The Countdown Begins

Two weeks from today, the movers come to pack us up and put everything we own in storage. Steve and i will then move to a hotel where my parents, sister and her family, brother, aunt and uncle will also converge to help my parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary.

Steve has been trying to help me rein in my packing insanity. So far, he has convinced me to get rid of three sweaters, one jacket, an extra swimsuit, one pair of shoes, three large bars of soap, two extra bottles of shampoo and conditioner, one bottle of aloe vera, one small wheely-bag, and the massive suitcase I bought at Macy's which could have held all my clothes and medications as well as my niece and nephew.

He was not able to stop me from getting vaccinated for Tetanus, Diptheria, Pertussis, and Hepatitis A and B however. I know, I need help.

On another subject entirely, i just finished reading a wonderful book called Peace Like a River, by Leif Enger. This is one of the best books I have read in a long, long time. Simple, evocative, beautifully written. I don't even want to try and describe what it was about, just take my word for it and read it. You won't be sorry.

Travel Must-Haves

In my last post I mentioned that I was trying to curb my desire to plan every last moment of our upcoming trip. I have, instead, turned my planning energies toward packing, and the eternal question of what to bring and what to leave. I have noticed, in my preliminary piles, a slight excess of pharmaceuticals.

In addition to clothes, shoes, and such staples as toothpaste, shampoo, soap, and the prescription medications I must take every day, my pile of must-haves includes the following:

camera
travel journal
a few select DVDs, including, of course the Bourne movies and Casino Royale, for obvious reasons
my weight in travel books
cipro
amoxicillin
fibre tablets
claritin
pepcid
pepto
alcohol wipes
neosporin
bandaids
bug spray
sunscreen
gaviscon
benadryl
flonase
antibacterial
cortisone
cough drops
aloe vera gel
airborne
gas-x
tylenol cold day and night
tylenol
dramamine
immodium
ginger capsules (I have heard that these are good for motion sickness, though, to date, I cannot say for certain that I even GET motion sickness)
cough syrup
masks (for airplanes that feel more like TB wards, and for a sudden excess of volcanic ash)
surgical tools in case we need to remove each others' appendix (ok, that one's a joke....sort of)

After looking at this list, I feel that it may be time to admit that I have a problem. I also just realized that these items will require a suitcase and Sherpa of their own.

What is on your list of travel must-haves? They don't have to be medical.

Anything you always bring with you whenever you leave home?

Please share in the Comments section; you might give me some additional items to bring, since clearly I don't have enough already.