Travel!

Well, my James and I are on our honeymoon (tis true!) and I certainly had the 'test' of my Bond Grrl-ness and preparation at the start!

We left Saturday. For the entire week, my James has been telling me that our plane left "around 1:30." (Silly me, I didn't check.) So this means catching a taxi, then Airporter, to get to the airport by about noon or so. Backing it all up, that means leaving the house around 10-ish. No worries.

Saturday morning, we got up "early" (a little before 7:00) to have a "leisurely breakfast" and then pack. My James did a "leisurely check" on our reservations . . . and discovered that the plane left at 11:00.

YIKES!

So, there we were -- and suddenly (before a cup of coffee, even!) we had to get ourselves in gear immediately, to catch the Airporter by 7:30 -- not 10. (We didn't even have time to catch a taxi!). My James says, laughing, "Well, I guess this is going to test your 'quick trip to Paris' thoughts for the book, hmmmm?"

I immediately decided to go with my "black-based clothing" (remember -- black, navy, or brown). First, I threw into the bottom of the suitcase black loafers (to walk in), black sandals (strappy, can be dressed up or down, and flat so also easy to walk in), and some black pumps. Next went in 3 small zippered bags. One has my cosmetics,. the next has my "non-cosmetics" (deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, feminine products, sunscreen, toothpaste, toothbrush, face wash, etc.), the last has earrings and necklaces that go with my 'black-based" clothing, and my medicines. (I recently separated out my jewelry into black-navy-brown as well -- just about 2 weeks ago. This was the first test of "grab and stuff in a bag" -- worked perfectly.) The first two went into my checked luggage, the last into my carry-on.

Because I keep these bags ready, I didn't need to wonder whether or not I had conditioner, or contact lens fluid. It's all there. As I mentioned before, I have thrown away all the "testers" and the like I have gathered up over the years -- there is just no reason to have all that stuff lying around. So everything I really use is in those bags. It even has 3 different lipsticks (red, pink and apricot) -- so I don't need to search around for the "right" one to take. Boy, glad that I am a Bond girl!

Next I laid out what I would wear for the plane -- jeans, a T-shirt, a sweater, and my fitted windbreaker, plus sneakers. These are "bulky" items, and so wearing them on the plane is the way to go. It leaves more room in your suitcase.

In the suitcase, on top of the shoes and the "personals bag," went undies and such. About a week before I go on a trip, I always pour a glass of wine, and in a leisurely manner go through and "tidy" my closet and drawers. So all my undies, shirts, etc. are "back" into order (we know how that gets out of hand!) and gone through for spots, stains, wear, etc. So I just opened up my drawer and was able to "scoop up" a couple bras (one with "see-through straps" and one without), undies, socks, etc. and then into my drawers to grab some T-shirts and a pair of (nice) sweats, up onto the hangers for a few skirts/"little black dress" -- in they all went plopping into the suitcase. Don't forget -- you can do laundry on your trip! No need to bring enough undies to last you the entire time -- why drag all that around with you!

I have also eliminated from my wardrobe anything that needs serious ironing -- why deal with that noise? -- and I knew that everything "plopping into" the suitcase would ultimately be okay.

Next, I grabbed my (one) black purse, and my wallet (in which I only carry the cards and ID that are necessary to 'go to Paris' as it were -- or is that 'go to Nova Scotia'?). My passport already "lives" in my suitcase, so no need to search for it. A bathing suit and flip-flops also "live" in there. Also, every time that my James made any hotel/train/car/plane reservations for the trip, he printed out the itinerary and put that in the bag, too. So we actually knew that we had all our reservations, passports, and the like -- because we follow this procedure.

We didn't even have time to print out a "list" because we were running so behind. I have "lists" on my computer for all the "base" things that should go on a trip -- things that you might forget (like the cord connection for the iPod to the speakers -- the speakers live in the suitcase of course -- or our sunglasses from the car). We did OK without it in the "pinch." It also lists the base clothing/cosmetics/meds/etc. that should come -- but as those all are in their bags and/or in their black/brown/navy categories, we had no problem there.

The packing took a bit less than 10 minutes. And remember, this is from "closet to suitcase."

(Are you ready for Nova Scotia...?)

Next, we realized that it would be completely impossible to get a taxi to drive us to the Airporter in time. Our neighbors, who are usually a wonderful resource for our cries of "HELP!", had actually left early that morning for Hawaii. We called my Mom -- out with the dog. So in wracking our brains, I thought of my friend Julia -- who I don't see often enough (she's wonderful). She actually lives up the street from my James' house (where I now live) -- and I saw her more often when I lived out in the country! Funny, but true. So we go into "split" action -- I call Julia (all my phone numbers are at the tip of my fingers in my Blackberry), while my James makes coffee.

Julia was asleep (her James hadn't gotten home until 2 a.m. -- I owe them a nice dinner!) -- and my "What are you doing right now?" was answered with a sleepy "well, sleeping..." . I said "Any chance you could be down at our house and take us to the Airporter in, oh, 5 minutes?" She laughed, and said "give me 10."

There she was, 10 minutes later, at our driveway. Looking lovely as usual -- Julia is a Bond Grrl too, able to come and rescue her sister Bond Grrl in a time of need!

We actually raced the Airporter bus, and caught it about 2 stops after the stop we usually use. I looked at trepidation to my James -- because the one thing that I did not have was enough cash for the ride. (Going to the ATM had been a "thing to do" that morning.) However, in accordance with Kyrazi's "James Bond Lifestyle" book, my James keeps an extra $50 hidden "at all times" in his wallet. This is "don't touch it" money...unless, of course, you're boarding an Airporter for Nova Scotia a couple hours earlier than you'd anticipated. It was all good.

On the ride, we laughed and tried to figure out what we'd forgotten (again, because we hadn't had time to print out and check the list). We realized that the one thing that "got left" was the battery to our camera and the charger, and his black belt. We had charged the battery the night before -- and then just not picked up either the charger or battery from the table in the dining room (because no "dining" had happened that morning!) I emailed my Mom from my Blackberry, and asked her if she could pick it up, and Fed Ex it to our next stop. Since we had the reservations printed out, of course, we had all the information. Piece of cake.

As we boarded the plane, my James said to me, "I am so glad you're a Bond girl." This made me laugh -- but I knew what he was talking about. How many of you could do what we did -- get out the door in about 20 minutes, packed for a 3 week trip? Are you ready for Nova Scotia?

xx Solitaire