Clothing, kitchen, coffee, SUPs, rock climbing gear, dog necessities all needs to fit into 72 square feet as well as Kristin, Chestnut (our 60 pound dog), and myself. It’s tight, our cabinets are often full, and adventure awaits us. Packing the van is a given when you go on a vanlife road trip like we are doing around Nevada, Idaho, and Utah, but there are so many little things you forget about until it is time to leave like finding someone to water your plants, cleaning the house so you can come home to a cleanish house, putting the mail on hold, and all that “adult” stuff we didn’t think about as kids. Growing up, road trips were a staple. Every holiday, besides Christmas, that I wasn’t swimming, the family packed up our “toys” and went somewhere in an RV. None of these RVs were fancy, but they got the job done. So, maybe that is why I love to road trip as much as I do, or, maybe it’s the freedom of the open road. I don’t really know, however this morning made it clear packing always takes longer than expected.