Travel Tools: Leave Your Mark

There are a few sites that let you take a map and place markers on certain cities, countries, etc- to show your readers where you've been- and this is one of them! http://www.wayki.com/

You can see other people's markers as well as cool places to eat, visit, to pick daisies in, or whatever. You can even load photos of things you've seen, like roadside attractions, and send those links to your friends. This is a neat one called 'japanoid cars.' You can leave comments, too! This is neat because, instead of emailing my mom 9 emails with 146 digital photos each, I can just send her a link to my map and load up a handful of pics that she can comment on. This site barely has any markers, so before it become overrun, add your own!

Travel Tips and How To's: The One-Bag Packer

I stumbled on a great site today for helping you pack all your belongings into one bag. I'm serious, I have an awesome retro and vintage luggage collection, but I don't like clutter and I don't like hauling bags through airports.

Also, when I travel with people and somebody asks me to help carry one of their 4 bags, I usually say no [until I feel bad and conceded]. My reasoning? I worked hard to pack all my stuff in one bag just so didn't HAVE to carry more bags, you wanted to bring all that? Then YOU carry it!

Just like in Spaceballs...take only what you need to survive!

So here is the link for the One Bag: One-Page Checklist. The site also has pages on luggage and where to get it, etc- a great resource! I buy stuff through-out the year, I keep travel in the back of my mind so I buy 3/4 sleeve stuff, thin stuff I can layer, simple black sweaters I can dress-up or dress down, etc. And, of course, I do it on a tight, tight budget! Case in point, yesterday I drove by a Bealls store that was closing, so I shopped! I got two shirts.

Observe! Each one was $25, but they were 70% off! I paid like $7 for both of them!
[That's my industrial strength hair-dryer, and I can't-live-without-it!!]

Travel Ease: Crystal Clear

Do you get DailyCandy? If you don't then you should. Check out this awesomeness I received a while ago...funny thing is I actually HAD Clear, but you have to renew it yearly, which I forgot to do...so I don't have it anymore. Bummer!

Travel in Style: Airbus


Since the Concorde doesn't take flight anymore- I guess that's what multiple crashes will do to ya...the world is waiting to see the Airbus! Faster than a speeding bullet, stronger than a steel train...um...comfier than a cloud?

Honestly, I had a blast on the regular Virgin Airlines flight- they give so much free stuff! Everyone got their own TV with movies and video games and music, it was fantastic! We wanted to get seats together, since Grant bought his tickets separately, though we could have used SeatGuru.

Here is a great link to take a virtual tour of the Airbus: http://www.airbus.com/en/aircraftfamilies/cabin_showroom/360_degrees_views/ACJ.htm

SeatGuru is a neat site that lets you take a peak at your flight- you can see the kind of plane you'll be on, what movies will be playing, and you can of course pick your seat! It really is an awesome online tool and it's great for loonnggg flights, too- that way you can look forward to your online movies, and not be surprised by 'Because of Winn Dixie'...

which, by the way, is an alright movie...I saw it on the way to Paris- and back. Yep, twice.

Travel Buyables: Video Cameras

I'm an old-fashioned girl. I wish I had a bike, I have a car full of cassettes labeled things like '50's favorites!' and 'Bandstand Charttoppers' and I still use my 35 mm camera. My friends have digital cameras, and they're great! I just honestly believe nothing beats a crisp roll of black and white photographs.

What my camera doesn't have? Video-capturing capabilities, and this leaves me fuming. Check-out some of the stuff Andrew and Kevin got on our trip to Europe.

Kevin at Gatwick airport, part one:
Kevin at Gatwick airport, part two:
We visit the Eiffel Tower: