List sharing

So I have mentioned that when our family travels we create some pretty extensive lists. Anything from Things to do, Things to buy, stuff to pack, and places to eat. I thought I would share a few of them so you can see what type of things we put on them. Who knows you may have suggestions for me. Please share.

1. Things to do

Pull out luggage -gets the old closet smell out and lets you see if there is any damage to them

Look through toiletry bag - dump half crusty bottles, replace razor blades, make sure that you have what you need

Clean- nothing worse than coming home to a messy house. Especially after staying at a nice hotel.
Pull warm/cold weather clothing- depending on where you live you don't always get to wear shorts or a coat best to go through them early to see if they still fit

Contact bank and CC company - let them know where you are going so that you don't have your cards turned off for suspicious charges. Really important when going outside of the US.

Stop mail - or arrange someone to pick it up for you. Also a good ideal to put a few lights on timers to discourage anyone who might break in

Get cash & Disney gift cards - always take small cash for tipping and food/magazine vendors, or vending machines it is appreciated. Also if you are going to a place like Disneyland that has gift cards buy some. It is much than juggling cash around and it keeps you on budget.

Pack - aways my job and I am REALLY good at it

Put clean sheets on bed - after a long or short flight it is nice to sleep on clean sheets on your own bed.

Snacks - don't buy a $5 can of nuts out of the mini bar. Leave a little room and take something to snack on. Spend the extra on  another trip

Measure Kid- you want to know how tall they are so you can keep them from being disappointed when they are to short for a ride.

Pay bills - in the heat of doing all the travel stuff things can be forgotten. Trust me.

Pack DVD and portable player - I have a kid who is good on planes but can get board after the third hour of flight. This is why you bring some favorites for them to watch.

5 Fav Friday - Carry on items

In the last 5-10 years carry on items have really taken a beating. You cannot have liquids that are over a certain amount, no bottles water, my wife even had a screw driver taken out of her eyeglass repair kit. It is enough to make you want to check everything (resist that urge). Here is my list of 5 that you should carry on with you.

5. Electronics- camera, ipod, e-reader, tablet computer, it doesn't really matter. They will all be banged around  if you check them. They may even disappear from your baggage all together. Just keep them with you in your carry on, or don't take them.

4. Toiletries- Grandma was right. Keep a spare pair of undies, tooth brush, travel toothpaste, and face wash with you in the off chance that your checked bags get lost. Sure you can always buy what you need in most places but that can be a hassle. Plus do you really want to be breaking a new pair of undies in on your trip?

3. Spare clothing- if you have room to toss in an extra set of clothing I recommend it. You will want something to put on when you arrive and if your stuff is lost this will give you a buffer before you have to go to the store. It seems like a rehash of #4 but it is a good thing to be prepared for.

2. Medications- ALWAYS take any prescription drugs with you on the plane in their original pharmacy issued bottles. Otherwise you will be held up and possibly miss your plane, or potentially make everyone in the security line behind you really angry.

1. Identification/placards- You would be surprised how many people pack their cute little purses with their ID or passport in them and don't realize it until they are at the ticketing desk. Hell even my wife and I forgot the disabled parking pass when we went to Hawaii this year. I am not saying it won't happen, just that this list will help you remember.

Runner up:

A spare inner tube and tire change kit. This happens when you are in a hurry, have plans or just when it isn't convenient. Be prepared.

One week from travel.

Usually about a week before we travel we have several things that we like to complete. We verify that there will be a vehicle with hand controls with the car rental agency (see previous post on renting vehicles with hand controls). We do a pre-pack, this might seem unnecessary but trust me it is much better than being in line and being told that your bags are to heavy or won't fit in the machine. Plus it gives us an ideal if we are missing anything (sun block, specific clothing, and the like). Sure you can buy it there, but if you are going to check a bag any way might as well bring stuff you already have. We also make sure to contact our bank, and credit card company to let them know we will be traveling. They will put a travel alert on the card so that you do not have to worry about your card getting refused (plus it is nice to know if my card is used somewhere I am not traveling it will trip the travel warning).

I also like to bone up on the travel books. Also plug travel sites like Frommer's, or Lonely Planet or download APPS into my smart phone. This will save you in the long run if there is a specific place you wanted to go, without you looking like a total tourist (which you are).

I get really excited (and stressed) about this point so these steps are nice to be able to focus on and it keeps me from missing things. Now the count down is really on.

Lightening the Load

This is our first family trip. In fact for me this is the first time as an adult that I will have traveled with a toddler. I have discovered that if you have a kid or kids you do not get to travel light. My wife and I really do not want to be lugging stuff through the airport or have to check more bags than necessary. So after some research we have found a great alternative to bringing a caravan. Equipment rental. Now I bet there are some of you out there that are saying "duh, we have been doing this for years". For me it was a bolt of lightning. I called up Ready Rentals and told them that I wanted to rent a crib and highchair, they asked me when I would be there and the address of the rental and voila. It will be set up and ready when I get there.
You can do this with medical equipment too -- I may need to rent a shower bench.

This left us with some wiggle room for bringing something we don't mind lugging with us, my handcycle. I have searched high and low and there are very few places globally that rent this type of item. So I looked up shipping it (very pricey $300 and up for both ways), and then checked with our airlines. They do allow sporting supplies to be checked and my handcycle could be checked for around $75 each way (or we could ship it back as it is cheaper returning to the mainland).

We are less than three weeks out from our trip, and I am SO excited to post some new pictures from Kauai!

Take what you need, need what you take

I have decided to give myself a little challenge for this next trip of mine and see if I can manage to get everything my wife and I need in two carry-on bags. In and of itself this may not sound like a Herculean feat but for me and my wife (both constant overpackers) it will be a challenge.

We will be in California for 5 days and for the most part it will be very casual clothing. However we also plan to go to a nice-ish eating establishment so we can't just be in shorts all the time. I am taking a page from noted one-bag traveler Rick Steves and not bringing anything I cannot buy at my destination, or wash out in the sink and dry. We are also skipping the uneccessary toiletries (like our own shampoo) as they do have that at the hotel (or the Target just a few blocks away).

As a disabled person there are things I have to take that will take up room. I manage these by being creative. Cathaters are basically like packing peanuts to buffer and fit in-between most anything in my bag. I have to take a supply of pills which fit in a quart size zip lock bag (they need to be in their Rx bottles or you will get to meet some very serious people from the NTSB). I also have to take a supply of latex gloves which I also remove from their boxes and stuff into a baggie. I am wearing my heavy clothing and shoes on the plane so that will take up less room. I am also layering so I will shed some of those layers when we get to the room and hanging up the extra clothes.

Hear is a list of what I have packed so far:

4 pair of underwear

2 t-shirts

2 shorts (one Khaki, one that can double as swim trunks)

1 polo shirt (for our nice night)

1 pair of socks

extra pair of jeans or khakis

1 pair of workout pants (yes I am one of those people who work out on vacation)

1 razor & travel shave kit

1 pair of sandals

5 days of catheters

5 days of latex gloves

Pills

1 spare pair of sunglasses (as I have lost them on vacation before)

spare inner tube

tire changing kit

Yes this seems like a long list but I assure you it does all fit nicely into a carry-on bag with some room to spare for souvenirs on the way back. We don't usually pre-pack, but since we're trying to limit ourselves to just two bags, we did a trial run last weekend and it all fit great and was under the weight limit. By the way, before you travel, check your specific airline's regulations about baggage size, weight, and contents. Don't forget the liquid restrictions and be sure to put all such items in a quart-size baggie.

I will let you know when I get back how my little experiment went and if there were things that I needed that I had to hunt down while I am there.

Just a over a week until we are on vacation and I can't wait!