Category: Travel

Cozy Posts · Travel

Saratoga in the Off-Season

Beth DeFriesLeave a comment

Last weekend, our schedule (and our little car) swept us away to Saratoga Springs, NY for a getaway with Mike’s siblings. Saratoga in the off-season is one of my happy places. I enjoy strolling up and down Broadway and perusing the shop windows and the architecture of the beautiful buildings that line the main street in town. We treated ourselves to coffee and pastries at Sweet Mimi’s and Putnam Market in the mornings, feasted on hearty meals at a few local establishments that I will go into further detail on later, and ended our nights with ice cream and fudge at Kilwins.

Northshire Bookstore called my name the whole drive up and walking into the expansive shop felt like a warm hug from an old friend. I warned the group that I would be spending a while in there and that they should feel free to continue on without me if they wanted, but sure enough, the store had something to capture everyone’s interest. I lingered around the stationary section, knowing full-well that my stationary drawer at home was well-stocked already. I just can’t help myself. Maybe it’s a writer thing, but pretty paper that I can write on is so enticing to me. I practiced restraint and reminded myself that I can enjoy the idea of stationary without buying it and bringing it home. I eyed a few Lang Folk Art Calendars that I begrudgingly accepted I didn’t need and continued on to the puzzle section, where my sense of self-control abandoned me immediately at the sight of the selection before me.

Northshire Bookstore is well-stocked with puzzles from my favorite puzzle company, Ravensburger. Ravensburger puzzles are reliable in that the pieces are actually uniquely distinct, unlike some other puzzle company products where you can’t always be sure that you have a piece in the right spot, by fit alone. Ravensburger claims “softclick technology” and they claim correctly, in my opinion as a frequent puzzler. I purchased a 1000-piece Ravensburger puzzle entitled Welcome to Banff, proud that I was able to limit myself to only one and, my friends, I can’t wait to get my hands on those blue-backed pieces once I reach a big writing milestone that is fast approaching, but more on that later this month.

Saratoga in the off-season is the town at rest after a summer of crowds flocking to its boundaries to bathe in the famed spring water spas and attend the horse races at the historic Saratoga Race Course. When we were there, the race track and baths were closed for the season and a faint chill tinged the air, floating in on a breeze from somewhere up north.

Our Airbnb sat nestled on a side street off Congress Park, opposite the park from Broadway. The house was a cozy split-level with three comfortable bedrooms and a spacious living and kitchen area. We spent our downtime watching movies and playing games in the living room, which had an unlit fireplace and a wall of white-washed, built-in shelves and we put together a 1000-piece puzzle, depicting four National Parks, in the kitchen. We snacked on takeaway treats from Sweet Mimi’s, Putnam Market, and Kilwins and sipped on the pomegranate elixir that is Saratoga Red from the Saratoga Winery.

We cut through Congress Park multiple times to go between our cozy homebase and downtown, careful not to disturb the flock of sleepy ducks that had taken up residence at a pond there. We strolled along the paved path, enjoying the views of a couple of the famed springs that had been enshrined beneath ornate pavilions by their benefactors and encrusted with orange and white mineral deposits from the ever-flowing sulfuric trickling. I much preferred the park in the daytime, but the eerie glow from the street lamps along the path at night did usher me into the fall spirit quickly. Fall spirit aside, I was happy to be walking in a group on those nighttime strolls.

We spent our evenings seeking out hearty meals and drinks at Whitman Brewing Company, Boca Bistro, and The Olde Bryan Inn, the last of which gave me the sense of walking into an American version of the cozy Hogsmeade locale, The Three Broomsticks, from the Harry Potter series.

The Olde Bryan Inn, constructed in 1832, is a tavern located on the site of Alexander Bryan’s former log cabin establishment, est. 1773. Waiting outside the stone tavern for our table to be ready, we caught glimpses of the comfortable environs within. The light glowed warm from the burgundy beam-framed windows and illuminated a first glimpse of the wooden beams and overused colonial pots and pans displayed within on the wooden walls.

