So we're off to the NC mountains for a few days. I may write then. I may not. As the old people used to say when I was a child, "As the Lord leads."
Travel, of course, entails packing. I've always packed fairly light. I was inspired for this by reading, many years ago, the old 'Europe on $10 A Day' books. Written before the brand was acquired by a Big Name Publisher, they had a certain charm and innocence, and were almost entirely penned by Arthur Frommer and his wife, Hope.
And those books were filled with packing advice, and a lot of that came from readers who sent suggestions. One woman said that she spent the year buying cheap underwear, and while traveling, she would wear one pair of those for three days, then throw them away. She said she traveled alone, which did not entirely surprise me.
Of course, there are travelers who come burdened with enormous suitcases, filled with clothing for every possible scenario, imagining that if their destination had a sudden onset of rainy weather, there are no stores selling raincoats in Salt Lake or Rome or Moscow. The Lebanese are famous for this: going through the Beirut airport, you see ordinary Lebanese folks with trolleys bearing several enormous pieces of luggage. I'm told it's customary for them to bring gifts to those they meet, and that news didn't surprise me.
Another, well, interesting guy travels with absolutely no luggage. None. He has a special shirt on which he's sewn a bunch - maybe 8? - pockets. In those, he carries his razor and an extra pair of socks, and a toothbrush that he's sawed off the handle of.
I travel - or pack - a middle road. When flying, I have a couple of clothing articles, all of which dry quickly, and I was things out every night or two. "Comfortable" shoes, since I'm unlikely to be invited out for dinner with a Prime Minister or anything. All of my stuff have to fit in a small suitcase that fits in the overhead bin, along with a small item that fits under the seat.
But we're driving this weekend and since I have a car and much more flexibility, I take more. More especially since we'll be in the high country of North Carolina, where it will be seasonably warm during the day, and cooler at night, so I'll take my wife's advice about layering.
I'll cheerfully admit: I hate packing. Almost as much as I hate shopping. But I am as vain as a peacock, and want to look nice, so I force myself to look at clothes and mentally put stuff together. If it were just me, I'd have one particular outfit with, say, three of each item, so I wouldn't have to think about it. But my wife documents our travels with Shutterfly books, and she's quick to remind me that she doesn't want me looking the same in every photograph. Marriage is sometimes complicated. You do what you have to do.