How To Pack When You Don’t Know Exactly Where You Are Going

You may be wondering, what do you pack for an extended trip like this one?  I was certainly wondering myself. Particularly when we are not exactly sure where we will go.

At the moment we expect to be gone 10 months, during four different seasons, and visit at least three countries, probably more. Part of our trip is a car trip so during that portion we can have more items with us. We’ll be up in Portland and Vancouver Island for five or six months as we've been doing the past few years. But we are heading to Europe soon for around three months and are trying to pack light for that segment. But even then I need room for some tango clothes and shoes.

In the end, I was a little surprised what I chose to bring along. I didn't pack a lot of clothes for the European voyage; I'm not even sure there is more than I would bring for a two-week trip. There are no favorite clothes at all except a few scarves. It is mostly three colors of jeans, a few sweaters, and a whole lot of black, Even my dancing clothes are based on black, something I rarely choose to wear. About half my wardrobe is disposable clothes, things I don’t care about and can leave and replace. I accidentally forgot my camera and I have decided to just use my iPhone so that is one fewer item to pack. I have no winter coat. I’m trying to make do with a just leather jacket, raincoat, scarves, and a down vest. I'm in Portland now. The weather is warmish and these items have worked so far. The winter weather in Portugal should be similar to Portland and presumably warming as spring approaches.

While there are not a lot of clothes, there are a LOT of miscellaneous items, from safety pins to duct tape. I was a girl scout and still like to be prepared. There's a corkscrew, small army knife, a small travel pillow. That pillow has been on the road with me for more than 10 years (Europe Asia, South Ameria, cruises), and it makes strange beds feel like home.

But there is the question of where are we going? I thought we would spend three months exploring Portugal. Franklin, on the other hand, is starting to raise the subject of possible other yet-to-be-named destinations. Keep tuned to this station to see where we wind up. The big plan is 10 months out this time, followed by a brief visit to our storage area in Scottsdale next November to change our clothes, then off again for another year. After that, we'll consider settling down somewhere.

I have packed a new 24” suitcase for this trip,  plus a small carry-on and a daypack. But this keeps both hands full and I have reconsidered. I just ordered a larger rolling duffle bag instead to leave one hand free. There are pros and cons to both bags and I'll decide at the last minute which to use on the European portion of our journey. Yes, one bag leaves my other hand free, but there is the problem of stairs. Many older buildings in Europe don't have elevators. A bigger bag is easier to maneuverfrom one place to another but harder to carry up stairs. I know our first stop in Lisbon has an elevator but I wonder if limiting ourselves to elevator buildings will limit our options.

Packing and unpacking. I have spent the last month doing practically nothing else. But I really want to get it right. I hate it when I know I own the right item (like my camera) and I forgot to pack it.