Last year at exactly this time, I wrote a post about deciding what to wear for a day away from home during this in-between season when the weather is so unpredictable. This year, my challenge was much greater as it involved packing a suitcase!

At home on the prairie, the geese are returning and the gophers have come out of hibernation, but there are still patches of snow on the ground. We’re travelling through high mountain passes where winter conditions are still a distinct possibility, but our destination is the coast where flowers will be blooming and rain showers are likely. Daytime high temperatures there are likely to be around 10ºC (50ºF). How do you pack for all of that?

There’s a “just in case” bag in the back of the vehicle with heavy coats, toques, scarves, and gloves, and we each brought along a pair of winter boots. I’m seriously hoping that we don’t need any of those things, but as they say, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

Layering is always the key to coping with varying temperatures and weather conditions, so I packed accordingly. I want to be able to add or subtract layers as the days warm up or cool off. For the most part, the clothes in the suitcase came from my fall/winter wardrobe, but I did go into storage and pull out a couple of the warmer items from my spring/summer collection. The majority of what I packed was neutral in colour allowing me to mix and match, creating a variety of different looks with a limited number of pieces.

The main purpose of our trip is to be with my special brother who is having surgery on Monday, but since that’s taking us to the coast at such a beautiful time of year and since it feels like forever since we’ve had a real holiday, we’ve added a few days in Victoria to our plans. Casual outfits will work well for most of what we plan to do, but I’ll probably want to dress up a bit for a couple of events. Accessories take up very little space and easily add polish to an outfit when that’s what’s needed.

A change of shoes can also give an outfit a lift. That’s one area where I can indulge myself on a trip like this one. When we fly, the number of pairs of shoes I can take is limited by suitcase space, but when we travel by vehicle I can fit in many more! Comfort is key, however. We plan to do a lot of walking, especially when we’re in Victoria, so I made sure to bring more than one pair of comfortable, supportive walking shoes. That way if one pair gets wet, I’ll have another to change into. We also packed umbrellas!

I’m not sure if I’ll be posting anything for Fashion Friday the next two weeks, but it will be a treat to be able to write some travel posts instead! Do stay tuned!