a formal introduction. We have been married 25 years and Europe would be nothing without her. This picture was taken just before we boarded in Paris for London. She actually looks like she is traveling pretty light here. Her bag in the picture is just a tad bigger than the one she is taking to Switzerland.

Maximizing the quantity to weight packing ratio

I am just about there. For giggles, I took three pair of my favorite jeans and weighed them. They came in at 4.5 pounds on the bathroom scale. I then took my carefully selected vacation clothes and weighed them as well. I immediately saw the benefit. Basically, for the same weight as three pair of jeans, I was able to pack four pair of pants and four shirts. Two pair of the pants can convert into shorts. The other two are more tailored so I can get by in a decent restaurant with them. Everything was bought to go together so I can mix and match to my hearts delight. The brands I selected were a combination of Columbia Titanium, North Face and REI. What’s more, everything is made of synthetic blends that are noted for quick drying properties. This way they will shed water quickly on the trail and dry overnight from a good hand wash if necessary.

Filling up but room to spare

Above is how the bag is coming together. As you can see, even with four complete changes of clothes including shorts, there is still quite a bit of room in the bag. Next I added a total of seven Gap and Banana Republic spandex/cotton t-shirts. I can easily layer these for warmth or wear them by themselves. They are very comfortable and do not wrinkle. Oh, my light jacket will go in my backpack. The tripod has to stay on top in case of inspections at the airport. My goal is to keep it below the zipper line to keep it protected from rough handling. So far so good. Obviously we are planning to do laundry at least once either with a service or in the room.

I think I am going to make it!

I still have outer pockets available as well as most of the inside of the top of the bag for my personal items and what ever Donna has trouble getting in her bag. The top of this bag can be unzipped to expand about an inch, which may help if we get in a pinch. Hey, that rhymes! I will also have my camera/backpack bag for the on-the-go stuff. I suppose the backpack is next. I will have to do that after I get back from the east coast next week.

I hope you all are having a fabulous day!

Category: Travel, Travel Tips