Bags

Dad had a unique way of packing. Space in the car was severely limited and to top it off, was deemed that most of our personal belongings was considered unnecessary, things like clothes only took up room for more important stuff like a huge collection of maps and foot massagers. A good portion of the trunk was set aside for emergency equipment, in case the car broke down, which actually was a good idea but I doubt any of the tools and gadgets were actually used. A mechanics tool box with a full set of tools was taken along and the tool box itself served as a bank lock-box, containing a large wad of cash to be used for specific purposes on the trip, but more on that later... So, to save room all of our clothes were packed in plastic garbage bags instead of suitcases, to utilize every square inch of space, filling the compartment with our clothes like liquid. At first we all protested at this idea, depriving us of a personal privilege of being able to contain and control our own clothes in one packed unit, like the civilized world expects, but we soon found out that this inconvenience didn't really matter, that having handy access to our clothes was basically irrelevant, and that we adjusted by only changing our clothes every few days, or more.

But that didn't mean we couldn't keep a personal stash of necessities, toys, souvenirs and other important items. And dad was the first to make sure he had a personal goody bag of important and irreplaceable stuff. The most important luggage of the trip was "the bag", a World War II era canvas tote bag with handles and a zipper, probably intended as a carry-on bag when flying on a DC3, like in an old movie or something. Dad has owned this bag since he was quite young, taking it to college, a few colleges in fact, and on his travels with his father. He most likely took it on his first car trip across the country in the '55 Thunderbird (the trip that started it all...) back in the '50's, and it has become a traditional travelling companion ever since. Despite the physical condition of the bag and the practicality of it's usefulness, dad continues to keep this as his main article of luggage.. This bag containers all the trinkets of comforts and survival to be used anytime during the trip. If the care broke down, we were stranded and had to walk a hundred miles to civilization, dad would probably take the cash out of the tool box, put it in "the bag" and be able to cope for weeks without worry.

Some of the items contained in "the bag"
- A fly swatter (one of many free swatters provided by Holiday Inn)
- An old plastic ziplock baggie containing a collection of little motel soaps (also free with most motels)
- Swiss Army Knife
- A few plastic straws in different varieties (some with the "splayed end" like a spoon, best to eat 7-11 Slurpies
- A package of Kool Ade
- A little all-in-one salt and pepper shaker (with potassium salt instead of sodium)
- Shaving kit (specific to the trip, with the old pink electric rotary razor)
- The map (see first post)
- The book; "The Umpire Strikes Back"
- A guide to Rocky Mountain wildlife
- An assortment of plastic cutlery (including the "spork")
- Postcards and postage stamps (stamps usually out of date and requires additional postage)
- A yellow plastic Polaroid print holder
- Scotch tape (very important, never to be used without permission, more about that later)
- Old prescription containers for uses that God only knows what for
- One of those keychain puzzles (move the number squares to get them in order)
- Pine incense
- Tire pressure gauge
- Batteries
- Toothpicks
- Rubber bands (usually old and will break when stretched)
- Feathers
- An assortment of different clips (paper, spring, etc...)
- An assortment of lids
- Can of Planters mixed nuts

I can go on, but I really can't remember the best stuff