GTD — The Travel Edition (in the beginning)

It seems that travel and packing have been on the minds of at least a couple of GTD gurus lately.

And since this is one of my favorite subjects, I must chime in!

Why my favorite? Two reasons, actually. But first (as usual) I must digress with some background.

Our first trip to the UK we decided to go only three or four weeks in advance. We had to do passports, planning, etc. and it was a mad whirl of activity. We made all the beginner mistakes when we were packing. The mistakes that usually involve this conversation:

“Do you think we’ll need this?”

“I don’t know. We’d better take it just in case.”

We took our two suitcases each (not shoulderbags or backpacks or any of the newer travel gear — suitcases). They were crammed with clothes. (It was February. We were going to England. We packed a lot of warm clothes. Heavy flannel shirts, cotton henleys and heavier sweaters for layers, jeans, etc.) The one packing tip we used was, “Wear your heavy coat and clothes onto the plane so you don’t have to pack them.” Good advice, even though we were boarding in unseasonable 80 degree weather in Dallas. Yikes.

We wrestled the suitcases through airports, onto the Gatwick Express, onto a subway, onto another subway, and hauled them to our hotel. When we left the hotel three nights later we said to hell with that and called a cab. (Whew!)

We tossed them all in the back of our rental car and took off, and from that time forward having too much luggage wasn’t much of an issue, but I’d learned my lesson!

Upon arriving back home I returned to the travel boards on GEnie (now defunct) and AOL and reported in, and started paying more attention to packing/travel issues. I discovered Rick Steves and his forum where travelers who prefer to travel light exchange tips.

Over the next few years I read obsessively on the subject, and was determined to master the fine art of savvy packing. I “practiced” by buying travel aids here and there, by paying attention to different recommendations for clothes, luggage, techniques, and using them on camping trips and storm chases and short trips in the car and flights to LA and vacations.

Why did this become an obsession? First, because it was fun. All the reading, planning and practicing was nominally for our “next trip across the pond” and it just kept the idea that we would return to the UK again, and this time I was going to be prepared.

Second, because it was the only part of my life that was organized!

I made lists, I packed, I planned, and when I was on a trip, I was organized in a way that I was never organized in real life. It felt liberating and free and refreshing.

A lot like you feel when you do that GTD thang…. Funny how that works, isn’t it?

If you told me right now that I should be on a flight out of DFW at 5:00 to England this afternoon, which means getting there at 3:00, which means leaving here in two hours? I could do it.

If you gave me a week I’d probably be a bit more organized and would be busy nonstop most likely buying stuff that I probably could have done without.

In coming days I’m going to write about what to wear, what to carry, how to pack, how to travel cheap in the UK. But for now use the links I’ve given you if you want to explore the subject, and here are some photos of my packing and luggage from our most recent trip:

packing light (four sets of pics, linked at the top of the pages)

and some of my images from the trip itself:

England & Wales, 2005 (again, four sets linked at the top of the pages)

If you have any questions or comments about the pics, please post them here so I can respond. Thanks!

Next, GTD – The Travel Edition (what to wear).