All carryon luggage must fit in the overhead racks.

[beetiger]

I don't travel all that much, compared to some people I know. But I do travel some for work, or used to, anyway. The last year and a half has seen a lot more SF/gaming/furry convention travel than I'd ever done before. I've just gotten back from a vacation trip, and I'm off to another one. I love traveling. But I hate packing.

I seem to want to have infinitely large amounts of stuff with me, and I have trouble choosing. Maybe I'm afraid I won't have what I need, which made sense when I went river rafting in the Grand Canyon but is rather ridiculous when traveling to a major metropolitan area with a credit card in my pocket. I also know that for most purposes I could probably get away with a black dress, black pumps, a pair of sneakers, a change of underwear, identification, and my medications. But rationality doesn't seem to enter this thought process. I can cause myself incredible amounts of stress choosing which dress to include. What if I get invited to a formal event while I'm away? What if I want to wear a costume but the Bumblebee costume has gotten a small hole in it I haven't been able to fix?

I'm a small and not-very-strong person, too, which makes this whole problem rather challenging, since I actually can't carry all that much. When I was in college, I went to Europe with a college choir, and intended to stay the summer to work in France. During the tour, they moved our luggage from place to place. But once I was on my own, I discovered I couldn't actually carry everything I'd brought. I remember unloading a large amount of clothing into a locker in a train station in Paris. Strangely, I don't remember picking it up again; I don't think I did.

My traveling life was immensely improved when I got myself a rolling carryon, for business trips. My coworkers were moving way too fast for me in airports, and no one wanted to wait for checked baggage. I can drag more than I can lift. Now I limit myself to carrying only what fits in there, when I'm flying. (I still load the trunk when driving, I'm afraid.) I've built a travel bag of basics like a toothbrush, antihistamines, and my special Travel Protection Anointing Oil, which I leave packed in a cabinet between trips. Honestly, I've not missed having anything I really needed yet.

But still, what if someone were to invite me on a safari adventure while I was away?

Comments

[cowboy-r.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I know what you mean. I keep a "quick get-away" kit in the trunk of my car, including MREs, water, flares, medical supplies, and some clothes.

Okay, so it's really a survival kit in case my car breaks down in the desert, but it sounds more romantic to call it my quick get-away kit.

[shaterri.livejournal.com]

I do this All The Time myself, with reading material and music having notoriously been the two biggies (I always try and bring 1-2 technical books and 1-2 non-technical books -- they don't usually get read though, which is a bit problematic). I'm slowly weaning myself on the book side of things -- being a little more realistic -- and the Nomad was purchased in large part to take care of the music issue, which it's done admirably.

Oh, and hey, try and pack a couple pair of flexible gloves (like biking gloves) if you have them and can do it. You'll thank me later. :-)

When I was stationed in Hawaii...

[oldewolfe.livejournal.com]

... I was assigned to a 'special projects' squadron. We were often ordered to different places on *extremely* short notice. "AT1, pack a bag. We take off in 1 hour."

After just a couple of scrambled packing experiences, I decided to have a couple of bags that were always packed and ready to go. One for hot weather, one for cold.

That way, when they said to pack a bag, all I had to do was ask 'Hot, or cold?', grab the appropriate bag (They were well marked) and go. Many times I was the first guy on the plane.

Re: When I was stationed in Hawaii...

[fenton.livejournal.com]

I must be the only person on the face of the planet who has trouble coming up with *enough* things to fill a standard max-size roller carryon. Granted, I've also taken an Army duffle for the 3-4 week trips when I didn't want to do laundry every few days, or such, but I assume that will always arrive 3 days after I do. But, after packing underwear, socks, a couple of t-shirts, and either jeans or shorts (whichever one I'm not wearing), plus tossing a jacket over my arm if I'm going somewhere sufficiently cold... well, the rest usually gets filled with random books to keep me from killing my co-passengers, except that I know I'll never bother to actually get up and haul the thing out of the overhead, even if I could, to get at them. That's what the pockets in the jacket are for. Paperbacks are your friend.