departure day...

I came to Toronto on Tuesday afternoon and we (little/big sister Jan and me) are flying out tonight, Air Canada to Sydney, Australia. We have been planning this trip since early January and I had ordered new luggage from LLBean for my own Christmas present. I was going for one of those rolling duffle bags and ordered the 36 inch one after checking the reviews and felt that it was going to be suitable, but after it arrived, ordered the next size down, the 30 inch. Going for a full month and wanting only one bag to have to tote around, with my backpack as my carryon (I had even purchased a new, smaller, lightweight backpack because my old Roots one felt like ten pounds empty). Before

old and new

even getting checked in at Westjet on Tuesday with my travel bag weighing in at 46.5 pounds, I realized I would be needing to delete some stuff. I had done a trial run last week and thought I had plenty of leftover space in the bag - even took it up and downstairs a few times to make sure I could manage but the actual fully loaded bag was a bit different, I admit, and my old backpack was bordering on thirty pounds. When I got to Janet's and she showed me what she had and was taking, I realized drastic measures were called for. Now, don't get me wrong - this isn't my first rodeo! I've traveled a lot. I know what it's like to pack up for a month or longer but our mandate when traveling together is that we have to be able to manage our own luggage and get from here to there without depending on help which means at times wheeling a couple of blocks, up and down train/subway platforms etc, not relying on taxis, so my litmus test is taking the TTC bus from the Toronto airport, changing at Lawrence West and getting to Janet's apartment under my own steam. Mission accomplished but it was a bit of a struggle. When I saw what Jan was taking, it was with a mixture of dismay and elation. Happiness that she was traveling so light but dismay at the thought that she figured on getting by with so little

leaving behind!

and knowing I would need to pare down as well.
Our itinerary: Sydney, for five days in same studio apartment with view of Sydney bridge and the Opera house. Fly to Christchurch, NZ on 23rd; booked into apartment to 3 nights. On the morning of the 26th we join the Backroads Walking and Hiking tour for the next 9 days, ending in Queenstown, which is where Lord of the Rings was filmed. We have 2 days there on our own and then fly back to Australia for our remaining week.

the rocket!

After I did all my resorting and repacking, Jan took me downtown to get a ride on the new, made-in-Thunder Bay streetcars and we went to see 'Manchester by the Sea' - spoiler alert! Some tears involved but crummy ending!