Traveling: Traveling Light
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (86765)
United States
July 20, 2019 11:01am CST
When I was little I remember my dad packing everything except the kitchen sink for a vacation. We don’t need to do that anymore, thanks to the easy 24/7 access to places like Wal-Mart and Meijer.
Having said that, there are things I carry with me when I travel.
I have an “overnight bag” that’s always packed, ready to go. It has my dental supplies, comb and brush, jammies, laundry bag, and toiletries.
Yes, I bring my own soap and shampoo. (I want some real poo one day! 
) Why? You can’t ever tell what kind of shampoo or soap you’re going to have in a hotel (although I tend to stay in Hilton brand hotels [I have a Hilton Honors card and a Hilton American Express card, so there’s lots of free nights to be had]), and I have perfume allergies. When I have my own soap and shampoo I know I won’t have that problem.
This may be a mistake, but I have no maps. I use the Waze GPS app in my phone. Yeah, I know: get “out there” and you have no cell service. However, if you know a few simple rules about interstate highways it’s hard to get “too” lost: east-west interstates are even numbered; north-south interstates are odd numbered; and mile markers increase as you go east and north (meaning the numbers get smaller as you go south or west).
In the car I have a pack that has essentials (Tylenol and antacids [know your body!]). There’s a plywood board in the back, sitting on top of a storage bin, which serves two purposes: as I don’t have one of those “covers” in the back of my SUV it blocks the view of anything I have in the back; and, it covers the “hump” between the back and the seats in case I need to stretch out and take a nap in the back.
And the iPod: there’s about 8,700 songs on the iPod. I’m not going to be bored while I drive!!
During the summer I also have my previously-reviewed insulated cup, and I have an two-gallon Igloo beverage cooler filled with water. That keeps me cool and comfortable. I also get “water enhancers” to flavor the water (usually lemonade and/or tea) if I want something “other” than water.
There’s a lot of room in that little crossover SUV (I have an HR-V, which I like to call a CR-V for single people ), but I don’t cram it full. Compared to the way we traveled when I was a kid, I’m traveling light!
Obligatory Peter Case song:
) Why? You can’t ever tell what kind of shampoo or soap you’re going to have in a hotel (although I tend to stay in Hilton brand hotels [I have a Hilton Honors card and a Hilton American Express card, so there’s lots of free nights to be had]), and I have perfume allergies. When I have my own soap and shampoo I know I won’t have that problem.
This may be a mistake, but I have no maps. I use the Waze GPS app in my phone. Yeah, I know: get “out there” and you have no cell service. However, if you know a few simple rules about interstate highways it’s hard to get “too” lost: east-west interstates are even numbered; north-south interstates are odd numbered; and mile markers increase as you go east and north (meaning the numbers get smaller as you go south or west).
In the car I have a pack that has essentials (Tylenol and antacids [know your body!]). There’s a plywood board in the back, sitting on top of a storage bin, which serves two purposes: as I don’t have one of those “covers” in the back of my SUV it blocks the view of anything I have in the back; and, it covers the “hump” between the back and the seats in case I need to stretch out and take a nap in the back.
And the iPod: there’s about 8,700 songs on the iPod. I’m not going to be bored while I drive!!
During the summer I also have my previously-reviewed insulated cup, and I have an two-gallon Igloo beverage cooler filled with water. That keeps me cool and comfortable. I also get “water enhancers” to flavor the water (usually lemonade and/or tea) if I want something “other” than water.
There’s a lot of room in that little crossover SUV (I have an HR-V, which I like to call a CR-V for single people ), but I don’t cram it full. Compared to the way we traveled when I was a kid, I’m traveling light!
Obligatory Peter Case song:
Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group Travellin' Light · Peter Case The Man With The Blue Post Modern Fragmented Neo-Traditionalist Guitar ? 1989 Geff...
5 people like this
6 responses
@SophiaMorros (5044)
• Belews Creek, North Carolina
20 Jul 19
When I was a child we regularly went camping with. VW van. Ten people squished into a vehicle that today would be considered a seven-seater. One suitcase (a big suitcase...but still) camping gear, food and toiletries... It's mind boggling to think about.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86765)
• United States
20 Jul 19
Sounds cool to me...providing everyone was using deodorant!
1 person likes this
@SophiaMorros (5044)
• Belews Creek, North Carolina
20 Jul 19
@FourWalls my parents didn't believe in deodorant 
.
.1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86765)
• United States
20 Jul 19
You as well. Have some ice cream and some iced tea and stay cool!!!
@DWDavis (25797)
• United States
20 Jul 19
As a back packer and due to training as a straight-leg infantryman - we walked everywhere carrying what we needed with us, I was used to camping with only the minimum items needed. Enter the missus. The first time we went camping together, she insisted we buy a cabin tent, air mattresses, 5-gallon water jugs, a 32-quart cooler, a hibachi grill, a propane stove, and take all the food and water we might need for the whole week with us. All the clothes, too. And for the two labs we had at the time. We had an Isuzu Trooper II then. It was loaded to the gills and there was stuff loaded on top.
No matter how many times I tried to tell her we didn't need to take 15 gallons of water with us because the state park we were going to in Vermont had water, nor the fact that the town next to the state park had grocery stores, nor the idea that I was accomplished at preparing meals over a campfire, I could not dissuade her from taking all that gear with us.
Now, when we camp, we basically have our whole house with us anyway, and I still have to convince her that some things really aren't necessary.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86765)
• United States
20 Jul 19
I look at some of the RVs and think, “what would I do with all of this???” My “dream RV” would be a small van (like a Transit Connect) with a porta-potty and a bed.
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (118793)
• Anniston, Alabama
20 Jul 19
I keep an overnight bag in the Kia since I am a caregiver. I have to be ready to go. I have a couple changes of clothes, a pair of sweats and a large comfy t-shirt to sleep in, dental and hair stuff, a phone charger, Like you , tums and pain relievers, and last the best and most needed, coffee shots and clean underwear!
I have a small cooler that lives in the car.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86765)
• United States
20 Jul 19
My supplies in the winter are much different. I did carry a small cooler on this last jaunt, and it came in handy keeping those five subs I got for my brother cold! 
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
20 Jul 19
I traveled very light when I went by air. Being on the road affords more luxury in bringing more stuff. I am a map person all the way.
1 person likes this
