The bags are packed, we’ve kissed the pets goodbye, hugged our dear friend, Christie, and left our house in her capable hands while we are gone
Mark C. was good enough to lug us to the airport, and the LAN agent treated us kindly. Yippee! Now it’s time to relax and get on with the traveling! Bon voyage, y’all! 
Okay, so it’s now less than two weeks until we leave on the great expedition to South America, and I have started waking up in the middle of the night to freak out about any and all elements of getting ready to leave. Part of the anxiety is that if my beloved spouse has told me once, he has told me 47 times that we can each ONLY carry 1 suitcase with a weight limit of 50 pounds. What was I thinking?!!! What reasonably chic women can make do with 50 pounds of luggage for three months on the road, to cover climates from the Amazon to the Antarctic? Moreover, on certain small flights, they actually weigh your carry on luggage and it can’t exceed 17 pounds!
So how do I get all this
Into this:
, and have it weigh just 50 pounds?!!!
The Test Drive
We just spent three hours doing a dry run on packing. I’m at 54.2 pounds. Need I even add that Jim is at 47.5 pounds?! ARGH!!! The good news is that it’s over a week until we leave. The bad news is that I don’t know what else to cut. Stay posted … S
Vaya con Gringos 