On the way home from a weekend trip, a friend and I we're listening to a local radio station. They were doing a contest to see who could guess what (according to some survey) was the most important thing to bring on vacation. The survey was said to have interviewed only women. We must have called in at least 20 times, guessing everything we could think of. "Credit cards!", "Food", "Razors!", "Medication!", "Phone Chargers!", and many others. None of them were right. We got home and still waited in the car to hear the answer since we were frustratingly stumped. After another 15 minutes, we finally found out that the answer was "pajamas". This had us mystified, since neither of us thinks that pajamas is nearly as important as the other things we guessed, neither of us really even wear pajamas, especially on vacation.
Even though I started this as a blog that would focus on the tiny house movement, I have been traveling a ton, and still have had no time to build my tiny house. I stay all over: hotels, motels, friends' houses, tents, my car, etc. So I wanted to start a list of some random things that I find important to bring with me on my travels.
I want this to be an ongoing list that can grow and grow, the more I learn about what my traveling needs are, and since I most likely won't think of everything for this post. At the moment I am in a very cheap motel, so some of this list may seem geared toward that.
1. Medication and Vitamins: I take a lot of vitamins, since my eating habits aren't always that great, especially on the road. I pack mine in one of those Monday-Friday dividers that my grandmother used to use, so I don't have to bring countless jars with me.
2. Toiletry bag: even if I only have the clothes on my back, if I have my toiletry bag, I know I can be clean! I even have little dish soaps and laundry detergent in there. Much of it is from leftover complimentary hotel soaps and shampoos.
3. Chargers. Duh. And don't forget your phone either.
4. Food and refillable drink bottles: I travel to perform occasionally, and when I do, I refill my water bottle 2-3 times an hour. (I'm a gymnast at times and a designer/show producer at others) imagine if I had to buy all those water bottles. And imagine the waste left behind if I just threw away each one. Check with the locals about the tap water first, but if it's good, use a refillable bottle.
5. A few Drain plugs: Sometimes I perform many hours of gymnastics and/or have many hours on my feet before returning to a rented room of some kind. Sometimes the fixtures don't work, and I still really want my hot bath! Bleach might be a good idea too, especially if it's a motel with any level of sketchiness.
6. My own towels: This one I just thought about today. First off, if you are a germaphobe, bringing your own towels is a no brainer. I personally am not, however, motel/hotel towels can tend to be super linty. I don't often know the space where I will be performing very well beforehand, and some venues have blacklights. White lint under even the tiniest blacklight can look extremely silly.
7. Umbrella! Another duh. Couldn't hurt to pack a poncho in one of those very compact cases either.
8. Clothes that oppose the weather: going to the beach? Pack a sweatshirt. I've had so many rainy freezing beach days! Ski Lodge? T-shirt. Those fireplaces get hot.
9. Sunscreen.
That's it for now, I think. I'll add to this list again when I think of more things. For now, have a photo of my family dog adventuring through unknown dandelion fields!
