The Grand Train Trip-part the Twelfth

One of the first things that needed to be done as far as the planning for this Grand Trip was  a list of things that had to be purchased and/or done. So last June I put together a master list of things that I would need to obtain, purchase or find to get going on the trip. Unfortunately, there were missteps in the process. One was that of luggage. My intent was to use a book bag/ backpack as one of the luggage units. As soon as it was packed the obvious was all too plain. It was too small, too inappropriate and strangely, too heavy. This required some rethinking and altering of what I might take with me. Finally, at least for now, a rucksack seems to be the right fit and going on that plan it is what I have packed to see if it will take everything I will need and stay under 20 pounds.( Amtrak suggests that carry on luggage weigh no more than 25 pounds and VIA rail- Canadian Passenger Rail system suggests 20 pounds.)

Then there is the main part of the luggage first it was just going to be a duffle type bag but that was going to be a big hassle since there is a bit of walking from and to the train and carrying both bags was not going to be any fun. So the ever popular “wheelie” bag was purchased. Last year, most of the clothes were purchased all at once and packed to see if this bag could be kept under the 20 pound limit too. The idea of this bag was it would be stored while the rucksack would be used for essentials needed while on the train, along with stuff to be used for diversion.

Another plan for the trip was to lend some kind of legitimacy to the endeavor. All along I had the idea of making a book out of the trip or trips. And, to add more of a challenge to the idea was to illustrate the book with drawings made along the way. Some of the thinking that was part of this was last year I had produced several books using the “publish-on-demand” service “Blurb.com” and it turned out to be such a neat method of getting a very nice looking book out that the plans went forward to do this. One added plus to the whole idea was that back in the long past, my Uncle took me west when I was in high school and besides taking some photos I kept a rudimentary “trip diary.” This then could be used as a model, how ever flawed.

(1954 Trip Diary)