Goal 3: Make a Reusable Packing List
One of my goals was to make a reusable travel list. I found many cute ones on pinterest, like this one, and this one. But ultimately I found that they were not as reusable as my old standby, the simple word document. AND! then I found that I had already made a reusable planner of sorts, so I was double excited. Check out my reusable and customizable packing list for a couple here. We packed fairly light during this trip, and still had lots and lots of clothes.One of the things included on my packing list is a "things to do section". We absolutely loved coming home to a tidy house, empty garbage, and clean dishwasher and sink. Prince Charming was so confused the night before the trip when I suddenly really cared that we got the house tidied and was more worried about cleaning than packing, but once we were home he commented many times on how great it is to come home to a clean house. This is my best tip for any trip. Do your best to have a tidy home when you get home, and at the very least empty your garbage the day of the trip. Also remember to turn off your extension cords! You don't need to waste power while you're away.
Goal 11: Go on a road trip
The second goal that we accomplished during this trip was going on a road trip! We drove all the way from Edmonton, AB to Vancouver, BC, did a coastal circle trip and returned. We spent many hours in the car and actually had fun. This is mostly because we completely love our car but also because we both thought through what things we would need during the trip and what needed to be accessible. On the way home we even carried a bunch of furniture for Mulan and a freezer! Here are my top tips for a great road trips
- load up your iPod with great music, audiobooks, and podcasts and find a good spot to keep it. Invest in a kit that includes a audio cable and cigarette lighter charger if you can. This needs to be on the front dash or console somewhere and really accessible. We kept ours between cup holders a lot.
- keep the camera right beside the iPod! I snapped so many photo's both in the car and outside. So many, "Look, animal!" or "Train!" sightings means that having quick access is super important.
- we packed my purse away in the back and just kept out my sunglasses. Even if you need your wallet at stops it is easy to grab from the back. Charming also kept his wallet in the glove box so he wasn't lopsided the whole way. Clean out the glove box for this trip if you can! Stuff you really need that usually goes there can be packed away in the back of the car, but ready if you need it.
- we packed a cooler with great snacks in it for the first part of the trip. But really, we just emptied the fridge. We made these wraps which were really great, brought protein bars, cubed cheese, vegetables and fruit, cut and washed, trail mix and water. We even brought an extra thermal pitcher of water as well. Honestly, the only think we specially bought was the ham for the wraps and the protein bars, and the bars were really unnecessary. Check out your fridge and get creative! Also we found that when you are travelling you don't get nearly as hungry, so we probably could have stretched this food for both lunch & dinner on our first day. Mostly having this meant that we wouldn't need to stop for food and could eat on the go. Since we were eating while moving, we didn't want to have to stop to get to the cooler, so it sat right between the seats, easy to access and everything was completely ready to eat, no assembly required.
Goal 4: Camp at 5 Provincial Campsites
The third goal that we made progress on was camping in another provincial campsite! This time we stayed at Robson Meadows Campground in Mt. Robson Provincial Park (BC). It was beautiful, private and everything you want in a campsite. It even had showers and beautiful bathrooms! I honestly find that as I age the pit toilet is much harder to deal with! I am so terrified there will be a huge spider or snake. Although I asked my zoologist aunt, Carlotta, if a snake or spider could lay curled just inside of the top and she said no animal would go in there ever, so that made me feel a lot better.
We tried a new kind of camping this trip, since we were carrying cargo we wanted to pack as light as we could. So, we decided to camp entirely without any kitchen set-up and only used the car cooler, which plugs in to the cigarette lighter and is only powered when the car is running. What ended up happening to us is that we stopped at a grocery store during the afternoon and bought food for the night that we kept in the cooler, and then for the morning we bought muffins and fruit that would last without refrigeration. Charming even found a cold coffee drink in a can so that in the morning we didn't even need to stop for that. This actually worked out fantastically for one night of camping and I would definitely do this again. It saved lots of room in the car, and when we were camping all we did was sit down and eat and then throw out the garbage, since we didn't even have any dishes. You could even just stop at a restaurant, and then go to your campsite, or set-up first and go into a restaurant, depending on what you were doing. This really simplified things and let us focus on relaxing, as we read books and played games for our last night of the trip. It was really fantastic.
What kind of preparation do you do before a trip? Please comment below!
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