Crepey continuum

[Cremolafoam]

Over here!

I generally cross pack for that very reason so if we end up with only one bag everyone has at least a few items of clothing....

That particular holiday I ended up in Oxfam buying ds anything that would fit :)

I really can't face doing anyone else's packing. The Inferiorettes do their own well in advance. DP does his five minutes before departure

BD, good wife and mother brownie points there! Packing is the same in our house MI, though DD needs a rocket up her arse to get hers done!

If I left ds to do his he'd have a bag full of books and no clothes..... Dp ditto. I know I should make them do it, but it's just easier if I do it!

Ruby - where are you going?

Should add dp does all the arranging and booking so its a (kind of) fair division of labour!

Ruby, I am loving the idea of you emailing them an itinerary! I am wondering if we could leave the DC with the PIL if we go away next Easter...

Ah, I am a Bad Person. I really don't care if they have no clothes etc

Actually it wouldn't bother dp or ds either :)

In my parents house my dad packs (ex -army...)

Ruby, that will be so fantastic - you'd better do us a daily "letter from America"

And BD, we want daily updates from you too!

I'm really of everybody's glam holidays. Have a great time Ruby.

Mine all do their own packing now but it must pass inspection and I retain the right of veto.

Once we arrived in the UK without the DC's case - DH said it was my fault for not putting it in front of his nose. DC's were very happy to top up at Tesco's at Ashford.

Dh used to travel a lot for business in his previous life and apparently his first wife always did his packing . I have always been of the opinion that anyone whose age is in double figures should do their own packing, so I am mightily bemused by an adult who routinely forgets to pack any pants/ pyjamas/ a coat (when going to Scotland in January. for instance).
I do ds's packing with him, pointing out what he will need. Dd has a checklist and just gets on with it. I pay a certain amount of attention to what gets packed and double-check afterwards as it will inevitably be down to me to sort out any crisis later. And that kind of "boo hoo, I forgot my favourite pjs and my torch" drama always really pisses me off (especially as I have usually had the first holiday and am unwinding nicely just as this kind of thing comes to light ).

Ruby - your hol sounds fab - we want to do that sometime. Waiting for dcs to be just a bit bigger. Quite fancy doing the Winnebago thing one year in the USA. Are you going to go to the Grand Canyon while in Vegas? Maybe a bit far though.

We once returned from holiday without any of DD2's stuff. Fortunately we'd been house-sitting for friends so they sent on her case...oh, and the two bags of toys she'd also left behind...

I have Holiday Envy now, despite lovely Normandy house.

Such wonderful plans Ruby. I am so jealous
No plans for us this year ATM. I live in hope.

Ruby - don't miss Bryce Canyon.

Very nice birthday celebration Ruby.
I have purchased this year's wetsuits for use on Dorset beaches.

Yosemite is gorgeous - I thought you were going next week - Alien spotting on Route 66 should be fun

Marv holiday ruby. I did that a few years ago, with my now gay ex boyfriend. We landed in SF, drove down the Pacific Coast Highway, via Big Sur, to LA, went to Vegas, then Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Yosemite, then back to SF. Loved it. Especially San Fransisco, where I'd live in an instant if it weren't so blasted far from everything.

Am about to uncork wine, despite promising a wine-free week. Have spent two days parenting DS, without pals to dilute the scene, and it's fair tuckered me out. The 'highlight' being a children's fair in Ilford this afternoon, where he insisted on going on every single ride, complete with dodgy-looking engineering and extremely minimal safety precautions. Though a quite remarkably fancy bouncy castle. And some quite remarkably rough carny folk.

Ruby - we did almost exactly your trip, but in reverse (NY last) when I was just pg with DS (so our final pre-DC fling, 14 years ago).

Don't miss Hearst Castle (fantastic) Santa Barbara, Hoover Dam (scary)...we never made it to Yosemite, because even though it was late April the mountain passes were still closed due to snow. So we went to Lake Tahoe instead, and discovered the most incredible ghost town called Bodie, which turned out to be one of the most memorable places we visited. It honestly looked as if the residents had just gone on holiday, leaving everything behind.

Bryce Canyon was amazing too, but you can't drive through it anymore, and have to go through on a bus, which doesn't appeal quite as much. I remember making snow angels there (in April...).

Ah well, I'm sure I shall enjoy my week in Cornwall (sniff).

Oh yes, and we drove all the way to the Canyon ( and it is indeed a f**k of a long way), and it was so foggy when we arrived that we couldn't see a thing.