 |
| BRING ONLY WHAT YOU NEED TO SURVIVE! |
It's never been a particularly tedious process for me as I've always been of the mindset that you bring what you feel like you need and if you forget something necessary, too bad - adaptability is one of the strongest qualities that the human race has ever exhibited, after all, but the trouble these days is a lot of folks mistake necessity for luxury. This is why every truck stop between here and oblivion is now equipped with wi-fi, so that you can check Facebook status updates as you watch what is almost certainly a three-week-old hotdog tumble down the rollers of the grilling apparatus. (Do those things have a specific name other than just "gas station hot dog cooker"?) Don't get me wrong, I love to have my favorite gadgets nearby but I'm not so attached at the hip to these baubles that I can't let them well enough alone occasionally, especially over the course of a vacation.
The challenge when it comes to packing that has been presented by this particular voyage is the fact that it is what it is; that being a seven day adventure to the western Caribbean (not counting an extra day or two of travel to and from our port of embarkation). Essentially, my concern isn't so much a matter of agonizing over what to bring but the fact that I'm having to bring a lot of stuff, namely clothing, and I only have so many pieces of luggage to work with. This being the case, my packing strategy has been to establish levels of priority.
Not surprisingly, I packed every available (read, clean) pair of underwear I have first thing, which immediately presented a logistical challenge seeing as how I have just enough to account for every day of the cruise plus a few spares. This is in defiance of a technique my Grandmother (who was something of a road warrior in her 60s as she would commonly take lengthy bus tours across the western United States) once told me about whereby you could actually get four wears out of a single pair of shorts, that being to wear them correctly once then reverse them (so that the front is in the back), then turn them inside-out and reverse them again. I've never had to do that (and I hope I never have to) but it's as valid an option as any when pressed for methods in providing adequate cover to your naughty bits.
Next were other essentials such as socks, pajamas, and handkerchiefs. I don't know that many people carry handkerchiefs nowadays but I took to carrying them many years ago when I was an avid concert-goer. The utilitarian nature of something as simple as a square of cloth may escape you. Have you ever found yourself needing to blow your nose, wipe sweat from your brow, dry off your hands after using a restroom with no paper towels or air dryer, or simply get caught with your lips and fingers covered in wing sauce but there's no napkins to be found? There are many uses for a hanky, is what I'm getting at, and I keep one with me at all times.
I have an old duffel bag I've used since high school for random occasions; back then it was my backpack of choice - here, it's going to be ferrying my shoes. Depending on the style and manufacturer, I can typically wear a mens shoe size 14 or 15 wide. Suffice to say that finding footwear that's comfortable for me is something of a challenge considering most major shoe stores seem to be under the impression that no one has feet as large as mine. Nevertheless, my point in bringing up my shoes is to say that with large feet come large shoes. Somewhat unbelievably, I was able to fit a pair of dress shoes, my water shoes, a pair of sandals, my hats and a set of swimming goggles all within this one bag.
In contrast to the old duffel is a new accessory I purchased recently - the Maxpedition Sitka Gearslinger. The Gearslinger series is described as a shoulder sling tactical messenger bag, and with its ballistic nylon construction it's great for everyday use as well as backpacking. I plan on breaking in my Sitka during this trip as it will be holding gear such as my raincoat, flashlight, iPod, camera, and an assortment of other items. I've customized my Sitka with Maxpedition's Janus Extension Pocket, which functions as both an extension of the shoulder strap and a useful front-side pouch.
Toiletries are another no-brainer because Heaven forbid we'd go off on vacation without smelling nice or forgetting basic hygiene practices. For me, items that wind up in my toiletry bag include toothpaste, toothbrush, floss, band-aids, medication (which includes Zyrtec, daily multivitamins, anti-diarrhea tablets, aspirin and Tylenol), deodorant, cologne, body spray, aftershave, my razor (a Schick Quatro I've had for the better part of a decade; I don't bother with disposables as they tend to chew up my face), and shaving cream. Additionally, for this trip I've got a fresh tube of SPF 50 sunblock and bug repellent, both of which will be necessary as we'll be hoofing it to a set of remote Mayan ruins whilst in Belize and I don't particularly want to get sunburn and/or bitten by some kind of malaria-toting beastie that doesn't have my best interests in mind when it sets upon me.
Aside from what I mentioned will be getting packed into my duffel and Sitka, the items I've mentioned prior to now account for the contents of my smaller suitcase which, in terms of dimensions, is not as big as a full-sized piece of luggage but not that small either. It's been more than suitable for me to take with me on 2 or 3 day trips in the past, however it is most certainly an accessory for this vacation.
The remainder of what I have to pack will go into a much larger bag, the limits of which will most certainly be tested over the course of our vacation. As I mentioned earlier, the difficulty in packing for this trip hasn't been deciding what to bring but more of how to deal with the volume of what I'm bringing in contrast to the amount of luggage space I have to work with. I've got 100 pounds of crap but only a 50 pound bag, as it were.
My wardrobe is basic and I don't put a lot of effort into trying to match up pants to tops or what have you. (Proof of this is the fact that I apparently I missed out on some kind of basic clothing coordination classes in my formative years because I see nothing wrong with wearing brown shoes and a black belt, a fact that my wife persistently chides me about.) On any other vacation I could've continued with my ways as I'd just throw a bunch of my casual clothing into my bag and be done with it. Cruising is a different animal in that there are formal nights in the main dining rooms aboard these vessels where dress codes require guests to be rather snazzily put together. (No, you don't have to attend these events as you could just as well eat from the buffet every meal, but you're paying for this experience when you book a cruise so there's no point in not getting the most out of it - besides, the food is amazing!) That being the case, I'll essentially have to bring double the amount of clothing I normally would - one set for roaming about care free and a completely different set for when we need to be gussied up.
I don't own a suit or even a sport jacket, although I do have several button-down dress shirts and ties (which sit in a hermetically sealed box 99% of the time so that they'll be fresh on the rare occasion that I actually need them), which is a perfectly appropriate ensemble for formal nights on board the ship as far as I'm concerned. Formal wear, to me, is arguably the most dysfunctional clothing imaginable. There is literally no redeemable or, more importantly, useful aspect to it - then again, that isn't its intention. I'm sure somewhere out there a tactical clothing manufacturer has developed a suit that doubles as a survival outfit but I have yet to see it.
I've made kind of a big deal out of being able to fit all this stuff into my bags and, truth be told, it's a legitimate concern however I'm fairly certain it will all come together. I've got enough time between now and when we'll be hitting the road that I should be able to sort through all that I've mentioned in this post, develop a plan of attack, and execute it with much precision. I may have to use a form of origami on my garments then use one of those space-saving vacuum bags to get them all in, mind you, but it should work out okay. How well it all fits back into my bags when it's time to come home will be an entirely different issue.
No comments:
Post a Comment