Sleeping in Airports

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One goal we set for our RTW trip is to make our money go as far as possible and to live within a new means. This meant making compromises along the way and even being uncomfortable at times. We started our trip by testing how far we could test our limits, asked ourselves if these limits were unrealistic, and even hoped that the edge we would walk up to might somehow continue to be pushed further and further out making what would have seemed uncomfortable not so bad. Our journey to the starting point did just that.

We are no strangers to public transit, so dropping our car off at my dad’s work, putting on our backpacks, and navigating DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) to the airport was a breeze. Once we arrived at the airport it was like second nature to us going through security and making it to the gate hours early in anticipation of heading out.

Storms started to roll in just as we were supposed to board the plane. This was not a big deal; we had left plenty of time for our layover in Boston. We finally make it on the plane, which had been delayed nearly an hour, only to find out that the pilots and some crew had not made it because of delays on their end. After another 20 minutes, the crew was there and we pulled away from the gate. Off we go to start our adventure!

It was past midnight by the time we landed in Boston and by this point we were tired. Not knowing what Boston’s policies are, Kevin asked an employee if Boston was a 24-hour airport. Turns out it is, however, you cannot sleep inside the security area after they close security lines around 2am. We quickly got online to look for sleeping accommodations and found out that getting a “quick hotel” would eat up way more of our daily budget than we were comfortable. Kevin strolled back to the employee and asked, “are their places to sleep outside of security checkpoint that are still inside the airport lobby?” to which the man replied, “yes, but all of the cots have been passed out.”

As we made it out of the airport secured area, sure enough, we noticed a lot of people sleeping on a number of things, cots being one of them. We decided to leave the current terminal (Terminal A) and walk to the international terminal (Terminal E). Along the .5 mile walk, each terminal had its own slew of sleeping patrons. When we walked through Terminal D’s baggage claim, we say a pile of cots on the wall not yet claimed. We found our beds for the night!

Our Cots for the Night, BOS Airport, 2016

Settling in at Terminal E for the night was a new experience for us since neither of us had even stayed overnight in an airport. Time to test out pushing our limits. We knew we would not be getting much sleep because there was a large tag on the cots saying they would be picked up at 5am and by the time we locked our bags up and settled in it was nearly 1am. Between the stiff cots and the lady on the PA system announcing the next flight to Hong Kong, it was a rough night trying to grasp a few hours of sleep. At 5am, we woke up, tried to compose ourselves to the best of our ability, and wandered like zombies trying to figure out what we wanted to do for the next 14 hours. Figuring out next steps out was quick, we both wanted to find a bench to nap on, so we did. Airport lobby bench seats are much more comfortable than those cots, but only if you are lucky enough to find a bench without fixed armrests. Lesson learned.

After a few hours of sleep, we feel refreshed! Testing our limits is a baby-step process. First sleeping in airports in Boston, next we will be sleeping in our rental car in Iceland, and then maybe on the floor of a train station. Not every limitation we test will be worth it in terms of our comfort, but every tested limitation will be a worthwhile lesson learned about ourselves.

We are two en route to mastering airport sleeping.

What’s in Our Backpack

One of the questions we get from people is, “how can you fit everything you need in just one backpack?” The key is really a combination of careful packing, only taking what is really needed, and picking the right items.

First, it was important to choose the perfect backpack and once we had done that it was time to start making a list of everything we thought we needed. Next, we took that list, asked ourselves if we really needed everything on it and started cutting items off the list. This was much easier to do since we had already packed our lives into a box. Finally, we researched what someone would need on a backpacking trip and started to buy things to fill our backpacks.

HERE IS WHAT WE DECIDED WAS A MUST TO PACK

SHIRTS

3 x T-Shirts
3 x Collared Shirts
2 x Tank Tops
1 x Long Sleeve T-Shirt

JACKETS

1 x Hoodie
1 x Synthetic Down Jacket
1 x Rain Jacket

PANTS/SHORTS

1 x Jeans
2 x Long Pants (zip-off)
2 x Shorts
1 x Comfy Shorts (for lounging around)

SHOES

1 x Hiking Shoes
1 x Flip Flops (for the showers and beaches)

