Please feel free to comment and let us know what you think we are forgetting or what we should leave behind.

There is no way it will all fit

The yard is strewn with socks, toothpaste, a solar charger, flip flops, pots and pans and bike shorts. It is reminiscent of what remains in the aftermath of a tornado. Oakley looks at the piles with concern. “Why are we bringing that?” he asks. “I hate those shorts. Can I test the stove? Where is my flip phone?” It is a humid, 82-degree day, and I am feeling a bit wilty. His questions rattle me.

“Oaks, where are your sunglasses that I got you for your birthday?” I ask.

“I lost them. I need new ones. ” Of course he did. “I am not wearing that shirt. Can I sleep in the tent tonight?” It is at this point that I decide to send my little whirling dervish away while I complete the task at hand. “Go find friends, Oaks, I need to pack.”

So here it is. We will be hauling the following items across America with us.

Clothing

Baseball hats and helmets

Rain pants / rain jackets

Down jackets

Long undie tops and bottoms

3 pairs cotton socks, 1 pair wool socks

Winter hats

Bike shorts

Fluorescent tank tops

Fluorescent long-sleeve biking shirts

Safety vests

Bathing suits

2 pair shorts

2 t-shirts

1 cozy long sleeve shirt

3 pair underwear

Flip-flops

Sneakers

Camping Gear

20-degree sleeping bags

Camping pillows

Travel chairs

Thermarest sleeping pads

Nemo 3 person tent

Tent footprint (to protect bottom of tent)

2 headlamps

Cooking equipment

1 cooking pot

1 frying pan

2 mugs

2 bowls

2 sporks

1 stirring spoon / 1 spatula

2, 2-liter water bladders

1 Primus multi-fuel stove

1 scrubbie

1 coffee filter

1 fuel bottle

2 lighters

First Aid Kit

Bandaids

Advil

Benadryl

Neosporin

Tylenol PM

Tweezers

First Aid Tape

Electronics

My iphone

Oakley’s flip-phone

Solar charger

Foldable key board

Wall charger

Toiletries

Sunscreen

Hairbrush

Deodorant

Hair ties

Toothpaste

Toothbrushes

Bike Repair Kit

2 bicycle tire tubes

2 levers for changing tires

Allen wrench set

Patch kit

Bicycle Pump

And…

2 knives, Pepper spray, a math workbook, a journal and a reading book for each of us…and some pens, for drawing. And 144 maps.

This will all fit in eight saddle bags-four for each of us and a front handle bar bag. Leaving room of course for food and specifically, all Oakley’s snacks.

Who is going to be so strong? We are. I am ready to go.

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