Jet-setter 2.0

I know in my post Jet-Setter I already touched on the elegance that is me in the airport, but this trip to California brought me to an all-time low. The big issue: over packing undersized bags. Never again will I bring a backpack as my carry on. I can’t even remember why I thought that was a good idea beforehand. I know wheeled-suitcases are a must for both carry on and check. And yet somehow I ended up with a 30 lb backpack threatening to topple me at any moment. The problem with the checked luggage was one word: wine. I was in wine country, at a wine class, so of course I got a little carried away buying wine. And I also discovered that unlike international flights where only 2 bottles are allowed, you can put as many as you want in the luggage domestically. Now I didn’t go crazy-I only had 3, but just asking one more bottle sent me seriously close to the weight limit on my bag. To be exact I weighed in at 49 lbs exactly (and for those of you who don’t know, the limit is 50 lbs or else you are charged $50 more for going over limit). So of course I was sweating more than usual! And to go with the wine? 2 wine glasses. I know, I know, who would try to pack fragile stemware in with 49 lbs of crap?? Me, of course. I’d gotten the wine glasses complimentary from wine tasting in Temecula with my friend and I couldn’t bear to part with them. (I did leave one of them with my friend, but I did take one red glass and one white glass). In my defense: everything made it.  Not a chip in one glass! Not a break in one bottle! And a taste test last night revealed at least one bottle wasn’t ruined by transport!

The second issue was my fabulous new hat. I know others are not as thrilled with my new floppy hat as I am, but I truly am quite excited about it. But there was no way it was going to fit in my suitcase. So instead, not only did I carry it with me through the airport, that was also where I got the most wear out of it. California apparently gets summer later than us (which I wouldn’t know since this was only my second time making a domestic trip in maybe 15 years) so it wasn’t really beach-y/poolside weather. So the place I wore my hat the most was in the lady’s room where I’d pop it on my head so I’d have my hands free. I’m not sure what people thought as I exited stalls with a floppy beach hat perched on my head, but I figured there wasn’t much lower I could go at that point.

Top 15 Things You’ll Find in My Suitcase

 

1. Febreeze-you never know when/if you’ll get a chance to wash your clothes
2. Perfume-see #1
3. Boxes of Shout wipes-for emergency stains
4. Detergent-for emergency sink washings (Judging by these first 4 either I’m a slob or traveling gets messy)
5. A clock-it was surprising to me that these don’t come standard in most other countries, and also I can never do the math correctly to figure out the 24 hour clock
6. A flashlight-useful in bungalows while on safari in South Africa, but also useful in places in Europe where shutters block out the light completely and bathrooms are kept in separate rooms from sinks…
7. iPod-I have trouble sleeping in new places and this works great to drown out the unfamiliar noises of whatever new city I’m in; also good for unexpectedly long bus trips.
8. Shoes you can walk in for miles-in case you incorrectly figure out the public transportation systems, incorrectly read the key on a map, or in case like me you’d rather tour a city on foot
9. Pedometer-to prove to people how far you’ve walked, also a good fashion accessory
10. Ointment-for bug bites
11. Toilet paper-you can’t pack too much: see Dehydration Nation
12. Towel-useful for hostels, sleeper trains, friend’s places and later for packing fragile souvenirs
13. Poncho-I haven’t actually used it yet, but I have been caught out in rainstorms thinking “why didn’t I bring that poncho I packed?!”
14. Sewing kit-I’ve never used one but my mom sticks one in when I’m not looking
15. Battery powered portable smoke detector-apparently smoke detectors aren’t standard in other countries either and when my mom found out this got added (not really that helpful though since when I asked my cousins who live on the top floor of an apt building in Paris where the fire escape was they gave me a funny look and said “you wait for the firemen to come with the truck.”)

Top 15 things I’ve learned to pack in my purse/Top 15 reasons my purse weighs a ton on vacation

1. An extra layer-if it’s summer
2. An umbrella-helpful if the weather report is in another language
3. A book-when you don’t know the language you often don’t understand how long trips will take
4. A map-gps would work too
5. A phrase book-in case you need the bathroom or directions
6. A camera-of course if you’re touring
7. Band-aids-if you don’t know how long you might be walking for there is a good chance you’ll get blisters
8. Hand sanitizer-let’s be honest, I normally carry this anyway.
9. Toilet paper/tissues-see Dehydration Nation
10. Face wipes-after walking around all day it’s nice to freshen up before dinner or going out
11. Breath mints or gum-I don’t like mixing bad breath and faulty pronunciations
12. Sunscreen-I hear my mother’s voice in my head
13. Water-I never recommend drinking a lot at a time since you never know when you’ll find a bathroom, but you also never know when you’ll find your next drink either so I recommend small sips…
14. Shout wipes-I spill on myself a lot, and so apparently do my friends
15. A lamp-wait that might be Mary Poppins I’m thinking of…