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Killed my hair dryer

 in Deb's Travels / Packing

I was absolutely determined this time to carry a hairdryer and have hair that looks nice and polished each day. That was not meant to happen.

Be careful what you wish for. I am carrying only a 50-L carry-on duffel bag that converts to a small backpack and after logging in around the Miami airport for a day and walking 5 or 6 miles in one day just to find a plane out of Miami and another 5 miles the next day to get somewhere, I was feeling the load. I was wishing my backpack would be lighter.

Having finally escaped from Miami because of a sympathetic American Airlines staffer who fully understood the situation, I was in New York City JFK airport. But frankly, I smelled. I certainly did not feel good look decent. I had hoped American Airlines and their Ambassador lounge people would understand the errors made and in sympathy allow me to use their shower for five minutes but their rules didn’t allow for this. So instead I bathed in the public women’s room. And… I blew dry my hair. That was my downfall.

The hairdryer that died once and I killed later.

Catania to Palermo by train, finally going to start seeing Sicily

 in Deb's Travels / Europe / Italy / Transportation / Traveling with Technology

My first morning in Sicily wasn’t where I had planned it. I’d planned to arrive into Palermo, but due to circumstances had to end my into-Sicily travels in Catania instead. This morning I would continue onto Palermo with just enough time to start my first-ever organized tour — Sicily’s Beating Heart Tour with La RosaWorks.

I woke up at 10 — only because I’d set my alarm for the last possible minute that I could shower quickly and still make check-out. Still groggy and with my coordination not intact, I started my day.

Less tech is more travel experience

 in Deb's Travels / Packing / Travel Tips

This blog is called Tales of Travel and Tech, but I’d like to remind everyone that traveling doesn’t mean taking all your tech with you on your vacation.

Want to maximize your travel experience? Then skip the tech!
Most of the time, that is. Not all of the time.
There’s plenty a bit of tech can do to expand your travel, but not if it blocks you from experiences!

My Eagle Creek backpack, day pack, and a few tech things.

Getting ready to travel again 1

 in Deb's Travels / Mindset / Packing

I’m getting ready to travel again. I’ve really enjoyed having the past year with my family. I must confess I had a bit of a dilemma deciding whether to travel again or to stay put in a comfortable apartment home close to my family and friends. But in the end, I chose the travel my soul craves over the comfort my heart craves.

I have been out of that apartment for a few weeks now and I have my ticket to fly to Europe.

The apprehension of the unknown in travel 4

 in About Deb / Deb's Travels / Mindset

Faced with the impending finality of giving up the apartment that has become my comfortable home over the past year, I am once again feeling the constriction in my throat and bouts of fear of what is to come. I am again starting to wonder if I’m crazy and if I should just stay comfortably where I am.

The reality starts to hit me whenever I leave “home” for the unknown. Where am I going to stay? Will I be invited into peoples homes? Will I be safe? Am I crazy for doing this?

For the most part on this blog I have shown you the places I have been and they are indeed exciting. If I have invoked your wonderlust or wanderlust, then I have done a good job of showing you how exciting travel can be. However. I’m not sure whether I have shown you the other side, the uncertainty of it. If I haven’t, I owe it to you to do so.

Best cable ties for travel and tech

 in Packing / Traveling with Technology

Traveling or not, how do you stash your cords, cables, and wired earpieces? Here’s my favorite solution of all time — the Cord Taco by This Is Ground.

I have four great ones to recommend.
For many cables, Cord Tacos by This is Ground.
For larger cables such as one to plug in your laptop, Gear Ties by NiteIze
For larger items and hanging items, Pixi by Blue Lounge or perhaps Bongo Ties.

Meet the Cord Taco, a durable, remains-beautiful, premium leather cable wrap that keeps your cables untangled better than anything else I have ever tried, and I have tried pretty much all cable organizers. This is on of the original Cord Tacos. I have been using it since January 2014, almost 3.5 years. This size is approximately 3.25 inches in diameter. And meet Gear Ties, a new and very welcome addition to my travels.

Untied and tied cables

Best beach or picnic blanket for travel – Matador Pocket Blanket

 in Packing

As I have said several times, I have happily been using my sarong as a beach blanket, picnic blanket, or as a sheet at times. But recently, I realized that a larger length of ripstop nylon would be handy for the outdoors and not impact me greatly. I planned to get some next time I’m downtown LA. But then I met the Matador folks at the International Travel Goods Show — and they showed me their Pocket Blanket 2.0. I actually had no intention of considering the Pocket Blanket when I came to see Matador for their NanoDry Shower Towel. But then they pulled the corner out and handed it to me. When I first touched this pocket blanket, I just smiled. I couldn’t believe how thin it was. In a life of travel, that’s a major joy. The Matador Pocket Blanket 2.0 is brilliant. It packs tiny and light (98 […]

Going away? A pre-travel security checklist for your home

 in Deb's Travels / Misc / Packing

This is for those of you who do leave your home empty as you travel.

SimpliSafe, a new style, low-cost alarm system and company, created this pre-vacation checklist to give you — or remind you of — ways to protect your home while you’re out traveling. These are very basic but wise. Maybe it will get you started building your own list of ways to take care of and protect your home while you travel.

Threatened with jail at Nicaragua border over exit stamp position

 in Deb's Travels / Mindset / Nicaragua / Theft / Transportation

Each time someone tells me they want to go to Nicaragua I cringe. I hear the people are lovely, they say, and it’s so inexpensive. Yes, that might be true — but my experience wasn’t about nice people. I was locked in a room at the border and threatened with jail — because of an immigration agent on a sick power trip.

I have long debated telling this story, but I feel it’s important. I’ll never know if I really would have been sent to jail in this Dictatorship, but the Tourism agent at the border certainly believed I was about to land there.

Please read this — and take it seriously.

Buses, trains, and water taxis in Los Angeles 3

 in Boats / California / Transportation

Visitors to Los Angeles often ask about how to get around without a car so this page is my collection of LA Public Transportation info. (Services may change but this is hopefully a good start for you.) I’ll edit this page as I learn more. I hope you’ll also share what you learn in the Comments.

I have an all-over-LA section, a Beach section, and an LAX/airport section.

Mascara & Eyeliner for travel 1

 in Packing

You might laugh at this now but during your travels, you well might curse the size of your gigantic space-wasting mascara and you’ll wish you had that extra space. So you might as well read this and start considering your mascara now. Even if you won’t be traveling for a year.

Should you refrigerate your eggs?

 in Food / Packing

As I have traveled outside of the USA, I noticed that eggs are not sold in the refrigerator section of any market and that people didn’t tend to put eggs into their fridge when the get them home.

Have you noticed this and wondered why? Or wondered if you have to refrigerate your eggs? Here’s the answer.