In an effort to keep things interesting, while also getting a change of scenery, AND looking for any excuse to travel by vehicle as practice for our eventual RV or camper purchase, I’ve decided to set up a trip to head North to see snow. Just to give us a chance to experience the seasons, since it was a whopping 75 degrees this Christmas (brrrrr we Miami-folk were freezing).
I told a few people and no one bit except my sister-in-law and her best friend (who are down for almost anything) and my boyfriend who humors me and my need for adventures. Of course, because of who I am, my Lab Bandit is the only one I expect to join me on most adventures, so as long as he’s with me everyone else has an open invitation.
We started off discussing where we might go, and found that one of the closest states with actually viable snow-fall would be Tennessee, because our purpose is to see snow, if I wanted to just be cold and uncomfortable I’d lock myself in our master bedroom with the AC the way my boyfriend puts it at night so my teeth-chatter and my bones hurt from the cold. No! I want Bandit to see snow, not glorified ice.
Anyway, we set up the plan to drive North, booked a hotel (blah, cause RV rentals during this time are too expensive and this was really really short notice), and we’ve all started packing our things.
My packing list:
-Hiking boots; which I’ve owned since I was 10 years old, my parents bought them two sizes larger to accommodate thick socks, and they’ve lasted me 16 years. They’ve gone through snow, mud, hiking trails, hell and high water, hurricanes, you name it these boots have gotten me through it. (16 years and they’re still going strong).
-A multi-tool; You never know when you’ll need it and you’ll be surprised how clutch it comes in handy when you do.
-A knife/seat-belt cutter/window breaker; I’ve used it to break one window, but not due to a drastic emergency, (MINI STORY TIME!) I was taking care of an elderly woman for some side-cash, keeping her company and the usual and she lived in this over 50 neighborhood. There was a neighbor we’d see often who was 100% always on island time, and he sort of marched to the beat of his own drum, lived alone, drank frequently, always fun to chat with. So he sees me coming in with some groceries and asks me if i have anything he can use to break open his car window, he didn’t feel like calling someone to unlock his truck for him. He figured he had to get the windows tinted anyway (yeah I’m almost positive that was his excuse) so he didn’t mind cracking it open to let himself in, he locked his keys inside. I had my knife on me and I handed it to him, ‘I’m not cracking your window open, for you to come back and possibly claim I broke into your car so here.’ He cracked his window, grabbed his keys and two days later had a brand new window replaced no problem.
-I.D., credit cards and 25$ cash; You never know when you’re going to get to a place that only accepts cash and 25$ worth of gas will at least get you to the next gas station that does accept your card.
-Feminine Hygiene Products; um…duh mother nature has a funny way of knocking at our doors the day of big adventures.
-Small first-aid kit; if we were going camping we’d get something larger, but since we’re staying pretty close to civilization, we’ll be a few miles away from a pharmacy or gas station where if we really need something we’ll just go get it.
-Tooth brush, tooth paste, make-up; cause I’ve got to look like a person when I’m out on adventure all I wear is eye shadow and eye liner to make me look awake I don’t use concealer or anything like that cause it clogs the pores and cause I always look three shades darker or three shades lighter than I’m supposed to when I do.
-Hair ties; very important for us long-haired folks, I’m no Wonder Woman, when I’m doing anything strenuous or adventurous if my hair is in the way it’s game over, don’t know how Gal Gadot does it.
-Phone and watch chargers; a lot of preppers want to be off the grid and don’t want to be found when they go missing or whatever, I’m the opposite I did a lot of off-roading and having a way to track my friends and a way for them to track me helped a lot when things got…sticky. Plus our phones and watches have a neat setting where if you call 911 from them, they’ll send your location information to your favorites in your contacts (i.e.- my boyfriend, and my parents) and to be honest the day I truly don’t want to be found, I’m ditching all my technology in a river (but I don’t foresee that happening in my future).
-Sweaters; the light kind, I’m taking three cause it’s a three day trip.
-Heavy winter Sweater; just one because I’m not a masochist and I don’t care if all my pictures show the same sweater
-Thermal Socks, Thermal tights, Thermal long sleeve top; I’m taking three of each; I have a thing about not getting frost-bite and remember I’m a Miami girl, if the weather drops below 60 degrees I’m like an Iguana, I freeze and won’t move until the weather changes.
-Yoga pants; for the road, I travel long distances in the car in yoga pants and a light sweater, cause they’re cozy and easy to curl up in while someone else drives and when I’m driving it helps keep me cozy.
-JEANS!; my absolute favorite winter apparel, Jeans jeans jeans, they’re versatile they work for both winter and summer wear, they’re versatile, you can wear thermal tights underneath, they make your butt look cute, they’re moisture-wicking for the most part and all around just good clothes to have when adventuring or doing absolutely anything.
-Long sleeve tops; non-thermal but they help add another layer of protection if the weather gets too cold and if not you just roll up your sleeves and call it a day.
-underwear; um…duh, I always over-pack underwear ‘cause, that’s the only thing I don’t mind being exagerada on.
Now onto my dog packing gear!
-Collar; With his information, plus his chip is up to date with our information too. Usually I’m not one to like the idea of chips, but we got him with one already in him, so might as well use it.
-Leash; we only use this when we’re in foreign environments, but if we’re on a camp site, or hiking we’ll probably not need it, it’s just good to have when we’re around people. He’s really friendly, but people see a big dog bounding towards them and immediately think he wants to eat them…
-Chain; we’d love to get him in a vest, but he’s thin and sometimes skittish he can back out of a vest.
-His medical records to show he has all his shots in case, for whatever reason we have to take him to a vet out there or to a local kennel/pup-hotel.
-1 week’s worth of food; we are only leaving for three days, however it’s always better to have too much than not enough.
-1 week’s worth of water; we’re going to be staying with him in a hotel, I’m not drinking water from a hotel sink, so neither is he.
-Blankets, his bed, some toys; he’s spoiled, I know, don’t care. He deserves it, he’s a really really good boy.
-Coat and dog boots; he may not need them, but it’s better to have them and not need them, than need them and not have them.
Comment bellow if you think I missed anything or if you recommend anything extra!
My Broken Compass 