The Boy is getting chatty lately, but since his Opera post was so darn funny, I guess we’ll let him keep talking (typing?)  Here he is with a little “behind the scenes” before Europe ends!

People asked me, a lot, how we were packing for 3 months. Packing for 3 months is hard. Packing when laundry may not be readily available is even more of a challenge. Packing all of this into a backpack, well…my wife was not pleased with this life plan. Here is a breakdown of everything we figured I’d need over 3 months, across 4 continents, ranging from late summer in the Sahara, to fall in Europe, to hot season in tropical Asia, to late fall in China, to summer in Australia:

• 10 pairs of boxers
• 5 pairs of regular socks
• 5 pairs of hiking socks
• 2 pairs of shorts
• 4 pairs of lightweight pants
• 1 pair of jeans
• 1 pair of gym shorts
• 7 t-shirts
• 1 sweatshirt
• 1 smart wool long sleeve zip
• 1 polo shirt
• 2 button down shirts
• 1 heavy duty rain coat

There are, of course, lots of other “miscellaneous” items also – a toiletry bag, sunblock, flashlight, leatherman tool, camelback for the daypack, cameras, laptop, medicine, etc. Most of that stuff fits in my normal backpack, so I’ll just look at the big backpack.

Yes, all of our luggage was to fit in a regular backpack and a hiking backpack. Together, they could be worn on our back and our front, and we could meander as needed hands-free.

How is this done? Through the miracle of packing cubes!

And they all fit nicely into the backpack!

So anyways, that’s how we’re traveling. Backpacks, packing cubes, and everything fits. Slightly annoying, but every single time I see someone dragging a wheely suitcase behind them, over cobblestone, up and down stairs, down streets, looking super not happy about it…I am glad i have my hands free and everything is with me at all times.  My wife…I think she sees the usefulness and convenience of it, but isn’t happy about being a 30 year old backpacker.