Zip Pants

Being wholly committed (sort of) to our 5 week journey with 1 carry-on bag, I determined that each item in my bag should have dual, triple or ideally, quadruple functions. For example, the perfect long sleeve top could 1. keep me warm on those frigid airplanes, 2. be a cute swimsuit cover up and 3. provide an extra layer of warmth during a predawn mountain climb. See?

One sister (the supportive one) offered ideas where I might find such an elusive garment, expressing interest and concern that it be of the proper weight. The other sister (not so supportive one) said she knew where I could get a pair of shoes that double as a bra.

I did feel very smug and satisfied when I found a dress, immune to wrinkles, super lightweight and with a built in slip. I took it for a test drive yesterday and my dad pointed out that the ingenious built in slip wasn't living up to its obligation. You could see right through it. "No worries," my dad assured me. "You'll fit right in with the Italian women." There is a penalty for smugness.

One person, who shall remain unnamed for their own protection, suggested a good choice might be those pants that through an act of wizardry and slight of hand, magically become shorts. You know the ones. They make noise when you walk, sit just below your arm pits and generously come with one of those webbed, snap belts. Usually they are accessorized with white tennis shoes, a fanny pack and a unisex hat that makes people think YOU think you are on safari. ... Zip pants....