Travel

    We just got back from a trip north.  We went to celebrate my grandparent's 65th wedding anniversary.  It was nice to see them and my favorite part was when everyone else went to the park and Jarrad and I had my grandparents ALL TO OURSELVES!  
    My grandfather looked at me and said, "She (gesturing to my grandma) don't walk so good."
    I pointed to Jarrad and said, "That's ok.  He doesn't either."  He laughed and we sat there and chatted.  And it was so nice. 
    For Jarrad and I to reach 65 years, I will have to make it to 93 and he will need to get to 95.  Such a long way away.  11 years seems long so I can't imagine an additional 54!  It is hard enough to look in the mirror and see multiple grey hairs and wonder who that person is inside my mirror.

    Folks ask if we were looking forward to this trip and the short answer is no.  No, we were not.  And it had nothing to do with the people.  Love the people.  Wish we were closer to the people.  The travel is killer.  That and we stayed in 3 different hotels.  Hampton, Comfort and back to the Hampton.  It was a lot of travel and moving and shifting and logistics.  I thought I was organized and had figured things out for travel but...
    I pack our clothes in plastic totes and have bags for all the other stuff - this is the toiletry bag, this is the cath bag, this is the medicine bag.  But with all the switching and moving stuff just got tossed here and there and I got frustrated because I couldn't find the things I needed. 
   I have got to figure out how to stream line this whole process of packing so that we can enjoy our trips and I don't throw pieces of the shower bench across the room. I have a friend who is super organized and I have gotten some tips from her but as with most things, you have to figure out what works for your family and what your needs are.
    So what did I learn other than 50 years is doable but 65 might be a bit much? 
    1.  When the kids are gone for a week, if you clean their rooms right away, they stay clean for a whole week!  And that means half the house stays clean!
    2. Take an air mattress for said children and then you don't have to worry about getting a room with 2 double beds - they can sleep on the floor and you don't have to feel like you are falling out of the bed or worry that there will be enough room for Wheels. 
    3. Stay at the same hotel with your family because it is nice to be able to hang out with them.
    4.  Pop up hampers with trash bag liners and binder clips to make sure the trash bag stays up are a GREAT alternative to those dinky little trash can in hotels - especially when you make a lot of trash.  And they fold so small! 
   5.  Pop up hampers for dirty clothes need to have a draw string aspect to it. 
   6.  I need a better solution to a cosmetic bag than the one we currently use.  It is a Land's End family one and it sucks.  Thinking it might work better as an electronics bag. 
   7.  We are determined to take some "real" (as in being a tourist somewhere) vacations.  I think efficient  packing is essential to comfort and enjoying yourself.  And yes, I may just be a little bit OCD about this.