It isn’t easy leaving Pleasantville. Where I live in southern California isn’t actually called Pleasantville, but may as well be. It’s such an easy place to live in the summer. The climate is not too hot or too cold. The evenings always cool down so one never has to stick to the sheets as I remember from my childhood in humid Massachusetts. There are no mosquitoes and black flies, and no rain.
But I am now packing to go on my way to Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming. With other seniors on a Road Scholar (formerly known as Elderhostel) trip, we will do a service project of wild lands restoration. Most of the above — cold, rain, many mosquitoes and black flies — are not only possible, but probable. I’m taking insect repellent and sunscreen, but I don’t know whether the insect repellent goes over the sunscreen, or vice versa.
How do you pack? For days prior to a trip, I use my second bedroom as a place to throw things on the bed that I think I need to take. Lists start appearing around the house as thoughts of what I should take or do pop into my head. It all starts out rather messy and then begins to take shape.
Although I’ve amazed myself by my packing prowess since I usually use just about everything I take, I have long admired those intrepid travelers who slip a simple carry-on over their shoulder and travel indefinitely. I’ve never been able to do that. As a Chinese friend commented looking upon the luggage I’d brought to China, “Chinese people adjust to the environment. Americans adjust the environment to suit them.”
Even though I’m more comfortable taking two smaller bags because I can handle the size more easily, this is the first time I’m taking an airlines that requires a baggage fee for every piece of luggage other than a carry-on. So, I bought a larger suitcase to combine in one what I usually put in two.
There are other requirements the airlines have decreed — the largest size for a suitcase before it is considered “oversized,” and a 50 pound limit on one bag before it’s considered “overweight” — both very pricey penalties. I’m not comfortable with one huge suitcase. It rolls, but is too heavy for me to pick up easily. And, since it can hold so much, there’s a danger of exceeding the 50 pound limit. For these among many other reasons, flying has become an ordeal to be endured.
No matter how many times I’ve traveled, each trip is a new packing challenge. But there’s another challenge whenever I leave Pleasantville. Depending upon how you look at it, I’m either an extreme night owl or half a vampire. After many years of insomnia and trial and error, I found that the sleeping time most compatible with my body rhythm is 4 a.m. ’til noon. At home in Pleasantville, my neighbors are all aware of this and respect it. I’ve scheduled my days to begin at noon. That doesn’t work anyplace else in the world, especially when I’m part of a group activity. Away from home, I just have to be out of synch with my body.
Although there’s no place like home, sometimes itchy feet win out. And leaving makes the coming home more sweet.