Packing for Our Train Trip + West Coast Adventure

We're heading out on our wild Canadian adventure! And by wild, I mean, it's going to be a bit intense and crazy to see how Caleb does in a tight cabin and walking up and down skinny aisles with other humans in such close quarters. But it's going to be great. And I thought I would share a bit about what we're bringing along for the ride - things for us, things for Caleb, and after it all, what ended up being useful. Here are most of the analogue supplies I'm bringing: Including: my journals, books to read, a set of playing cards, watercolours, envelopes for tips + a thank you note, scissors, wax seals for postcards we'll send home, stamps, stickers for Caleb, my address book, and my pen roll. I'll be keeping a sort of travel journal along the way, although I might finish up the details when we get home. This is a lot more electronic baggage than we brought on our last train ride, which was five years ago, across Russia and into China, partially because we didn't have so much technology then, but mostly because we have the business now. We're bringing a few different types of cameras (my Instax and also the Polaroid), along with one laptop and one iPad to check emails and update the blog. Chargers for everything, extra film, and a white noise machine, especially for the train ride to help buffer out any footsteps or voices or clanging doors while Caleb's napping or sleeping at night. Packing for this trip has been a bit different than other trips I've gone on with Jon. When it's just adults, you have what you "need" and you have what you can live without. There really aren't too many things Caleb "needs," and yet there are many, many things that I don't think he could live without. It's safe to say that over half of our baggage is Caleb related, although some of it will be used up along the way so we won't have to bring it back.

A few favourite books (would you believe that his favourite book is actually called "What's Wrong Little Pookie?") and a few new ones. A few toy cars, a few dinosaurs, and some snacks to hopefully last us until the end of the train trip.

We've been cloth diapering since Caleb was born, but for the trip, we figured it would be too much to have cloth diapers with us in our cabin - we might die from the fumes. One package of disposable diapers should last us until the end, but I brought a few cloth ones for just the last few changes on the way home.

It's been a side effect of being a "frugal" new business entrepreneurs that we don't have too many clothes for Caleb, and depend instead of frequent laundry loads, but luckily for us the week before we left my parents gave Caleb two pairs of shorts, which increased his total number of shorts to five.

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The days before we left were spent making lists, and checking them twice, and making more lists, and then deciding which ones we could cross off as unnecessary because there wasn't enough time. It's funny because even as Jon and I were scrambling to get things done, Caleb's just going along as always. A few months ago we had started dabbling around in potty training, and while he's had some success, in the last couple of weeks, I've basically completely eased off in my "instructions." But in the last couple of weeks, he's been taking over on his own! He typically wanders around the apartment naked, and when he needs to go, he just walks over to his potty and pees like it's nobody's business. Whenever I catch him, I try to celebrate with him, and get all excited about flushing it down the real toilet, because that's what I'm supposed to be doing as the responsible parent that's supposed to be monitoring his actions and teaching him potty training. But sometimes I just find pee inside his little potty. It's like he already knows what he's supposed to be doing... Here's one last photo of Caleb helping me pack. We've actually already left! And this blog post is from the road. Internet has been spotty, and it's only when we pass through a town that we get cell reception, so we can post a few photos onto Instagram or check emails before we exit. Every once in a while we make a stop, but if we've stopped, it's definitely nicer to stretch our legs out in the sunshine. I'm hoping to catch up and share a bit more about our train ride soon. Hope you're all having a great week :)