Walking through the narrow entrance of the tavern, we passed the pub area, a cozy snug with a dark, wood-beamed ceiling and pewter steins hanging from their handles over the broad wooden bar. The sight made me want to order a Butterbeer, but instead I made my selection from the available, muggle offerings and opted for an apple cider mule and a roasted turkey dinner. The evening was a delight filled with lively conversation and delicious food and drink. The Hermione Granger that lives in me was satisfied.

While in town, we were sure to visit Saratoga Spa State Park, where my sister in law was determined to sample some of the springs. For all but one, we anticipated and were met with the telltale pucker that resulted from the taste and texture of the mineral deposit-laden spring water, which is said to relieve gastrointestinal ailments, if ingested, and to soften the skin, if bathed in. Needless to say, she spat the water out, although she did find one spring with a genuinely delicious output, the State Seal Spring. The water at the State Seal Spring was good, but sampling it required interrupting the constant flow of people filling 5-gallon water cooler jugs with the good stuff. Some people just can’t get enough of it, I guess.

At the end of the weekend, we said our goodbyes and departed for home, going our separate ways and looking forward to our next adventure together, wherever it may take us. A year of time and some pleasant hours of planning are all that separate us from that next reunion and I know it will be a match for how lovely this one was.

Travel

Home is Where the Dish Towel is

Beth DeFries3 Comments

Family gatherings have recently swept us up and away on some travels and we feel fortunate to follow where they lead. I am getting more used to sleeping away from home, but am always prepared to tote along a few comforts to bring some home with me wherever we go.

I have often been made fun of when I reveal that I pack one item in particular that others would definitely deem unnecessary, but which has become a necessity for me. Each night when I go to sleep, I lay my head down on a pillow that is blanketed by a Williams-Sonoma dish towel. This habit, born from a practical function of going to sleep right after showering has since become routine regardless of how damp my hair is. It has also garnered many laughs and possibly some judgement when I tell people that I do this. I know you are probably coming to terms with the possibility that I might be a little crazy now too. It’s ok. I’m used to it. I don’t really know why, but I sleep better when there is a dish towel on my pillow, so there is almost always one there.

My travel comforts also include a pair of washable slippers and 3oz bottles of my own body wash and shampoo/conditioner. I have found that hotel-provided toiletries sometimes leave a residue on my skin that I’m not particularly fond of, so I always bring my own. Using my own bath products makes me feel and smell more like myself and as a result, makes me feel more at home. As for the slippers, I prefer to have an extra layer between my feet and the mysteries that lay embedded in the dark, patterned, wall to wall carpeting found in many hotel rooms.

A habit that I have adopted from having friends and family who also travel frequently is to stick with a preferred group of hotels, when possible. My own preference is to stay at Hilton hotels and I even decided to join their loyalty program and apply for their Amex card back in 2019. Having a preferred hotel group takes a lot of the decision fatigue out of trip planning and can also save you money on future trips. I have earned many points since first getting the card in 2019 and have even been able to redeem them for at least a few nights of stays, all just by paying for hotel stays on our other trips or by using my card to purchase things such as groceries or gas. It feels pretty magical when I have enough points to have a free night’s stay.

Another benefit to staying in preferred hotels is the aspect of familiarity you can expect when you check in and enter your room. As a Hilton Honors member, I have become very familiar with the booking, cancellation, and check-in processes and take comfort in knowing what to expect when I book and when I arrive. I know that the hotel will give me two bottles of water at check-in and how to access the Wi-Fi every time. These are little things that go a long way and help me to feel settled and relaxed while away from home.

When away from home, I always set up my nightstand the same way as I do at home. I make sure to have my glasses, water, lip balm, lotion, phone, and phone charger right next to me because my eyesight is pretty poor and stumbling around in the night trying to find these items could be bruise-inducing.

