Packing for Portland

This spring my sister, Katie, and I took our annual trip to go visit family in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington.  The crazy and unpredictable weather can always make packing for our trips a bit of a challenge.  Here’s what I took for our 7 day trip.

Clothes:

• 2 jeans
• 1 black skirt
• 2 pair of capris
• 7 shirts (mix of tank tops, short sleeve and long sleeve-to be prepared for all possible weather)
• Black sweater (lightweight for if I needed a little extra layer)
• Red Jacket with hood (for really cold days)
• Pajamas
• 2 pair shoes

Toiletries:

• Liquid toiletries-all travel size (shampoo, conditioner, lotion, contact solution, makeup, toothpaste, hair product, etc.)
• Non-liquid toiletries: toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant
• Dry shampoo
• Glasses/Contacts
• Travel meds
• Printed directions/map

Other:

• Camera with charger
• Phone with charger
• External battery (I always travel with an extra charger, just in case)
• Umbrella
• Water bottle
• Book
• Journal
• Notebook for the memoir I’m writing
• Aveda lotion-a present for my grandma Izzy

A road trip wouldn’t be complete without a few snacks:

Two of the loaves of Zeppole’s banana bread were also gifts for my grandma.  She’s 87 and swears that Zeppole’s has the best banana bread she’s ever eaten in her life.  She always requests that we bring a couple loaves for her.

Packing lessons learned:

• We took a different route this trip as some of my family moved to the Bend area.  We found that our new route didn’t have cell service for much of the trip, so we were very thankful to have printed directions.
• We went to my cousin’s soccer game and it was raining, of course.  Katie and I both sank in the mud and I was really wishing that I had taken some rain boots.  Note for next time: pack more rain gear!

When you visit family, what local gifts do they like you to bring from home?