all this for a 10 day trip!?!

As I rummaged through a closet looking for our snorkel gear to pack for our trip to Costa Rica (we leave tonight! WOOHOO!), I found some of our Europe “travel gear” and had to laugh. I thought that y’all might also find this entertaining.

Contents of my backpack for a 3+ month trek around Europe:
5 shirts, 3 skirts, 1 pair yoga pants, 1 pair sandals, 1 bathing suit, 1 ziplock bag of toiletries (including just the barest of essentials, not even conditioner made the cut), 1 guidebook, 20 packs of instant oatmeal (we didn’t realize what lifesavers these would be and had Jen bring us reinforcements when she met us in Spain!), a few protein bars, a raincoat, and a first aid kit. Seriously.

Contents of my Costa Rica bound suitcase: My snoogle pillow (it’s six feet long, but helps the prego back pain enough that I can actually get some sleep), pilates bands, five paperback books (deadweight in every “how to pack light” article I’ve ever read), five hardcover books (even worse!), two boxes of Hostess 100 calorie cupcakes, other healthy and protein-filled snacks to help with the Itsy Bitsy's development, all sorts of extraneous toiletries including three different types of sunscreen (no ‘washable 5’ sarah and jen- haha!). Also, there’s a notebook for making lists, my Bible, journal and travel journal. And two beach towels. And possibly snorkel gear. Oh yeah, and I tucked a couple of swim suits, sundresses and a pair of flip flops in Adam’s suitcase.

So I guess there is a similarity in all of this: I am totally fine with leaving the country for 3 months (or 10 days) with only a few things to wear! It’s good to know that I can travel light if I so choose. And maybe even better to pack an entire suitcase of non-essentials just because I can.

Though really, the most glorious part of all of this packing (and comparing) is that the countdown until we lug my brimming-with-extras suitcase to the airport is just 11 hours. Sunshine here we come!