When packing, I opt for packing cubes to help stay organized and these accessories have come to serve a similar function to my dresser drawers at home. The cubes are different sizes and I know what I have packed in each of them so it is easy to find each component of an outfit that I plan to wear. I find that packing light and having a plan or itinerary for what to do each day helps to dress appropriately and the packing cubes just speed up the process even more.

In keeping with this theme of organization, I pretty much have one warm weather and one cold weather packing list and pack mostly the same clothes no matter how many trips I take in each of these climates. For example, on a trip we took to Italy back in May, I packed many of the same items that I took on our recent trip to California. I don’t mind being an outfit repeater and am almost always an outfit repeater on longer trips because I prefer to pack carry-on only.

While I know some of my habits may seem weird to others, I am of the opinion that as long as you are not harming or offending anyone, do whatever you must to carry comfort with you as long as it packs small enough to fit in your carry-on or personal item. If you have habits that make you feel more at home while you are traveling, I would love to hear them in the comments. Thanks for reading and cozy travels everyone! 🙂

Cozy Posts · Travel

Bonjour, hello!

Beth DeFries2 Comments

During the early days of the pandemic, I missed travel intensely. I grew stir crazy in our home and craved to be transported to places outside our walls. The uncertainty about if that would ever happen again just made me crave adventure even more. Without a vaccine on the horizon and since traveling anywhere beyond the front door risked exposure to Covid-19, we stayed inside our home as much as possible, unless it was necessary to go outside.

The first virtual walking tour video that I watched on YouTube during the pandemic was of London’s West End in the rain. It was refreshing to see a landscape that was new to me and to hear the sounds of a city again, albeit subdued, and to hear the patter of the rain on the sidewalks and streets. Everything shone in the water and the light and I “walked” around London for a while.

My favorite walking tour video that I came across since then was of a snowy walk through Québec City at night. This is a video that I will still just put on in the background sometimes and Mike and I have nicknamed it “The Montreal Crunch Crunch” because I kept accidentally thinking it was Montreal and the “crunch crunch” comes from the sound of the videographer’s boots in the snow. The video takes you on a tour of Vieux Québec and slightly beyond the neighborhood’s borders around Christmastime. When I first watched it, I made a mug of hot cocoa and got cozy on the couch on a gray day and it was just exactly the right thing to do. I wandered the winding streets of the old stone city, climbing stairs and inclines in the snow, and my teeth didn’t even chatter once!

A year ago, Mike and I got to experience Québec City in person and though it was devoid of snow in August, it was no less magical. We stayed at the coziest hotel, Hôtel du Vieux-Québec. When researching this hotel, I was drawn to the sturdy, gray, stone walls and liked the idea of sleeping soundly in a fortress of coziness. Some rooms had fireplaces for that added layer of warmth, but we didn’t need that in the summertime so we opted for a more basic room. Each morning of our stay, we woke to a wicker picnic basket hooked on our door, filled with freshly baked croissants, fresh fruit, and freshly squeezed orange juice. We’d eat at the little table by the window that looked out over the side alley and then prepare to start our day of wandering the old city.

Breakfast Picnic Basket

Vieux Québec, or Old Québec, is a multi-level city with an “upper” and “lower” town and quite a few steep inclines and staircases between them, but even if you are not comfortable with such terrain, there is a funicular cable car that goes between the terrace of the impressive Fairmont Le Château Frontenac down to lower Vieux Québec and vice versa for a small price. We did not end up riding the funicular, but let’s just say everyday of our trip was leg day.

Old Québec Funicular

Having watched the virtual walking tour of Québec so many times, I felt familiar with the geography of the upper and lower towns, but did get thrown off by a few twists and turns. We really enjoyed wandering around the city and to Mike’s annoyance, I found myself frequently stopping to photograph buildings and murals. We stopped into many of the cozy bars and restaurants and ate hearty meals and beaver tails and decided our favorite place was Resto-Pub Q-de-Sac. We enjoyed sitting at the bar, sipping on Boréale Rousse, a delicious Québec brewed amber ale, and snacking on cheese encrusted soupe a l’oignon (onion soup). Inside, the pub was reminiscent of a cozy chalet and I can only imagine what a respite it would be from icy cold evenings in the winter.

