Mark's Notebook


	Laughing is my favorite form of worship.

Travel Light, but Well

New York Times

Thursday 15 December 2005, 3:56 pm
Keywords: News Articles

Mary and I might be doing some traveling next year, and the references in this article by Michelle Slatalla might come in handy.

It's interesting what some consider "cheap" travel. On our road trip from San Jose, California to San Antonio, Texas last July, we tried really hard to stay at what we called "flea bag" motels along Route 66. These were usually about $30 per night.

But Ms. Slatalla considers $20 cheap for rubber rain boots from Target. Sigh. I would buy that kind of stuff at Goodwill if I couldn't find it at the Dollar Store. On the other hand, it really is hard to find a decent umbrella for less than $25.

The article is really more suited to air travel than road travel, but we intend to do a fair amount of both.

From the article:

Internet sites - like Packinglight.com, Orvis.com and Travelessentials.com - sell a wide array of travel gear. I saw lightweight luggage ( Magellans.com's eight-pound rolling tote is $129) and a hemp fanny pack ($14.95 at Goodhumans.com ) and even foldable travel high chairs ($19.99 at Burlingtoncoatfactory.com).

I resisted the urge to buy an adorable little travel sewing kit ($3) at Walkabouttravelgear.com and instead focused on the more pressing need to make my husband's huge collection of electronic equipment fully operational in Paris. Walkabouttravelgear.com's comprehensive guide, "Solving the Riddle of International Electricity," included a voltage and adapter index with a pull-down menu to enable customers to shop by country.

The Wind-Defying Auto-Open umbrella from Hammacher Schlemmer is attractive and sturdy and has a "patented vented mesh system" to "eliminate umbrella inversion" on windy days. At Hammacher.com, I found a collapsible one-pound version ($24.95)