Paring down

 We are getting ready to visit the West Coast Grands in February. In our suitcases will be some vintage gaming systems which may or may not work, that we are taking out west for our son. This is part of the haul from the basement and he says he wants it.  It all takes up a lot of room so we will have to pare down the rest of our gear. It's not a problem with clothing because we will be able to wash if necessary and we won't be going to a lot of fancy places. Apart from my tripod, all my camera gear will be in the carry on bag. However, one thing we learned from the connecting United Airlines flight from San Francisco to Chicago in the fall is: space is tight on planes these days. It seems that airlines are not guaranteeing a spot in the overhead bin to all passengers and I have heard that the rules for carry on luggage are getting even stricter this year. 

With that in mind, I bought a smaller wheely bag to carry on, one that will fit under the seat in front of me, if necessary.  I am not willing to check my camera gear at the gate! Smaller bag meant less gear and I am taking only one camera this time, the smaller, mirrorless R7. I am reluctantly leaving my long lens at home, since it is heavy and I rarely use it. I will be taking landscapes, certainly, but also family pictures. In New Zealand, I really got to know the mirrorless camera, which has shown itself capable of handling almost every situation. In one of my blogs last spring, I agonized about leaving my "big camera" at home on a trip. I did take it to New Zealand but for this trip, I think I'm finally ready to downsize! Travel Guru, Rick Steves, often comments that no one ever comes home from a trip wishing they had packed more! I think we did pretty well on the trip to New Zealand, washing clothes several times during the three week trip. This one is only 8 days; we'll survive with less! 

I think we, as humans, are programmed to collect 'stuff'. I am still being amazed by the contents of our basement, which includes a lot of pieces of paper that seemed very important at one time. I went through a box labelled "Keepsakes"- translation: "things my children made in early grade school." Most of it has already gone in the trash, while a few more pieces will be scanned and then trashed. A few letters were significant: the first letter I received from my now husband of almost 48 years when we became pen pals, for example. There was also a good luck card from my mother to my oldest child on starting 1st Grade. These are keepers. 

Scanning old photos and documents is one way to pare down. My beloved 15 year old scanner gave up the ghost recently; all the extra work, I suppose. A replacement is on the way. In the mean time, the pile of items to scan is getting bigger. I will store the scanned items in my Forever cloud storage, where my family can enjoy them when I am gone, without having to give it all a space in the basement!