Québec City Mural

We are hoping to go back in the winter sometime to see the city under a blanket of sparkling snow, but before doing so, I learned that I really should brush up on my French which has been rusting over for fourteen years- sacré bleu! Mike and I made a rule that because my French was too rusty to be conversational and Mike does not speak more than a few words, we would walk into restaurants and say “Bonjour, hello” to the proprietor or the host to make them aware from the get go of how poor our handle of the language was. Having taken French for years in middle school and high school, it was definitely embarrassing to not have the confidence to carry out a two way conversation. I found I would ask a question or order in French, but I did not have a strong ear for a local’s fluent response and would get very flustered and turn into a Jersey tomato in the headlights immediately.

“Bonjour, hello” was necessary for us in making our way around the city, where the local language is French. The locals were very friendly and patient with us for which I am so thankful, but I am going to try to get a handle on French again, at least to the point where next time we go, I will have the confidence to have a basic conversation, check into a hotel, or order a meal.

If you enjoyed this post or are interested in reading more about travel, check out my friend Katherine’s new blog, Dear Jane Travel. And until my next post, au revoir, goodbye!

On Post-Travel Winding Down, Escaping from Rome, and Carrying On
Travel

On Post-Travel Winding Down, Escaping from Rome, and Carrying On

Beth DeFriesLeave a comment

We recently returned from vacation in Florida with Mike’s family, and while I am going to miss the beautiful, emerald waters and white sand of Miramar Beach, I’ve got to say that I am happy to be home.

Being able to get back into a routine and feel settled is always a reward after a long trip or travel day and this return was no different. We walked into the condo on Saturday night, left our carry-on suitcases and personal items by our entry area, and sat down on the blue couch to wind down from our journey.

Prior to leaving for a trip, we always try to leave our home somewhat neat so that it is pleasant to walk into upon returning. When dishes and laundry are done and put away and the clothes we left behind are tucked away where they belong, it makes the task of unpacking much more enjoyable. I usually unpack either right away or the morning after returning, putting clean clothes in the dresser and closet, laundry in the hamper, toiletries in the bathroom, and shoes on the shoe rack. I tuck my green, Away Carry-On suitcase, with the matching packing cubes inside, in the bedroom closet where it lives and hang my black, Marmot backpack up in the entryway closet.

I actually enjoy unpacking and as Mike could happily live out of an open suitcase on the living room floor for a week, I usually unpack for him as well because it makes me feel more calm and settled. Everything in our home has a place and that makes it easy to restore our home to its usual state after traveling and to rejuvenate for everyday life. And when those spaces become too full, it is our reminder to re-evaluate our stuff and declutter, if needed.

Growing up, my family did not travel a lot and the travel bug didn’t bite me until I was twenty-one, soon after I had moved to Brooklyn. For our first few trips, Mike and I traveled with a large, checked suitcase that we would borrow from Mike’s mom. It was bulky and difficult to lug to the airport on public transportation. When I first became interested in minimalism after watching Matt D’Avella’s documentary Minimalism: A Documentary About the Important Things, I wanted to approach the challenge of living light while traveling by packing carry-on only for a trip.

Our first experience traveling carry-on only for a long trip came in September 2017. We were headed to Rome, Florence, and the Amalfi Coast for ten days and after researching our destinations and the plentiful cobblestones and stairs there, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to test out our goal. I used what have become some of my staple travel bags for this trip: my ebags Mother Load Jr. Backpack and my Red House Vermont Waxed Canvas Book Bag Crossbody. I cannot tell you how many people I have recommended these bags to because I have lost track, and while they have jumped in price a bit, I still highly recommend both for functionality and durability in packing light. (Red House even offers discounts for new email subscribers if anyone is interested.)

