No, my fish is not for sale

Packing and organizing is one of my favorite things in the whole world to do and I admit that I obsess over packing when it comes to taking trips. I always make a list to ensure that I do not leave any necessary items behind and when I’m overly excited for a trip I make numerous lists (I am on my third packing list for the trip to Nola) and I am not embarrassed to say it. I bought a brand new suitcase for this trip and it is massive, and by the word massive I mean I could literally fit a full-grown hippopotamus in this thing. To say I am excited is an understatement. It is so hard for me to know that I leave in five short days but don’t have anything packed yet, but writing this post is making me so anxious I think I’ll start tonight! One of the biggest things I am looking forward to while being in Louisiana is the weather. You know how you can add cities to your weather app that comes on your iPhone? Yeah, well I added New Orleans about six months ago and have been tracking it daily since then. Going from Illinois in January to the 70-degree weather I am seeing for the week we are there is going to feel so good on my skin and I can’t wait! I have to admit though, the only research I have done about this glamorous city it is the weather. I am not new to the Amtrak system. I absolutely love the train and it is by far my favorite way to travel. It’s safe, fast, and so easy... but have you guys ever tried to buy some sort of food or drink on there? I think I dropped a couple of tears the first time I ordered a muffin on the café cart, that thing was going to cost me like 5 bucks! So in preparation for the 17-hour train trip I am about to embark on, my only goal is to take as much food and water as possible. My carry-on will be so heavy it will look like I came straight from the food pantry with all of my non-perishables! My life is so boring that I’ve been counting down the days until we leave since we made our first payment for the trip back in May, and trust me, that was a lot of days to count so thank God there is an app for that! The only thing that I needed to arrange was fish sitting for my goldfish. Leo is my world and by far the best 15 cents I have ever spent. No worries, my mom is going to watch him while I’m gone and she takes overly good care of him since her track record was ruined when she killed my first goldfish when I was in 1^st grade. Besides missing Leo while I’m out exploring what New Orleans has to offer, my “normal” life will be just as boring as it is now when I return!

These are my choices for reading material on the train, any suggestions on what I should bring?