Health is more than what you eat.  It is how you live and think that also matters.  This was a warm destination trip in November.

I have been a fan of packing light and fast ever since I was in College and went to England in a carry-on for 3 weeks.  I got reminded of weight on my first backpacking trip across Glacier National Park when I over-packed by a lot, because I never counted ounces.

For a simple vacation you don’t need to count ounces but packing light is essential.

For that warm destination you don’t need anything more than one bag unless you are bringing a computer.  You might be wondering why I’m talking about packing on a healthy living blog.

Two reasons:

#1 Taking a vacation is essential to your health.   I feel bad for people who are proud that they never take a vacation.

#2 Packing light is a skill that takes practice, but it can benefit you by eliminating the stress of wondering if your bags are going to make it.  You  can easily move about the airport, taxi, hotel, anywhere you need to if you aren’t dragging a kitchen sink.  But, but, but, ” I need 3 pairs of shoes”  -no you don’t.

You can make your connections easier.  My wife and I were going to Hawaii and landed late and were very close to the time that the LAST puddle-jumper of the night was taking off to our island.  We RAN and were the last and ONLY ones from our plane who made it.   We know that because we met people from our plane at a Luau who spent the night in Honolulu instead of the place they were supposed to.  We have also run through the Amsterdam airport, and Atlanta.  Traveling light makes that possible.

Making life simpler and easier decreases the stress for you.  The world is a very small place now.  If you forget something buy it there, and now you have a souvenir.   It works the same way at home.  Less stuff is freeing.

Being from Minnesota I know about 1/2 the state is heading to Mexico in the next few months, so try going light and see how much easier it is.  Less stress is a good thing.

This is what I took to Mexico and I had one of the best vacations ever.  Mininal gear -  no-plans.

Here are the pictures of what I took.

I shot these in Mexico.  This is what I had in my computer bag.  Things I didn’t use: the extra notebook, mp3 speaker, extra Shell’s drinkholder, and camera tripod (looks like the clamp).

This was in my backpack.   Yes, there were 2 sets of snorkeling gear including fins.  If I were to do this again I would leave the snorkel stuff behind and take just a slightly larger backpack (21″) and I could combine both bags into one carry-on.

Clothes I wore on the plane.  The pants convert to shorts.

If you want to travel better, lighter, and easier here are some more references for you from the king of travel.  You have probably seen him on PBS.

Rick Steves Why to Pack light tips

Rick Steves Packing list