a new era in schlepping

A moment of respectful silence, please, for a retiring workhorse.

It’s been a fine old daypack and has covered a lot of ground with me. It attaches to a convertible pack that I bought in 1994 (I think it was) for a trip through five Alpine nations. Alone. By train. In 10 days. Oy, what a stupid trip I planned. The resulting article was titled “The Fabulous Alpine Adventure and Its Evil Twin.” Every two days, I was in a different country, trying to find my hotel, trying to figure out what to eat, trying to wrap my mind around the money, since this was pre-euro. I get a headache just thinking about it. I saw some lovely places thought. Ever been to Slovenia?

I haven't used the main pack much, since I discovered the beauty of rolling bags, but it's going to India with me because I suspect surfaces I'll encounter won't be rolling bag-friendly. And I'm packing light so carrying should be OK.

Anyway, it will be a while before I can bear to actually throw this old pack out—it’s served me so well. Well traveled, Hale Fellow.

But it's time for in with the new.

I just realized that one of my professional organizations gives me a whopping 50 percent discount on Eagle Creek’s quality travel accessories. I first ordered the Vienna, but they were out of stock, so I’m trying something new—the Vagabond, a snazzy little messenger-style bag rather than a pack. It’s a bold change, but I’ve been carrying messenger bags for urban travel recently. This might be a comfortable option for more ambitious travel, too. I like the look and it has lots of pockets and zippered sections. It will either be perfect or I’ll spend the entire trip trying to remember what pockets I put things in.

This is an intimidating trip to pack for because we have three days of wedding festivities, a conservative culture and malaria-carrying mosquitoes. (Note to self: Start taking malaria pills today.) Lonely Planet and our contacts in India urge conservative dress for women. Loose t-shirts, long skirts (also for sun and mosquitoes) and shoulders covered. And flip-flops.

I don’t have a lot of appropriate skirts so I took a quick romp though the Marshall’s clearance racks and hit pay dirt with a pretty maroon Jones of New York skirt for $10. At Target, I spent $12.99 on little black Massimo top, simple but suitably dressy with the right jewelry, I think. I hope.

The big purchase is my new camera, a Canon Rebel XP. I’ve been using a little point ‘n’ shoot for the past few years. I’m taking it back up a couple of notches.

I’ve got my packing organized, now I must run off for a pedicure. Much barefoot will occur on this trip. Gnarly winter feet will not do.