Packing is one area that I concede there is a huge male-female difference, at least in my crowd -- with the guys generally getting it better. Or at least it seems easier for them. All reminiscent of old Cathy comic strips with her lamenting about taking two weeks to pack and unpack for a one week trip! Yes, I do realize that we will often be traveling in well-trafficked areas with many retail options...where they would love us to use our credit cards. Still I have to start with a foundation and want to -- Be Prepared.
Almost every woman I know dislikes -- in various intensities, perhaps hates, anguishes, dreads, agonizes -- when faced with the decision of what and how much to pack. And then men like my hubby, blithely open their closet and in less than fifteen minutes pack for a weekend -- or for half a year! Alan already decided on what clothes he's taking and did his dry run.
As for me, I've been thinking about packing for months.... partly because we have small closet areas. And I only deal with one category at a time -- pants, shirts, outerwear, etc. Now I am confronted by my all-time stumper, what shoes to take.
I just took out my trusty copy of Live the Road Trip Dream (the memoir by a couple, the White's, who traveled cross-country for a year in the same size van as ours) to check the woman's packing list...and I feel relieved that she packed seven pairs of shoes.
Read on ONLY if you pack too much -- otherwise this amount of detail will drive you crazy!
Not even a shoe-fetishist, I am having trouble paring down from the same number that Carol White took. My current choices, subject to change:
Keens -- the blue or pinky-purple ones?
Sneakers
Sandals -- Actually, slides, black cushy and comfortable
Sandals -- Brown, multi-strapped inc a back strap
Walking Shoes -- Ecco black flats
Hiking Boots
Birkenstocks -- my crummy old grey ones that I wear as slippers
(and, I didn't count the cheap pair of flip-flops that I wear in campground showers.)
And all but the hiking boots fit in my cute shoe cabinet, under my bed.
Dear Readers -- what do you think? Any suggestions? What would YOU pack?