For our 2017 Italy trip, carry-on only worked well for us and even came in more than handy, and potentially life saving, when we found ourselves trapped on the interior steps of our Airbnb in Rome, separated from the exit door by a tall, black, iron gate. We had a Frecce train to catch in about an hour to take us to Florence and it was torrentially downpouring outside.

After trying and failing to call our Airbnb host multiple times and banging on every door in what seemed to be a four-story, empty office building with an empty Airbnb, we panicked for a couple minutes and eyed the gate with more and more determination. “Fuck it; we’re gonna climb it,” I said with false confidence.

Neither of us really seemed to believe me.

I went first, placing my right, gray, Converse sneaker in the low foothold of the gate. I swung my left leg up and had to hop to push my thigh on the gate in order to propel myself over, adrenaline pumping too hard to feel the pain that would catch up with me later in the day. My left foot found the lower foothold and I could jump down to reach the floor. The accomplishment was too great to process and a surge of relief overcame the fear from moments ago. Mike, more determined and in semi-disbelief that I had climbed the gate, was able to toss our bags over and I caught them on the other side. He climbed and propelled himself over the gate and together, we ran to the Tabacchi around the corner to get our tickets for the bus to the train station. We were completely soaked within the thirty seconds it took to get to the Tabacchi and then waited at the bus stop, completely sopping, but out in the open air in Rome and nothing could be more wonderful than not being trapped anymore.

When we arrived at our Airbnb in Florence and unpacked, there were puddles in our backpacks and we hung our clothes up all around the room to let them dry, riding high on our escape from Rome until the shock and bruises set in. We spent our nights in Florence away from our humid room, our legs sore, drinking pints of beer instead of glasses of wine and reminisced about how we had climbed the gate.

On our recent trip to Rome this past spring, we revisited our Airbnb from 2017 and the experience gave us some closure that we needed. We posed in front of the doorway with frowny faces and our thumbs down, with the certainty that we would never stay there again and then we left to join my family for a delicious pasta dinner.

While packing carry-on only may not always come in quite as handy as it did for us on that first trip to Italy together, it makes it so much easier to get around while traveling, whether it be on public transportation, through the airport, or around a city. Having limited space in your travel bags encourages you to pack very intentionally and to use your creativity to create multiple outfits out of a small capsule wardrobe of items.

If you are planning an upcoming trip, I encourage you to try packing light and if you’re in for a real challenge, you could even test out the sense of freedom that comes with Carry-on only travel. Until next time, happy planning, happy packing, and happy travels. And if you ever face a tall iron gate of your own, I wish you luck, strength, perseverance and lots of cold ice packs.

Health & Lifestyle · Mental Health · Travel

Baby by the Ocean

Beth DeFries1 Comment

Last summer, while visiting Portland, Maine over the Fourth of July holiday, we went with some friends to a beach in another coastal town nearby called Cape Elizabeth. It was a warm day, though not sweltering, but the shimmering water still looked inviting and we were determined to swim.

We abandoned our beach towels and coverups and approached the water with the knowledge that it would probably be cold. Reality hit with a frostbiting splash with the first steps into the waves. I thought of children by the beach in our shore town back home and of kids we’ve seen on vacation who, determined to jump into the pool first thing in the breezy mornings, would drag their less than excited parents to the poolside to participate and supervise and it made me wonder if discomfort is a learned behavior rather than an innate one.

How is it that a baby by the ocean can be so eager to continue splashing in the shallows even after that first icy touch? In that moment, I wanted a share of that sense of freedom and uninhibitedness, so I held my breath and dove into the crest of an oncoming wave. Submerged and compressed by the cold pressure under the surface, the water invigorated me, stunning my nerves, smoothing my skin, and spreading my hair out behind me.

