Summer 2021 Travel Tips

Weather, whether you like it or not...

Unless you are planning a vacation to the mall or movie theatre planning on what activities, adventures, and clothing will be weather dependent. It may be a good idea to add your travel destination to your saved places on your weather app to stay up to date on any change in the weather. If you are traveling in North Carolina your experience will be largely different depending if you are in the mountains or out at the beach.

Lists

Lists are a great way to organize your vacation. Getting organized on the front end can free you up to spend more of your vacation the way you planned instead of trying to track down a pair of fingernail clippers for a recent and unplanned hangnail. Lists not only include things to bring like toiletries and clothing; but can include lists for places to reach you for the house/pet sitter or a trusted neighbor. Many websites specialize in travel lists from outdoor packing lists to a beach vacation packing list.

Don't forget the fun stuff and make a list for things to bring along the way dependent on your trip. This can include a deck of cards, board game, book(including ebooks), and pre-downloaded movies or TV shows for air travel or down time when you may not have wifi or cell service.

Focus on the Fun

No matter where you go or what you're doing "Have Fun!" should be a top priority. In a trip a couple years ago while waiting in a rental car line next to a metropolitan maintenance professional (also beginning his vacation) while he screamed on facetime to a coworker about how to get a water main turned off to keep from flooding a building downtown my patience was tested. In that moment I was on vacation to have fun, and listening to a basement building in Jersey flood while feeling stranded in Budget's line wasn't. However, in feeling sorry for my fellow man helplessly trying to begin his vacation while also instructing the buffoon that was filling in for him and realizing I wasn't in a rush to get anywhere, I started having a better time. Vacation is a state of mind.

Gadgets for Vacation

In today's world there are all sorts of gadgets and gizmos for everything. Here are some things that aren't big, but can save your vacation in a pinch and may be worth taking dependent on your destination.

• First Aid Kit
• Battery Bank (for Phone)
• Packable Bags (duffle or backpack) it's nice to be able to have an extra bag if you find something worth bringing back from your trip or that you find while out for the day!
• DC to AC converter for the car
• Fan/Night-light