Leaving for warmer weather…in Iceland?!?

We never thought we would consider Iceland in February to be a departure for warmer weather, but with the thermometer hitting -27C in Calgary yesterday, it’s true. 

Hopefully, the balmy weather in Iceland (around +5C) continues for our visit. And it will certainly be better than the weather buffeting our Vancouver home which is undergoing another winter blast of snow followed by freezing rain. We picked a great time to leave!

This morning we packed up our rental car and packed the trunk with our gear for the next six months. Fortunately, it all fit but it was close. Many people have asked how we are able to bring everything we need for our trip. The simple answer is we can’t. 

Packing for six months, with a significant change in temperature and climate was a challenge. When you combine that with school materials for the kids (only so much is available in digital format), there wasn’t a lot of room left. 

We will likely be mailing some of our warmer winter gear home in the spring and donating any winter clothes that no longer fit. We also decided that we can always visit secondhand shops (a favourite pastime anyway) if we need to pick up anything else we need. 

A wise friend said to bring less than we thought we needed. I’m not sure if we heeded that advice but we still feel proud of how much we were able to squeeze into the bags we have without relying on giant suitcases for all of us. 

The journey to Edmonton was painless and the kids were happy with a lunch stop at the A&W in Red Deer. There were a few spots of blowing snow but nothing compared to the iced craziness of Highway 1 West to Banff. We sure timed our travel well. (Update: this Global News headline says it all – http://globalnews.ca/news/3239167/all-highways-between-the-coast-and-the-interior-are-closed/)

As we wait to board our Icelandair flight, we are very grateful to be embarking on this adventure. We have worked hard to save enough and we are very lucky to have supportive employers to make this a possibility. It seems surreal to be at the airport waiting to board. 

Next stop: Reykjavik!