What are your go-to clothing tips you rely on?
(Tammy) Plenty of underwear, comfortable footwear for the season, and a variety of scarves for differing seasons. (Aaron) That’s obvious: jeans and tee shirts.
What are your go-to clothing tips you rely on?
(Tammy) Plenty of underwear, comfortable footwear for the season, and a variety of scarves for differing seasons. (Aaron) That’s obvious: jeans and tee shirts.
What did you acquire on the road?
With a commitment to being thoughtful about acquiring stuff, we have acquired a few clothing items both as gifts and we bought for ourselves. (Tammy) We brought full wardrobes for every season but could have easily bought most of what we needed in Europe. Our purchases are really about things we mostly wanted rather than needed. My most-used acquired article has to be my Moroccan jellaba. I use it every day as my robe to and from the shower or lounging in Charlie. It matches my pointy-toed hotel slippers from Marrakech, Morocco. My mother-in-law Grammy Sue, sister Teresa, and sister-friend Juliana donated super cute additions to my limited summer wardrobe during their visits with us. After a year with the same clothing choices, a thrift-store shopping spree in the Netherlands added a few new tops and a cute dress to layer. (Aaron)
How many pairs of shoes do you travel with?
Initially we each brought a pair of walking/hiking shoes, a pair of sandals, Aaron brought running shoes while Tammy brought waterproof boots (only to be given to her sister while in Greece in the spring). We both acquired flip flops at the dollar store in San Sebastian only to have them deteriorate astonishingly fast. I went back to my old reliable: Havianas and Aaron has been using mine. I had Grammy Sue bring me a new pair of sandals. Since we don’t have to pack and repack and carry shoes, we’ve also acquired new boots for me and cute leather high tops for Aaron to round out our winter footwear needs.
How much luggage did you take for your family of 3 from the United States to Europe?
We had 4 backpacks all luggage-converted for travel, 2 large boxes, three day packs and a small handbag-sized sling bag. The backpacks were for clothes, shoes, toiletries and other gear while the two big boxes housed a tent, sleeping bags, and Charlie’s kitchen. Day packs held electronics. We also use compression and stuff sacks to maximize space in our packs.
Any recommendations?
Yes! We have traveled for over 30 years with the same two travel bags, our R.E.I. travel bag we call “Big Blue”, and it’s smaller cousin made by Eagle Creek we call “Little Blue”. The two have clocked more backpacker miles than we have as they were the bag of choice several family members and friends in addition to years of travel with the two of us. The components we like are the larger side-zip access with a zip-off day pack. Both are exceedingly comfortable as short-term backpacks as they are sized well and have robust waist belts. No outer pockets to pick and lockable zippers provide extra security when being thrown on top of a bus in a remote place. Additionally, we have an excellent R.E.I. day pack sized to fit Tammy and was used for an entire week and hiking out of the Grand Canyon! Aaron relies on a North Face Router day pack for electronics and more. Lastly, an old Overland sling bag is our daily walk around town bag.
Did you have to pay to get all that luggage there?
We packed everything in our Mazda3 and drove from our former home in Redmond, WA to Colorado where we flew one-way on IcelandAir to Amsterdam with a 4 day stopover in Reykjavik. We were allowed 2 pieces each checked on free, a carry-on and handbag so we flew with more luggage than we’ve ever traveled with before without paying extra for any. Yeah Iceland Air!