The Stats
We have been on the road for 42 days now (6 weeks!) and have approximately 77 more days (11 weeks) left of our travel odyssey. After my first few posts on packing, there has been some interest on whether or not I was satisfied with my packing efforts. Admittedly, I agonized over what to bring. I made lists, changed my mind, and got advice. And changed my mind again.
The Results
And the verdict is … drum roll, please ….
I actually AM pleased, for the MOST part, about the decisions I made regarding this trip prior to its start. The clothing selections for all of us have been pretty spot on. Considering how often my husband is changing his underwear and socks, he probably could have managed with a couple pairs less of each, but in cases like this, I would much rather err on the side of too many pairs than too few. I do wish I had packed Reece and I each a second fleece or pullover of some sort. But I haven’t missed having that second one enough to go out and purchase another one. I think the only item that Reece has yet to wear is the little black dress I packed for her but there is still time for that.
However, there are some things I am not still not sure if they were completely worth packing.
The Jury’s Out
There are some things that I probably could have left at home. Reece is using the DSL camera pretty regularly BUT we could have and would have survived without it. The truth of the matter is that neither one of us is an experienced enough photographer to get much more out of the fancy DSL than we do with our iPhones. If I was (as I strive to one day be) an avid and knowledgeable photographer, then the camera is a must. But, now I am especially happy that I left the 2nd lens at home.
We have used the utensils (sans the knives that I unpacked from all the great advice I received) once … I hope to get more use out of them down the road. I’ll tell you, they did cause quite a stir at security in Athens. The workers were very intrigued by the chopsticks and the straw and the little cleaning brush but did not confiscate them and we were on our way quickly.
The shallow part of me knows that I packed too much makeup. How I ended up with FOUR different lip glosses when all I have been wearing is lip balm is beyond me. Also have not used, therefore have not yet needed, the foundation or the eyeliner. But, in grand scheme of things, those items don’t take up much room so I am not too torn up about it.
However, there have been a few items that needed to stay home …
The Duds
I was VERY worried about jet lag, particularly to and from the States. I wanted to make it as easy as possible on all of us, so I did my due diligence and purchased three items for each of us that I thought would assist us in managing the jet lag and allowing for sleep on the plane. The first of those three things was this:
I ordered one of these for each of us. And it is pretty cool. You may have seen ads for it online. It has flexible boning inside and you wrap it around your neck, like a scarf, fitting the boning along the side of your neck. When you fall asleep, it supports your head so you avoid that head bobbing/falling and the sore neck that comes with that. It isn’t heavy but it doesn’t pack up very easily … it is kind of bulky and awkward which makes it tough to carry. Read more about these here.
Alternately, because of the way Reece sleeps on a plane, I ordered three of these:
This blows up and you use your seat tray to support and slide your arms through the holes on each side, hugging it to you while your face rests in the hole on top … supporting the weight of your head and allowing for oxygen flow. Also, pretty cool. Even though it blows up and deflates, it still is quite bulky and takes up quite a bit of room in the luggage. You can find out more about them here.
In addition, I also ordered eye masks for each of us. The particularly ones I ordered had adjustable cushions that fit around they eye socket for a more comfortable fit.
And I purchased us each a set of earplugs. They are very similar to these:
I have a hard time using the standard foam ear plugs. You know the ones you twist up and then hurriedly jam them in your ear and as they expand, they block out the noise. I cannot insert one into my left ear. I try and try and try again. I get frustrated and then try some more and no matter how many times I attempt it, I cannot get a good fit in my left ear. These, because of their shape, just push into your ear and you’re good to go.
I thought all of these things would be put to good use on our long flight to Europe. We each selected our travel “pillow” of choice (no, we did not each bring both options. We each decided which one would best suit our individual comfort). Keith and I brought the TRTL Travel Pillow that wraps around the neck. Reece choose the Woollip Travel Pillow.
Sadly, I am the only one of us that has gotten any use out of the travel pillow, the eye mask and the earplugs. I actually did use the pillow on the flight from Seattle to London, and it was very comfortable. I got some good sleep since I wasn’t waking up every 10 minutes with my head dropping to the side or to my chest which alleviated the inevitable stiff and sore neck. I believe we were in Valencia, Spain when I had the need for BOTH the eye mask AND the ear plugs. I don’t remember the occasion but I do remember they came in handy. And while I am actually quite used to wearing ear plugs … I am the world’s lightest sleeper and although I am married to the world’s quietest snorer, I can still hear him on occasion, so I do use them often. The eye masks take some getting used to but I am willing to keep trying.
Neither Keith nor Reece have used any of these items. None. AT. ALL. NOT. One. So in hindsight, I probably didn’t need to pack them. Some of you might advise me to just dump the extra stuff. There is no sense in carrying around the extra weight. Some of you might advise me to just mail the extra stuff home. Both very logical pieces of advice. But since we haven’t made any purchases other than food and a HDMI cable (that is all Keith, though I actually did tell him to pack one), we haven’t added any weight to our luggage (except for the weight of said HDMI cable … oh, and the sea glass I found in Greece) so I think I will just tote them around for a little while longer.
I don’t know what the lesson in all this is, if there is one. But I think for future trips, Keith and Reece will be required to pack for themselves.
Cheers!
Teresa