My grandson called the other day and asked how my day was and what I did all day while he was at camp. I told him I was practicing packing. “Why would you do that?” he asked in a voice that indicated he thought I was crazy. I explained I had to get a year’s worth of clothes into one small suitcase. He asked, “how small.” I said, “about the size of yours.” “No way” he said.

I decided early on that I needed to get everything in a 20″ bag, the biggest carry-on allowed on some international flights. I just couldn’t risk losing my luggage or even having them misplaced for a few days. I figured it would be hard for the airlines to find me as in some places as I would be moving every day or two. So I bought a little yellow suitcase.

Then my friend, Corrine, connected me with someone she knew that had traveled for a year and she suggested I consider a backpack instead of a suitcase. She explained spinner bags are great in some circumstances but a little more difficult in others, such as cobblestone streets or gravel roads. I thought she had a good point so I researched backpack and found an eBag a well rated bag that met airline size requirements.

Now what to put in it? My hopes of scheduling my route where the temperatures would fall between 60 and 85 degrees fell to the wayside almost immediately when Iceland lows could be as cold as 45 degrees when we arrived in mid-June and Greece could easily be 95 in July. So now instead of packing for a 25 degree temperature variance, I needed to plan for a difference of 50 degrees.

My itinerary includes a wide range of activities as well so I needed to include smart clothes for city site seeing and dining out, outdoor duds for hiking, swimming, kayaking and days in a 4×4 jeep on safari, and pieces that allowed movement for yoga and meditation. Somehow wearing the clothes that I wear every day here was important as well, I feel it will help me maintain my sense of self when everything around me is different.

My brain loves a puzzle so I began assembling my wardrobe as well as the myriad of other items I needed. Stay tuned for the details. Four days until take-off.