PrePack
Beginning of the PrePack
It’s the last full day in San Diego before we head home. George only has meetings til noon so we can’t plan a boatload of sightseeing. What can we do? A walking tour (courtesy of Fodor’s guidebook) of the Gaslamp quarter? A walking tour of the Embarcadero area? A visit to the Maritime museum?
I can’t interest Morgan in any of the above; he’s happy on the internet. So we walk to Panera Bread for breakfast. Did you know they have their own loyalty program? Who doesn’t, right? Last week I stopped in at a CVS pharmacy and they offered me a card, too. CVS? Wow, what businesses are left that do not have a member card? The CVS offer shouldn’t have shocked me, but it did nonetheless. I know that most grocery stores, including the local Food Lion, have cards to scan for discounts, etc., but I guess I imagined the pharmacy as somehow exempt.
Anyway, we went back to the room and did a PrePack. The PrePack is done on the day before the departure for home. The best time to do a PrePack (my term, by the way, and my initials) is the afternoon before you leave one place to go to another. This will separate everything that is scattered about the hotel room into: dirty/won’t be used again, semi-clean/used but can be worn again, and totally clean. Of course, the goal of a good travel packer is to use everything up totally — don’t bring anything home that has not been used or worn. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work this way, but I try.
The PrePack begins with collecting the dirty clothes and rolling them into one sausage-shape for the bottom center of the suitcase. I lay out and roll the semi-clean clothes next, placing them next to the dirties. The clean ones (mostly supplemented by the semi-clean) are rolled and placed in the bottom. All of the toiletries are packed in their own bag, with only what I need for getting ready tomorrow left on the bathroom counter. Clothes for tomorrow are laid out; I’ll roll what I’m wearing today and put it between the three rolls on the bottom. Shoes go on the side filled with socks. Then souvenirs and miscellaneous items. Now when I get up in the morning, all I have to do is pack my nightgown, get dressed, and place the toiletry bag on top of everything in the suitcase.
George came home at noon and we went on a short walk and then later, going out for Indian food to celebrate his birthday with the DeLisi’s.
Seems like we’ve been in San Diego a long time – 10 days. All in all, a great place to visit. Tomorrow we fly home and will be home for 3 days before Morgan and I head out to LA, then home one day before we head down to San Juan for our cruise. It’s a whirlwind of travel!
Practicing Travel 
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