What's your travelling style?

Looking back on our travel preparations for this summer holiday, I have to admit to some over organising (read: anal-retentive) behaviour going on. I'm wondering if you also find yourself doing any of the following or are we completely alone in our travel geekness?

• I had lists. And lists of lists. Lists of things that had to be done before we went. Lists of things we were taking.
• We started packing Sunday - and left Thursday - in our defence we worked all day Monday through Wednesday with only the evenings to get anything done
• We left 3 page instructions for the house sitters including some very detailed instructions on watering and caring for the garden - in our defence it's looking so good right now and we'd like to keep it that way! But I know you will have it under control Jax and Heidi :-) I have complete faith. Honest.
• The car was packed (to the rafters) the night before. There were a few things that didn't make the cut or had to be rearranged before they could come on the journey with us. But we did manage to fit the kids in - just.
• Noah slept in the clothes he was going to wear on the journey - one less thing to change in the morning!
• We loaded 8 kids movies on my iPhone for Noah to watch through headphones and set up the portable DVD player for Mylo - best 1-Day purchase we ever invested in 2 Christmases ago. It makes long road trips so much more bearable. In the end Noah only watched 2 halves of 2 movies, I think he found it quite uncomfortable looking down into the small screen for too long. It would have been a nightmare trip without Baby Einstein and Iggle Piggle for Mylo. He is such a FIDGET who doesn't like to stay still for long.
• In the three days leading up to our trip we did about six loads of washing including every sheet on every bed and every towel in the bathroom - nothing like coming back home to clean sheets right?!
• We checked the weather forecasts enroute at 3 different places - it is a 7-hour journey after all and it would be nice to know what we were in for! Which was damn fine weather in the end
• We checked road travel information to make sure there were no major roadworks planned for the route we were taking from Wellington to Hamilton. There wasn't.
• We planned to leave super early - like 6am early. In the end we made it out the door at 6.30 - not a bad effort.
• We searched Google Maps directions and figured out exactly where we planned to stop - Bulls for breakfast (after 2 hours), Ohakune for coffee (another 1.5 hours), Te Kuiti for lunch (another 2 hours and hopefully the little dude would sleep during this time - not sure a quick half hour cat nap really counts - but that was all we got!), and only another 1 hour to Hamilton after that. Hoping to arrive by 3pm - actual arrival 2.15pm). YUSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

I think the lesson in all is that you probably shouldn't ask us to do a road trip on the spur of the moment. It would appear we just aren't those people! I hate to think what we'd be like if we were going camping. So I won't even think it.

Don't let this veneer of organisation fool you though. I still forget things. Pretty much every trip.

This time it was my wallet. It's safely tucked up for the next 10 days in my work handbag in my cupboard. But perhaps its not such a bad thing - maybe it means I'll spend less? It did mean Mark had to rearrange the boot once we got to Bulls to get his wallet out which was in one of the first bags we packed - he was not best pleased about this! Oops.

And last time we went away in August for a few days at Raumati Beach with our UK family (45 mins up the coast), I clean forgot to pack knickers for myself. Had to borrow some from my lovely sister-in-law the first night and make a mad dash to Farmers the next morning. Double oops.

But hey we're here, we made it. And we all still love each other. Here a few pics from the road trip including the OARSOME view we had of the mountain on the way up and the cool cafe we stopped in at Ohakune - Mountain Rocks.

And having that extra day to chill out and really start to unwind before Christmas Day - priceless......