And this is it. In two and a half hours, I leave for the airport, gone from the States for an entire year.

My feelings at this point are weird. A bit of melancholy at having to leave so much behind, but at the same time very excited. I wasn’t able to sleep last night because I kept thinking of things I didn’t want to forget, but nervousness hasn’t really been much of a problem.

Anyways, I’m hoping to be able to sleep well on the plane. I’ve got my travel pillow and I’m plenty tired, so hopefully I’ll pass right out and the flight will go fast.

Next post: Germany.

These things rock. Huge and strong, I put lots of clothes in them, zip them most of the way up, then suck the air out with a vacuum cleaner, to make my clothes take up half the room they would otherwise. This, along with good folding and creatively packing the sealed bags has let me fit more into my bag than I thought possible.

One trick though: they don’t hold the vacuum forever. I’m guessing they just leak air from the zipper. No big deal; vacuum pack all your stuff and throw it in your bag real fast, closing it all up before they have a chance to expand.

This probably wouldn’t work so well if you’re travelling through hotels and won’t have access to a vacuum cleaner to pack the bags back on leaving, but it’s still a great trick.

Less than 48 hours left in the States. I just got this website setup, and while I have grandiose plans for it, I don’t have time to get them all running before I leave, so I’ll have to get them done once I get there. Here’s hoping I have internet access in my room.

As for the plans for the site, I’m going to make this a sort of travelogue. I’ll document my travels, both written and through photography, and document that here. I’m looking forward to it all, and think it will be a good way to share my travels with others and serve as a history for me to be able to look back on in the future.

Back to packing!