One month to go!

That's the vacation ticker I keep in my signature at a web forum... and it says that we've got precisely one month to go until Epic Train Trip! Here's an update on how things are progressing:


After Mini Train Trip, we both agreed that the duffel bags just didn't cut it. First off, both of them were somewhat damaged afterwards, and I doubt they would have held up to a month's worth of being stuffed to the gills. Second, travelling with both my usual shoulder bag AND my duffel bag on my shoulders is cumbersome and difficult to arrange properly- not well-suited to hopping on and off of various forms of transport, which will be the norm this summer. Third, I found a pretty good deal on a bag that looked uniquely suited to our trip- the eBags eTech Weekender Convertible. This carry-on-sized bag is designed to be carried as a backpack by two hide-away straps, along with a removable hip belt and sternum strap for heavier loads. Based on the lifetime warranty and glowing reviews all over the web, I bought two- Dani has the blue version, while mine is in rust orange. I'll be sure to let you know how that decision works out.


Oh, and we got tickets! Did I mention we got tickets? Oh, we've got so very many tickets. When I went down to Los Angeles for National Train Day (7 May), I figured it was close enough to trip time that I ought to print our tickets out. (We'd been putting that off in order to take advantage of Amtrak's ridiculously generous refund policy, in case something in our life really exploded.) Well, we've now got 26 Amtrak tickets and 6 Greyhound tickets between the two of us, as well as the USA Rail Pass itself. (The pass is actually a standard-sized Amtrak ticket, with the ticket stub torn off, stapled [and stapled and stapled and stapled...] to a specialized ticket folder.)

Also, remember that packing list that I've mentioned so many times? We recently finalized the lists for the trip, and my mother was kind enough to laminate them for us. Now, instead of trying to make increasingly creative marks next to each check box, or trying to do the checklist in our heads, we can write on the list with a transparency marker. New hotel, wipe it off, check it again.

So, in sum, the planning is done, the reservations are made, the money's been sent off, the travel gear is here, the luggage is here, the tickets are here... the only thing we're waiting for is the date. It all starts a month from now, 20 June 2011. It's gonna be a looooong month.