\u201cDo you think we will travel when we retire?\u201d my wife asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had a long packing list in front of me, and I was meticulously going down it \u2026 machete, pocket knife, backup pocket knife, formal pocket knife, pocket knife for casual outing. You know, one that says, \u201cHey, I don\u2019t want to mug you, but \u2026 like \u2026 I could.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cTravel when we retire?\u201d I said. \u201cSure. I hope so \u2026 a lot!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I got the feeling maybe she was thinking the opposite. Probably because of the whole pocket knife thing. And when I asked, \u201cCan you fit some of these knives in your suitcase?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Plus, the packing. In general, everything about the packing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We were heading to North Carolina. A little house outside of Asheville. A few nights there amongst the trees and the streams and the chilly weather. A fall getaway. We took my daughter and the dog, then meandered along the Blue Ridge Parkway. We strolled the trails and sat out on the house\u2019s upstairs porch, watching the sun rise above the mountains. It turned the whole land shades of orange and brown and yellow. Like all the trees had caught on fire. I thought sunrises above the Atlantic Ocean were special. But mountains as a backdrop? In the cool, dewy North Carolina air? It\u2019s my new favorite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I love to travel. And maybe as importantly, I love planning to travel. It\u2019s as much about getting there as it is being there, and I truly embrace that part of the journey. Especially when it comes to packing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I like to pack!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I think it exhausts my wife a bit. Because it can be a lot of work. Not packing \u2026 me! Or us, I should say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think other people take trips with this much stuff,\u201d she said. (I think I was loading some wall art or a hot water heater or maybe a headboard into the car.) \u201cI mean, they just put a few things in a bag and go.\u201d There was a mix of horror and admiration in her voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Longing, even.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
My wife is a packer, too. She dreads the work and effort that goes into it \u2013 how exhausting it can be. But she wants her own pillow and blanket and all the other things she stuffs into her suitcase that may, or likely may not, ever be needed. Like a carrot peeler! Don\u2019t forgot the carrot peeler.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It separates us from other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I think travelers probably fall into one of two categories: 1) Those who \u201cpack\u201d like they\u2019re moving. Pack like the apocalypse has arrived and they want to be ready to fight the zombies \u2026 with a carrot peeler. Pack like it is part of the adventure or some spiritual transcendence to a new realm. And \u2026 2) People who \u201cstuff\u201d some stuff into a bag and go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(These are also the people who leave the hatch of their car open and most of their \u201cstuff\u201d tumbles out. \u201cHooray!\u201d they think. \u201cLess to carry into the cabin.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t understand these people. My brother kind of falls a bit into that category. I remember once we were going somewhere. Just a day trip. But you bring stuff. You ALWAYS bring stuff. And there was something he didn\u2019t bring. Should have brought, but didn\u2019t it because it wouldn\u2019t fit. It wouldn\u2019t fit because there was a model train he was building \u2013 about the size of a lawnmower \u2013 that was stuffed into the back of his vehicle. What he left behind was like food or his child or something kind of important. But he left it behind because of the train.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhy didn\u2019t you just take the train out?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He looked at me like I was an idiot. \u201cBecause it\u2019s heavy!\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
See? That is not proper packing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019s the type of person who \u201cstuffs\u201d stuff into a bag and makes do. I know this because sometimes when he and his son go kayaking with my daughter and me, he apologetically tells me, \u201cHey, it\u2019s alright if you don\u2019t want to get too close to us. We kind of forgot to brush our teeth this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou what?!? Don\u2019t you carry extra toothbrushes?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo,\u201d came the answer, \u201c\u2026 because there\u2019s a model train back there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I don\u2019t \u201cstuff\u201d stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I pack. And plan my packing. And sometimes dream about packing. I don\u2019t think that\u2019s weird. You\u2019re weird! You should brush your teeth more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I LIKE to pack. I LIKE that feeling I get when I realize there is no way it\u2019s all going to fit. And I panic a little. And then, as if awakening to a great revelation, I turn a cooler 90 degrees counter- clockwise (always counter-clockwise!) and magically everything clicks into place. I can still fit an elephant in there. Or more pocket knives!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes I do wish I just \u201cstuffed\u201d stuff. It would be easier for sure. Less stressful. Take less time. My wife might actually speak to me for the first day or two.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I don\u2019t know that it would be the same. That it would be as much fun. I certainly wouldn\u2019t be able to spiritually ascend to a new realm, and that\u2019s part of the journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do I think we will travel more when we retire? Oh, heck yes. And I am definitely going to get a special, leather-bound suitcase to hold all my pocket knives.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cDo you think we will travel when we retire?\u201d my wife asked. <\/p>\n
I had a long packing list in front of me, and I was meticulously going down it \u2026 machete, pocket knife, backup pocket knife, formal pocket knife, pocket knife for casual outing. You know, one that says, \u201cHey, I don\u2019t want to mug you, but \u2026 like \u2026 I could.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cTravel when we retire?\u201d I said. \u201cSure. I hope so \u2026 a lot!\u201d<\/p>\n
I got the feeling maybe she was thinking the opposite. Probably because of the whole pocket knife thing. And when I asked, \u201cCan you fit some of these knives in your suitcase?\u201d<\/p>\n
Plus, the packing. In general, everything about the packing. <\/p>\n
We were heading to North Carolina. A little house outside of Asheville. A few nights there amongst the trees and the streams and the chilly weather. A fall getaway. We took my daughter and the dog, then meandered along the Blue Ridge Parkway. We strolled the trails and sat out on the house\u2019s upstairs porch, watching the sun rise above the mountains. It turned the whole land shades of orange and brown and yellow. Like all the trees had caught on fire. I thought sunrises above the Atlantic Ocean were special. But mountains as a backdrop? In the cool, dewy North Carolina air? It\u2019s my new favorite. <\/p>\n
I love to travel. And maybe as importantly, I love planning to travel. It\u2019s as much about getting there as it is being there, and I truly embrace that part of the journey. Especially when it comes to packing. <\/p>\n
I like to pack!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[576,561,565],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2164","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2020-nutshells","category-family","category-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2164","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2164"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2165,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2164\/revisions\/2165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nutshellcity.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}