I love to travel! In fact spontaneous weekend getaways are my
forte. However there are always limitations that have to be kept in
mind. Gas prices, time spent on the road or the air, i.e. driving or
flying, and where to stay and what to do in the town or place that is traveled to.
There are so many things to think about it could drive one crazy, lucky
for you I have a few pointers and tools to help with a quick trip.
First off consider who you are traveling with. Are you going by
yourself or with with someone. Even groups of friends to the
beach can be mangaged. Now don't get confused, if you are just going down to the beach
for a day you can almost not prepare and still have a decent time.
Think about it for a sec. As long as you don't mind trashing your work
clothes you can almost leave the office roll up your suit pants and
play in the surf and still be home in time for American Idol, but I'm
talking about a full fledged weekend. So, it really depends on the type of
person that you consider yourself to be.
Are you the....
1. Over planner - Person who cares about every single aspect of the
trip no matter how much your friends (or kids) roll their eyes.
2. The middle planner - Person who knows exactly whats going to
happen at any given time but let's things happen because you know there
are things you did not think of.
3. The spontaneous - Person who just goes and figures it out. In other words, flies by the seat of their pants.
Everyone wears one of these hats depending on how involved you are
in the trip. Take my nephews for example.
Planning a day at the zoo makes me the middle planner, but they know
every aspect of the zoo and know exactly where the primates are and
where the mercats hang (poke) out. They even could tell me what genus and
species each animal falls in and know what time they are fed and when
to catch the zoo keepers during feeding times. In fact I think they
could most likely teach me enough to graduate with a doctorate in
zoology if only I would stop beating them at Wii. I usually fall under the the spontaneous hat though. My friends have a hard
time keeping up with me when it comes to road trips, but we all need to
find some common ground when it comes to weekend getaways so that is
what we will address.
Second and foremost we need some sort of bag. My trusty 22 inch bag
from Victorinox is a good place to start packing my few days worth of clothes. An aside on my 22inch - I really am enjoying the new Werks 3.0 22
inch Deluxe Travel Bag. I has a great ad a bag strap and new laptop bag
strap that loops over the the telescoping handle. This bag has really
become my one stop to carry everything. The wheels are really sturdy
with a solid metal axle through the bottom of the bag that not only
keeps my bag from sagging after many years of use it keeps my wheels in
line after a lot of use.
Oh, Victorinox has added a skip bar to the back of the bag as well
keeping those pesky curbs from ruining my bag after pulling it up a
bunch of times. The inside of the bag has changed drastically as well.
The bar that used to run down the middle of the inside has been
flattened in such a way to create more space in the bag for all of my
clothes. The straps to hold my clothes in place have changed very
little. They have a modern snap on them now. Victoinox has gotten rid
of the side pouches on the inside as well, no biggy there though I
never used 'em. The top inside pouch is still there for all of quick
finds like toothbrish, and other personal hygene products. The flap on the bag is great for any suit I
would want to bring. It zips from the side now instead of the middle
and has new roll bars so my jacket and pants won't wrinkle. It's not
quite big enough to put two suits into but is ready for one. However if
I wanted to I could have gotten a great Garment bag that would hold 3
of my suits, but I'm not on a business trip this is just a quick
excursion.
So, back to the trip though - we need to keep in mind gas. Here in Texas our gas prices are not as bad as California. We're usually about a buck (dollar) cheaper so driving an hour is our regular commute where as anywhere else in the US driving for that long is a real vacation. I find a great way to check gas prices is with a gas price google gadget or just google-ing local gas prices wherever you are headed. Then bring enough mulah to get there and back along with meals. With my friends we will pack a picnic for the beach with peanut butter sandwiches or a cold pasta. Pasta is pretty easy and keeps everyone satisfied for those people (ahem me) that like to eat a bit more. Cold pasta is best with an oil based sauce, like a pesto or vinagrette and it keeps well.
Don't forget the trip down though. I have an ipod touch filled with goodies to keep us entertained while driving to our destination. iTunes has some great short movies and regular hollywood movies. Of course I'll be driving so I cannot do both, so I've downloaded a few short movies that have good music in them. Of course for those trditionalists out there you can just load your drive time with only great music.
Last when your trip is over and you are preparring to come back with all of your seashells, or t-shirts from your favorite theme park you need more space in your bag! I have my trusty Victorinox that is expandable, up to two inches more! Plenty of room to stash my mementos from my fun weekend.
There are many other things to think of but this should cover you and your friends to the hotel room and back home again. Please feel free to add your tips and tricks about how you have a quick weekend getaway.
Safe and Happy travels!
~pete
