Ten on Tuesday: 10 Things to bring on Vacation

1.  5 knitting projects, all associated notions and needles.  This is the hardest part of packing for vacation. The swatching...the preparation...the choosing of needles...how much yarn to bring...you know what I mean.

2.  A bottle of dessert wine

3.  iPod/iPhone/noise-cancelling headphones.  Remembering to charge all this stuff the night before can become a planning nightmare. 

4.  My husband.  There is no such thing as a vacation without him.  SOAR has been the only exception.

5.  Yoga paws.  Frees me of yoga mats and disgusting hotel room floors.  I don't always use them, but I could if I wanted.  That matters at least as much.

6.  Streetwise maps.  Those fold-out, plastic laminated maps for the relevant city have been priceless.  They stuff in handbags and fannypacks without being destroyed.  They survive rain.  Their battery charge doesn't disappear at inopportune moments.  They include information about mass transit and tourist stuff.

7.  Paperwork:  reservations copies, tickets.  Very important.  Some of this can now be stored on the iPhone.  But I have back-up copies.  Of course I do.

8. The right clothes.  Not always easy in unfamiliar places on the cusp of different seasons.  Must not tip the scales at 51 pounds, and must leave room for potential purchases.

9.  A good book.  or two.  or three.  If you pack them in your checked luggage, it almost guarantees an open search.  The scanners can't see behind them, according to TSA info.  I also pack magazines I can leave behind after reading

10.  Yarn store addresses, phone numbers, and hours open.  Once again, I don't always use the data, but I could if I wanted.  And looking them up is pleasure in anticipation of the vacation.

Coleus on the deck:

Comments

[gaby]

bon voyage !

[Lynn]

Oh, have fun!

I should really take a vacation one of these days...

[margene]

A very concise and useful list. If I ever go on vacation again I'll have a guide to packing. May you have a very enjoyable vacation wherever you're off to!

[Carole]

You do much more exciting traveling than I do - I bet you are a pro at getting everything into a suitcase!

[Beverly]

Good tip about packing books in carry on luggage. Thanks!

[Marcia]

To avoid the book weight issue on the trip to Italy, I downloaded Kindle into my iPod touch for the hubby, with several books he wanted to read. Plus movies. I had the same in the iPhone for me. It does save weight, for sure. I love those Streetwise maps! Paperwork all goes in a box-style file folder that fits in my carry-on purse/tote or the front pocket of the wheelie carryon. With iPhone backups. You didn't mention cameras! I've yet to get the clothes right, sigh.

[kmkat]

Great list!

[Sylvia]

Didn't know about #9 -- thanks for the tip.

[Cheryl S.]

Wow - never heard about the book thing in checked luggage. Interesting.

[Anne]

7: Oh yes. Of COURSE you do. :)

[gayle]

If I ever go on a real vacation, I'm totally going to hire you as a packing consultant... (I usually drive/fly to visit family. Packing light is possible (and recommended.))

[Lucia]

Knitting: indeed yes. Except that, nearly always traveling by car, I can pack too much without major guilt.

Books: I didn't know that about books and checked luggage. What if you pack them in the very bottom of the bag? No, they'd still want to see if you had anything small in between, and they'd have to dig through everything. Sigh. If I pack them I'll put them on top for easy access. (All of this assumes that I will ever fly again, which is highly dubious.)

Yarn stores: you are reminding me to call the store in Farmington to see if they'll be open for the next two weeks.

[Hillary]

Great list. I almost always do #10 too and I get so into it that I usually have a few addresses tucked in my brain just in case. This past weekend in NYC was the exception and my husband was shocked that I didn't casually direct us to a surprise yarn store.

[naomi]

Coleus? It's pretty!

I wouldn't've thought of books being hard to see through. Thanks for that.

[claudia]

We overlap somewhat: ipod, husband, streetwise map...oops...thanks for reminding me to order one for Brussels.

[Judith]

Kindle. 'Nuff said.

I agree with the difficulty of taking knitting. Finding the right travel knitting is an art. It has to be small enough to pack, but big enough to last the trip. It has to be simple enough to work on in fits and starts during transport, but have enough complexity to hold your interest. It has to be tested, so there are no surprises that require tools or needles you haven't packed and can't get because there are no yarn stores handy.)
My best travel projects usually turn out to be either shawl/scarfish things where gauge isn't critical and the yarn may be fine enough to last a long time, or basic sweaters that aren't too far along. Oh, and socks. Socks are always good. And baby stuff, because they aren't really big and if the gauge is off a little it'll still fit sometime. Or Aran stuff. That's what I just took to our family reunion. Doing cables is just plain fun, and it takes enough time that the yarn doesn't run out too quickly.
If you plan it right, pack things you've knit for people you'll be visiting. Than once you've given them, you'll have room in your luggage for stuff you've bought. (like yarn)

My other essentials are all pre-packed in a small kit bag that goes with me on every trip: Benadryl, ibuprofen, a couple of teabags, earplugs, a few bandaids, antacid, some honey packets from the cafeteria, Metamucil packets. (Maybe TMI, but traveling can disrupt more internals than just my clock.)