OTHER CLOTHING

2 x Swim Suites
5 x Underwear
5 x Socks
1 x Hat
1 x Belt
1 x Gloves

ACCESSORIES

1 x Travel Towel
1 x Sleeping Bag (will end up ditching at some point)
1 x Handkerchief
1 x Sunglasses & Case
1 x Collapsible Water Bottle
1 x Bag Rain Cover
1 x Lock
1 x Security Cable
1 x Digital Bag Scale
1 x Multi-Tool Carabiner
1 x Eye Mask
6 x Ear Plugs
1 x Waterproof Bag
3 x Ziplock Bags
15 x Clothes Pins
1 x Clothes Line
1 x Sewing Kit
1 x Toiletries (all the goodies)
1 x Electric Shaver
1 x First Aid Kit
1 x Wine Bottle Opener
1 x Collapsible Silicone Cup
1 x Business Cards
1 x Journal
1 x Pen

ELECTRONICS / GADGETS

1 x Phone
1 x Computer
1 x External HDD
1 x Ethernet Cable
1 x Camera, Extra Battery, & Extra Memory Card
1 x GoPro, Remote, & GoPro Stick
1 x Mini Tripod
1 x Rechargeable AA Batteries
1 x Universal Power Adaptor
1 x Headphones
1 x 2-Way Audio Amp (so we can listen to the same thing at the same time)
1 x Jambox MINI
1 x iPod Nano
1 x USB Car Charger & USB Battery Pack

We are two en route to pack up and head out

Choosing The Backpack

When we chose to live on the road for more than a year we realized one of the most important items we would have was the pack on our back. After some initial online research we knew this was something we would need to purchase in person. We would need to try it on, feel the quality of the interconnections in the zipper, how the materials felt between our fingers and all the other feel goods the internet can’t offer. For us that meant a trip to REI.

Since we are mainly “urban backpacking” those large monstrosities of outdoor hiking bags were immediately eliminated. Which unfortunately, is most of what is on the market. When it came to what options were still available, we initially had thoughts like, “there is no way we can live in anything less than 70 liters each.” Between needing outfit options, creature comforts, electronics, and toiletries, we felt 70 liters was even going to be hard. Keeping in mind that we plan to live out of this bag for over a year we wanted to have room for everything we would need, but also knew carrying extra unnecessary weight was going to quickly get old (and painful). It was time for us to do some serious research to figure out what was going in our bags before making a final decision.

Most people we spoke with and blogs we read had a general consensus that 20 lbs (all-in, filled to the brim) was the target weight for a pack. In order to stay around that weight, we knew 70 liters would be too big. Filling 70 liters to the brim gets you well past 20 lbs, ouchies. Now that our backpack was shrinking, another question came up; did we want to have a carry-on size pack? We decided that this was a must. Not only would this make it easier to carry on our back, it would be easier on all forms of transit. As an added bonus, often times carry-ons are free while checking a bag costs extra and the more dollars we save the more days we travel.

Since we are going to be taking all forms of transportation in many different countries, another key feature we felt was a must was security. We wanted to make our packs appear to be hard to try and break into or steal especially since everything we own will be inside. Security features we looked for were tear resistant fabric, high quality construction, and lockable zippers.

With so much security built into one bag, we wanted to make sure the bag was still easy for us to use. The last thing we want is to be in a situation where we need something quickly and are not able to get to it with ease. Some great features we saw on bags was being able to open them like a suitcase so you could quickly and easily get to everything, smaller compartments to help with organization, and the ability to attach and detach a removable day pack for when you just need a few things with you and can leave the bulk of your items stuffed away someplace safe (not on our backs).

After we looked at what different backpacks offered and compared them to our must have list, we chose the Osprey Porter 46. It is a carry-on size, 46 liter pack with a suit-case style full zip opening for ease of use, great security, and the ability to attach a 13 liter day pack (Osprey Daylite). As an added bonus, the Porter 46 even has compression sidewalls that help keep everything snug and secure no matter what’s inside. Packs purchased!

As is often the case, before committing to something long term it is a good idea to give it a short term trial. We purchased the Porter 46 and Daylite to take with us to New Zealand in April. This allowed us to make sure the packs fit well, held up, and actually fulfilled our wants and needs. From storing them overhead on the plane to only taking the Daylite with us around town, they did great.

Piha Beach with only the Daylite, New Zealand, 2016

We are two en route to backpack the world.

twoenroute

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