Breaking through the surface, I gulped the July, Maine air, blood rushing back to my face, cheeks too hot despite the breeze on my chilled skin outside the water. A baby giggled and squealed in the shallows, eager to stay at the edge, daring and alive and oh so happy.

After that trip, I began to will myself to be like a baby by the ocean whenever I was faced with a difficult, but necessary situation. The words became a mantra that helped me through some challenging situations this year and I continue to find myself thinking of them.

The unknown can be frightening, but it was not always that way. The fear develops from the context of our experiences as we grow. Babies seem to approach the unknown with curiosity rather than fear and I envy that in them. I want to stand on the verge of an ocean of possibility, propelled by an insatiable curiosity for the future. I will abandon fear with my beach towel on the sand, excited to dive into foamy crests and come alive no matter how biting the water may be. I can follow the sun, break through the surface, and gulp in the air when I must.

And if you look closely from the shore, you will see me shine and the tide will change. The waves will pull, rise, and crest and I will follow. And for it all, I will be different when we meet again.

Breakfast of Wanderers
Cozy Posts · Travel

Breakfast of Wanderers

Beth DeFries1 Comment

The sunrise tends to wake me up on the weekend days- not because of some inner-light that syncs with the solar forces; the real reason is much less transcendental than that. The “blackout” curtains on our bedroom windows evidently lied about their skills on their resume and my unconscious bias was unfairly influenced by a gut-confidence in their cozy, homespun, buffalo check design. Our windows face full east so the disparity between the advertising and reality became apparent at once.

Mike is able to sleep through the shiny-ness, but I often find myself heading upstairs to enjoy a large mug of some hot liquid while reading on my kindle or wondering if my early morning half-motivation to write something is going to result in my fingertips actually stringing sentences together on my keyboard. Today, the motivation appears to have been real enough.

I am standing at the breakfast counter that separates our kitchen from our living room, sipping piping hot Darjeeling, and flipping through lonely planet’s The Travel Book with semi-absorbed interest. The book is a large, heavy account of vivid photographs and informational blurbs of every country in the world. It was gifted to me by my dear friend, Chelsea, years ago at my bridal shower. I flip through the pages from time to time and have found it to be my go-to entertainment during power outages, which happen more often than in our previous Brooklyn homes (where we never once lost power-ahh the good ol’ days).

I took The Travel Book off of the shelf in our bedroom the other day, realizing that it was not stored in a spot where I use it. It’s not like the book was caked in dust or anything, but I knew it would serve a better purpose upstairs, which it has done as I have looked at it three or four times since.

I enjoy wandering the varying landscapes that spread across the glossy pages, engaging in silent meetings with the smiling locals and being confoundingly absorbed in the intense, bright-eyed stares of more conspicuous emotion opposite the photographer’s lens. I feel the warmth of hot dust on a ranch in the Buenos Aires province, release myself to the wind that flutters strings of colorful prayer flags in Bhutan, and cower at the unimpressed, stern confrontation of an army of albatrosses in the Falkland Islands.

Travel is fuel for excitement and entertainment in our home, as it is for many other people, I imagine. Taking out the excess has resulted in a personal increase in my mental capacity for planning and organization and my favorite things to plan and organize are trips.

Throughout the pandemic, I have satiated my wanderlust by way of virtual walking and driving tours in places around the world from the comfort of our turquoise couch. I have also delved into planning trip itineraries for multiple destinations, trips that will, in hope, actualize some day. My adventures have taken me to the remote corners of Barrow in northern Alaska, the focused (and thin) atmosphere of Everest Base Camp, the sustainably artsy towns and rainforests of Bainbridge Island, a crunchy Quebec City in a growing blanket of snow, the valley-nestled city of Thimphu in Bhutan, and the Greek island of Tinos in a heat wave.

I’ll pick up the remote some nights and Mike will say, “Where are you going today?” I pull up the map on my phone and zoom into different countries like a curious satellite before I settle on my destination. Without having to book a hotel, pack a bag, and remove my belt, liquids, and laptop to go through airport security, I am transported to a new life experience. I gather my surroundings through sight and sound and record them in my mental travel journal.

