How in the heck do you pack for spending months traveling in various climates with very little luggage?

Our first tough decision was that we needed to keep our luggage carry-on size.  With so many legs of the trip via airplane, we knew that we would spend a fortune on checked baggage if we couldn’t carry it with us.  To decide on the size of our bags, we reviewed the carry-on specifications for the airlines we would be using.  The smallest requirement left us with just a few options for bags.  We ultimately decided to go with the REI Vagabond because it is a backpack that zips the long way like a suitcase (as opposed to a top-loading backpack) so it is easily accessible while still keeping the convenience of a backpack.

Then came figuring out what to put in the bags.  The overwhelming majority of travel bloggers have said that people ALWAYS over pack.  We tried very hard NOT to do that.  So, here’s the packing list:

3 – pants (1 zip off shorts, 1 light weight/quick dry, 1 jeans)

2 – Columbia long sleeve shirts that roll up to short sleeves

2 – t-shirts

2 – long sleeve t-shirts

1 – swimsuit

1 – set of quick dry PJs

4 – pairs of underwear (quick dry)

4 – pairs of socks (quick dry)

1 – set of thermals

1 – heavy down coat that can by smooshed down

1 – scarf that matches all shirts

1 – pair of boots

1 – pair of flip flops

1 – sleeping map, inflatable pillow, and sleeping bag (light weight since we will only be camping when it is warm)

1/2 – light weight travel tent (Adam has the other half)

1 – poncho

1 – travel towel (quick dry)

1 – water bottle with built in filter

1 – headlamp

1 – first aid kit:  band aids, alcohol pads, aspirin, neosporin, pepto, immodium, anti-itch, purell, sunscreen, bug spray, gloves, kleenex, baby wipes, chapstick, q-tips, nail clippers, tweezers

1 – toiletry kit

1 – Microsoft Surface with Keyboard

1 – power/plug adapter

1 – digital camera

2 – compression bags

1 – REI Vagabond pack to fit it all!

Well, it’s official…we are going to spend the majority of 2015 traveling around the world as a family!  Oh my gosh, I can’t believe that this is really happening and that it’s going to happen so soon!  I am so excited and I could burst, but insanely nervous at the same time.

We take off from Orlando in March and will be starting our trip in Shanghai and then spend about 5 weeks traveling around China.  As it stands now, we plan to spend 5 days in Shanghai, 5 days in Beijing, 5 days in Xi’an, 3 days each in Chengdu, Kunming, at the Shaolin Temple, Guilin, and another 5 days in Hong Kong.  Travel around China by train can take up to 24 hours to get from location to location, so we have a few days planned for that as well.  After China, we will move on to SE Asia (Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand) for a month and then be off to South Africa to relax in Cape Town for a week or so before departing on our Safari.  The Safari will take us from Cape Town, South Africa through Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana, Malawi, Tanzania, and into Nairobi, Kenya.

Following the Safari, we are spending 2 weeks in Egypt and then flying to Greece to spend the last 3 months of our trip traveling by train around Europe.  The 3 month global Eurail pass and our tent will give us the freedom to keep our plans open and go where the wind takes us.  I’m very much looking forward to this part of the trip!  Then, in October, we will be returning to the US.  Writing it all down makes the whole endeavor seem pretty crazy, but we are very much looking forward to the change of pace and chance to do something that very few people have done before!

Our house is rented out and know we need to get busy with the packing (I really hate packing) so that the renters can move in on March 1^st.  It really couldn’t have worked out any better with them wanting to move in so soon.  It will allow us to minimize the amount of money that we are losing on the mortgage.  I guess this means that we will be spending Valentine’s Day weekend and Adam’s Birthday weekend packing up boxes and breaking down furniture.

It’s pretty surreal to think that we are actually doing this, but it’s an adventure that we have always wanted to take and the timing just seems right.  The general reaction is that we’re crazy to spend 8 months together on the road, but I think that it will make us a stronger, more flexible, and more well-rounded family.

So, why are we doing this?  There are several reasons:

First…Why not?!?!  We have always enjoyed traveling and we have always wanted to see new places.  Every time I read one of those, “1,000 Things to See Before You Die” lists, it makes me want to go on vacation immediately.  We are very much an “experience over things” family…although you wouldn’t know if by looking at the toys in Hayden’s room.

Second, Hayden will be 8 years old and we have decided that this is a great time for him to see the world;  he is old enough to remember the experiences, young enough to still want to hang out with us, and we are very much hoping that this experience of seeing the world will influence the way he views the world.  We want him to appreciate the advantages that we have in our lives and for him to understand how lucky we are in all that we have; hopefully this will lead him to be a compassionate person thorugh his life.  In terms of school, he will be home-schooled during this time and will not miss a beat jumping back into 4th Grade when we get home.

Third, although we are by no means rich, we are able to swing the trip financially at this time through lots of saving, being very thrifty and by doing this on a very tight budget.  While we were deployed to Iraq (during our time in the Army), we saved as much money as possible knowing that someday we wanted to use that money for something really cool…what could be more cool than traveling the world?!  We do appreciate that we are very lucky to be able to take this opportunity together as a family and will certainly enjoy this time.

Last, but certainly not least, when Hayden was 4 years old, he was diagnosed with a JPA Brain Tumor.  We have been extremely lucky that the tumor was benign and the Neurosurgeon was able to remove the majority of it.  For the past 3 years, Hayden has had 2-4 MRIs each year along with Oncology and Neurosurgery appointments.  Then, this January, he was re-diagnosed with the same type tumor again and had to go through a 2nd surgery last month to have it removed.  We are extremely thankful that the surgeon was able to remove the entire tumor and the only complication is a small tremor on Hayden’s left side.  In the grand scheme of things, we consider this a success and we are looking forward to getting back to a normal life.  He is such a trooper and has never complained about anything (except getting an IV…which he hates) through the entire ordeal.  With all of that, we decided to jump on the opportunity and get out into the world!!

We will keep this blog going throughout the trip!