And So, The Aventure Begins
(+ how we packed it all up)
We made it to LA which means we've officially begun our adventure! Everything has gone smoothly so far, both flights went well (Southwest gives you a free drink on Halloween!!) and we had a super nice Uber driver from LAX to our Airbnb. He even made a stop along the way at the camera shop Justin reserved our camera at... so we finally have our trip camera!!
Our LA Airbnb is awesome as well, we can walk out and see the conference hotel which is only a block away. From the conference hotel you can see the Hollywood sign and it's right on the walk of fame! Brings back memories from when we were here for our west coast trip in 2011.
We saw more of LA today than planned, ended up running around to see if we could print business cards on the spot (as you can tell conference packing was an afterthought). We first walked to a Fedex Office, then another Fedex Office, and then finally a local shop who then sent us to their other partner shop. The partner shop turned out to be a non-profit organization that helps teach underprivileged kids. We printed 72 business cards and the grand total was $2.54... we were shocked! I think in total we walked over 4 miles so it was definitely worth it to get awesome cards to hand out and at that price! The first local shop said it would have been close to $90, so they were very kind to send us somewhere else.
Onto the packing! As promised I wanted to share what I packed for this trip... after lots of research and questions to friends I came up with what I think will work for me.
First off the bags....
My main carry on is my new Osprey Celeste Backpack! I love that it has lots of pockets, a separate laptop slot, and can cinch up to look smaller. It also has a chest and hip strap to help balance the weight. In terms of weight, I think I packed it a little heavy so will rearrange before Australia.
My second carry on is an eBags TLS Companion Duffel, so far I love this one as well. Tons of pockets like the backpack, with a velcro pocket that can slip over the handle of my huge checked bag. It's also 41 inches which is the standard carry on size for domestic Australian flights (slightly smaller than the USA standard of 45 inches).
The mother lode suitcase is my Samsonite S'Cure 28" Hardside Spinner, which has officially survived it's maiden flight unscathed. I can fit a TON in here, along with one computer monitor in it's original box (which is why we got it). Justin can fit TWO computer monitors in his (yes we have matching bags... our plan is to put a sticker from each place we go on them).
Finally, I also packed a daypack which will double as a purse throughout the trip. It's my Haiku cranberry backpack and I think it will work well for trips to the market / beach! This packs up into my large hardside spinner while in transit.
Clothing....
Gear...
In this lot I've got:
- 4x turkish bath towels, 2x turkish wash cloths
- Wide brim hat, running hat
- Sunscreen, bug spray, spf lip balm
- 2x resistance bands for Justin & I, 2x PT resistance bands for my hip
- Bose noise cancelling headphones
- Underwater camera + housing
- Reusable grocery bag that packs into it's own pocket
- Platypus water bag (folds up small when not filled)
- Stainless steel water bottle
- Teva sandals, Saucony running shoes (not pictured are flip flops), so yes 3 pairs of shoes total!
- Small purse for going out
- Not pictured: iPhone arm band, headphones for working out, scuba regulator, safety whistle (thanks dad!)
This is a snapshot of my carry on items, which include:
- Passport of course
- First aid kit (basics like bandaids + neosporin)
- Medicine kit (ibuprofen, tylenol, dramamine, melatonin, pepto, etc)
- Ricola cough drops (the best)
- My favorite plane snacks, nature valley granola bars + Justin's almond butter
- Hand sanitizer, wet ones for wiping down tray table
- Kleenex + Lip balm
- Small notebook for doodles / ideas
- Small bag for jewelry I carried with me (brought some I wouldn't cry over if I lost)
- Eye mask
- Sarong from Alicia (can be used as scarf, blanket, beach blanket, cover up, etc!)
- Nuun electrolyte tablets for the long flight / hydration (I also packed some Emergen-Cs)
- Tide pen
- Phone from Alicia that works in Australia (just have to buy a SIM card for it)
- Not pictured: KINDLE!
Computer Equipment...
I have a laptop, a mouse, a mouse pad, a computer monitor, and a keyboard to keep me productive while we are gone! Sounds like a lot but it packs up into half of my big suitcase, and the laptop goes in my backpack.
So there you have it! We'll see how this system works out for 4.5 months but after one night, so far so good haha. I also plan to pick up some new stuff along the way if I see something I like in Australia :) For Justin, his packing follows a similar system so I'm only showing mine, and I carry more stuff for both of us (like toiletries, towels, and some workout gear).
Thanks for following along, next time I blog we will be in AUSTRALIA!!!!!
Sarah
"Come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned" ~ Peter Pan
p.s: I think the man bun siting count is surpassing 20 now in LA and it's only day 2... ;)
We made it to LA which means we've officially begun our adventure! Everything has gone smoothly so far, both flights went well (Southwest gives you a free drink on Halloween!!) and we had a super nice Uber driver from LAX to our Airbnb. He even made a stop along the way at the camera shop Justin reserved our camera at... so we finally have our trip camera!!