My virtual travels throughout this past year have broadened my adventurous spirit and geographical comprehension. I feel lucky to live in a time when these places and experiences are virtually accessible. While I cannot recreate the other sensical experiences of my destinations, nor the personality and heart of a location and its local inhabitants, I can be aware that the places and people of the world have so much to offer and that I want to absorb as many experiences as my human lifespan will allow me to.

In Memory of Travel: Ireland and Scotland
Travel

In Memory of Travel: Ireland and Scotland

Beth DeFries1 Comment

One year ago today, my family and I embarked on a ten day journey of international proportions, the first of its kind for us to experience together. Our destinations: the west coast of Ireland and the Scottish Highlands. As I drink my coffee at my laptop this morning, I am flipping through the large scrapbook that my sister made for me and Mike, full of photos, ticket stubs, and brochure clippings from the trip, feeling grateful to have had that incredible adventure with my favorite people and for the thoughtful way that my sister documented it.

For the trip, to avoid any hassle imposed by the tight baggage restrictions for our flight between Cork and Glasgow that we’d take halfway through our journey, we had decided to limit our baggage allowance to one carry-on and one personal item each. We also kept in mind that all six of us plus our bags would need to fit comfortably in a seven-person minivan in both countries and that our trunk space in said vehicles would not be an equal match for advertised seating capacity.

To accommodate our self-imposed packing restriction, I opted to pack items that could be re-worn without washing and quick drying items that could easily be hand washed in a bathroom sink. Having over-planned our leisurely trip itinerary, we had a good idea of all of the activities we’d be doing at each destination and I was able to share the complete itinerary with the group ahead of time along with suggestions for my parents for essential items to pack.

A perfect travel capsule wardrobe, in my opinion, consists only of items that you are comfortable and confident wearing, that will allow you to get a good night’s sleep, that suit the activities of your trip, and that protect you from the local weather elements of your destination. It should enhance your trip by making the process of choosing an outfit and getting dressed each morning a quick and easy task that prepares you for all of the activities for the day.

Ireland and Scotland are great destinations for trying out a reduced capsule wardrobe as the temperatures are forgiving and unless you are hiking, running, or cycling, you likely won’t sweat much. Our trip plan did not involve exercise more strenuous than walking, so active wear did not make the packing list cut. If you are visiting multiple towns along your journey through a country, you can even wear entirely the same outfit on more than one day of your trip and no one except your travel companions will know, and certainly none of them will care if they have the priority of enjoying taking in the sights.

Looking back at the pictures in the scrapbook and seeing wide smiles, the joy of adventure evident on each face, we were a bunch well-equipped to enjoy our travels, uninhibited by excess stuff so we could move briskly on our journey and roll with the “punches” thrown at us without dragging along the stress of extra baggage, and “punches” were certainly thrown in both countries by way of rough roads and car trouble-eek.

If you prefer less structured travel, a capsule travel wardrobe can be tailored to the weather conditions of your destination(s). Bring pieces that work well together that can be mixed and matched, dressed up or down, and are versatile enough for adventures varying in levels of activity and endurance. Bring a comfortable pair of walking/active shoes and a pair of shoes versatile enough to accommodate local weather conditions and dinner at a restaurant. Remember that if you pack light, you will have spare room in your bag to pick up an item here or there that can serve a purpose on your trip and also serve as a souvenir that will jog memories each time you use it even after you are back home.

While travel seems like a distant prospect amidst our current worldwide Covid-19 pandemic, I have to think it will be possible again someday and look forward to planning future trips and packing lists. For now, we have the memories of past travels to satisfy our hunger to voyage and that has to be enough for the time being.

Thanks for reading today’s post! If you have a fond travel memory, story, or an example of a time where items you packed enhanced or inhibited your trip, I’d love to read them in the comments below.