Packing for a long trip with the Saladin 7

One of the hardest things about planning a long trip for a big family is where to put all of the things that you need while you'll be away from home for a long time.  Suitcases, jackets, extra shoes, swimsuits and towels, coolers, snacks and lunch food, electronics, blankets, etc - you get the drift.  I think that I have an unfair advantage due to my Supply Chain Management degree from Michigan State University - along with the Packaging 100 class I took in the spring of 1991. 😁  But all kidding aside - you want to be on the open road with all of your stuff packed securely and safely.


Fortunately, the Saladin 7 has some really awesome neighbors that have let us borrow their amazing Yakima Skybox 21 Carbonite rooftop carrier.  This thing is AWESOME!  It's definitely on our "to buy" list but we've borrowed it for a couple of vacations already and it will be worth the cost.  We want to get our own so we can start putting on some stickers of the places we've traveled.  This looks like it could be a 2019 purchase (fingers crossed!).  Check it out on top of the van in the pics below!  Lockable and water-tight - it's awesome!



Having the Skybox on top allows us to pack the daily essentials in the back of the van.  Depending on that day's schedule, we can change what we pack from top to bottom pretty easily.  We always have our big cooler in the back.  This is our lunch (sometimes dinner) storage along with cold drinks, ice, and snacks.  We also have a couple of big reusable bags and a cardboard box to store additional food, plates, napkins, utensils, picnic blanket, etc.  It's really simple to set-up a picnic right out of the back of our car!



All of our luggage and overnight necessities are packed in the Skybox.  Every one has their own bag and when it's time to unload, it quick and easy to hand out bags to everyone.  We keep towels, swimsuits, and watershoes on top also - but right next to the opening for easy access.  We also have a smaller cooler that fits in between the front seats and middle seats that we store additional drinks and snacks - water, pop, string cheese, grapes, etc.  All in all, I think we do a pretty good job and we keep the back window clear so I can drive safely.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Winning New York! Feb 2015

Image
This was a whirlwind trip with lots of thrills!  There's nothing quite like New York City. Prior to this trip, I had been to Manhattan twice before, so I felt comfortable heading there with my two oldest kids in tow.  Anna was 8 and Paul was 6 and we had the time of our lives! It all started when an amazing deal for airfare showed up from Spirit Airlines.  The three of us were able to fly round-trip from Detroit to NYC-LaGuardia for $75/ea!  We had one backpack each as a carry-on but that's all we would need since we would be in NYC for about 44 hours total!  The flight left Detroit at 6:00 am  and we were fortunate to stay with Aunt Katey and Uncle Rich the night before.  The flight was on time and we were on our way! We touched down at LaGuardia at 7:30 am and hopped a cab to our hotel near Times Square.  We were staying at  Staybridge Suites Times Square  and were able to check our luggage for the day.  This hotel was p...
Read more

Cody, Wyoming - June 2017

Image
After nine days of travel, we settled in Cody, Wyoming for two nights.  There was lots of laundry to do and we also wanted to rest up for Yellowstone and Grand Teton.  The night before, we had traveled over the Beartooth Mountains and then swung south down the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway.  It was well past 10:00 pm by the time we checked into our hotel in Cody.  As always on our trips, we seek out the local Lutheran church on Sunday mornings.  Thank you to Christ the King for welcoming our family and getting our day off to a great start. The next stop on the agenda in Cody was to visit the Buffalo Bill Center of the West .  What an amazing place!  There are five museums under one roof - Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indian Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum, Draper Natural History Museum, and the New Cody Firearms Museum. Each museum was unique and fun to explore.  The Firearms Museum was especially amazing and had some of the mos...
Read more

Chief Joseph Scenic Byway and Into Yellowstone - June 2017

Image
One thing I've learned from our traveling across country, if and when you see a road marked "Scenic Byway," you try to arrange your path to go on it.  We had driven on the Chief Joseph Scenic Byway  during the night on the way into Cody.  Driving it during the day made me reflect A LOT MORE on what I had driven at night!  Here's what it looks like on your phone when using Google Maps - definitely not taking your hands off the steering wheel!  Lots of switchbacks and steep hills - wow!!!  The Byway takes you north from Cody and connects to the Northeast entrance of Yellowstone National Park.   There are lots of turnouts and overlooks to stop and view the amazing terrain.  We stopped at the Sunlight Bridge overlooking Dead Indian Gorge and the Sunlight Creek. Besides the sharp turns and tight switchbacks, as you head north the area is an open grazing area.  We saw many cattle precariously close to the road.  A go...
Read more