Our LA Airbnb is awesome as well, we can walk out and see the conference hotel which is only a block away. From the conference hotel you can see the Hollywood sign and it's right on the walk of fame! Brings back memories from when we were here for our west coast trip in 2011.
We saw more of LA today than planned, ended up running around to see if we could print business cards on the spot (as you can tell conference packing was an afterthought). We first walked to a Fedex Office, then another Fedex Office, and then finally a local shop who then sent us to their other partner shop. The partner shop turned out to be a non-profit organization that helps teach underprivileged kids. We printed 72 business cards and the grand total was $2.54... we were shocked! I think in total we walked over 4 miles so it was definitely worth it to get awesome cards to hand out and at that price! The first local shop said it would have been close to $90, so they were very kind to send us somewhere else.
Onto the packing! As promised I wanted to share what I packed for this trip... after lots of research and questions to friends I came up with what I think will work for me.
First off the bags....
My main carry on is my new Osprey Celeste Backpack! I love that it has lots of pockets, a separate laptop slot, and can cinch up to look smaller. It also has a chest and hip strap to help balance the weight. In terms of weight, I think I packed it a little heavy so will rearrange before Australia.
My second carry on is an eBags TLS Companion Duffel, so far I love this one as well. Tons of pockets like the backpack, with a velcro pocket that can slip over the handle of my huge checked bag. It's also 41 inches which is the standard carry on size for domestic Australian flights (slightly smaller than the USA standard of 45 inches).
The mother lode suitcase is my Samsonite S'Cure 28" Hardside Spinner, which has officially survived it's maiden flight unscathed. I can fit a TON in here, along with one computer monitor in it's original box (which is why we got it). Justin can fit TWO computer monitors in his (yes we have matching bags... our plan is to put a sticker from each place we go on them).
Finally, I also packed a daypack which will double as a purse throughout the trip. It's my Haiku cranberry backpack and I think it will work well for trips to the market / beach! This packs up into my large hardside spinner while in transit.
Clothing....
 |
| All the clothes |
- 1x prana rain jacket
- 1x athletic jacket w/ spf protection
- 1x light cardigan
- 5x tanks, 2x shirts (plus 1 new conference t-shirt)
- 2x summer dresses
- 1x skort
- 1x jean short, 1x linen short, 1x comfy sleep short
- 1x jean capris
- 7x workout shirts (these double as sleep shirts / hiking shirts)
- 3x workout shorts, 2x capris
- underwear / 5x sports bras / socks
 |
| Packed away neatly :) |
Gear...
 | ||
| Random gear |
- 4x turkish bath towels, 2x turkish wash cloths
- Wide brim hat, running hat
- Sunscreen, bug spray, spf lip balm
- 2x resistance bands for Justin & I, 2x PT resistance bands for my hip
- Bose noise cancelling headphones
- Underwater camera + housing
- Reusable grocery bag that packs into it's own pocket
- Platypus water bag (folds up small when not filled)
- Stainless steel water bottle
- Teva sandals, Saucony running shoes (not pictured are flip flops), so yes 3 pairs of shoes total!
- Small purse for going out
- Not pictured: iPhone arm band, headphones for working out, scuba regulator, safety whistle (thanks dad!)
 |
| Carry on stuff |
- Passport of course
- First aid kit (basics like bandaids + neosporin)
- Medicine kit (ibuprofen, tylenol, dramamine, melatonin, pepto, etc)
- Ricola cough drops (the best)
- My favorite plane snacks, nature valley granola bars + Justin's almond butter
- Hand sanitizer, wet ones for wiping down tray table
- Kleenex + Lip balm
- Small notebook for doodles / ideas
- Small bag for jewelry I carried with me (brought some I wouldn't cry over if I lost)
- Eye mask
- Sarong from Alicia (can be used as scarf, blanket, beach blanket, cover up, etc!)
- Nuun electrolyte tablets for the long flight / hydration (I also packed some Emergen-Cs)
- Tide pen
- Phone from Alicia that works in Australia (just have to buy a SIM card for it)
- Not pictured: KINDLE!
 |
| Extra necessities for long flights (thanks Diana for the facial spray!) |
 |
| Maybe pack your toiletry bag better than me... kinda slacked off here |
I have a laptop, a mouse, a mouse pad, a computer monitor, and a keyboard to keep me productive while we are gone! Sounds like a lot but it packs up into half of my big suitcase, and the laptop goes in my backpack.
So there you have it! We'll see how this system works out for 4.5 months but after one night, so far so good haha. I also plan to pick up some new stuff along the way if I see something I like in Australia :) For Justin, his packing follows a similar system so I'm only showing mine, and I carry more stuff for both of us (like toiletries, towels, and some workout gear).
Thanks for following along, next time I blog we will be in AUSTRALIA!!!!!
Sarah
"Come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned" ~ Peter Pan
p.s: I think the man bun siting count is surpassing 20 now in LA and it's only day 2... ;)