# Lessons on: Traveling Every trip teaches you something. Usually it is the same lesson, rephrased just differently enough that you do not recognize it until you are already mid-mistake. I packed too much. I forgot the _one_ thing that actually mattered. Oh peaches, the showers were worse than expected, and somehow I am still surprised. I started writing these down when I was preparing for a trip back to California in 2024, mostly as a way to stop repeating myself. At some point it seemed worth putting somewhere others could find it, on the off chance it saves someone else the same headache. _**Entries are sorted newest to oldest.**_ ## Athens, GR 2026 **Purpose**: Pleasure and evaluating if we want to live there for a time, or permanently. **Method**: Airplane **Planning**: [[2026 Athens, GR|2026 Athens]] **Backpack**: [[CabinZero Military Backpack 28L]] **Lessons** - ## Chicago, IL 2026 **Purpose**: First solo trip. **Method**: Amtrak **Planning**: [[2026 Chicago, IL]] **Backpack**: [[Kanken Laptop 15]] **Lessons** - ## Reykjavik, IS 2026 **Purpose**: Work for [[Sigrunixia]] **Method**: Airplane **Planning**: [[2026 Reykjavik, IS|2026 Reykjavik]] **Backpack**: [[CabinZero Military Backpack 28L]] **Lessons** - ## Erie, PA 2026 **Purpose**: Work for [[Richard Bishop III|Sarkantu]] **Method**: Airplane **Planning**: [[2026 Erie, PA|2026 Erie]] **Backpack**: [[CabinZero Military Backpack 28L]] **Lessons** - Call ahead and confirm every listed amenity, individually, with a human being. The website said heated pools. There were no pools available, and no hot tub either. :( - Linen takes up too much space and is not sorry about it. Still need to find travel pants that fold small before the next trip. - Sunday closures in the eastern US are not suggestions. Erie shut down hard. Coffee shops, specialty stores, not just restaurants. Plan around Sunday, not into it. Greece and much of Europe treat it the same way, so it is worth adjusting expectations now rather than later. - Brought the camera. Bag stayed zipped the whole trip. The iPhones handled everything without complaint. Leave the dedicated camera home unless the trip is specifically about photography. ([[Lessons on traveling#^hawaii-camera|Also, the irony.]]) ## Bakersfield, CA 2026 **Purpose**: Getting some sun and visiting family. **Method**: Airplane **Planning**: [[2026 Los Angeles, CA|2026 Los Angeles]] **Backpack**: [[Kanken Laptop 15]] **Lessons** - Your relatives do not keep house the way you do. This is not a judgement. Get the hotel anyway. - Planning helped. Most of the enjoyment came from ignoring the plan. Both of these things are **fine**. ## Finland, MN 2025 **Purpose**: [[Birthday]] **Method**: Driving **Planning**: [[2025 Finland, MN]]. **Lessons** - Turn around occasionally to make sure your spouse is still behind you and has not stopped to photograph something seventeen feet back without mentioning it. - October is the start of SAD season for me, and it did not help this trip at all. ## Palm Springs, CA 2025 **Purpose**: Work **Method**: Airplane **Planning**: [[2025 Pioneertown, CA|2025 Pioneertown]] **Lessons** - The AirBnB has what the AirBnB has. Treat its amenities as a pleasant surprise if present, and plan as if they are not. - If you have access to laundry facilities, you have packed too much. This is always true and you will not remember it next time. - A 15" MacBook is not a travel laptop. ## Los Angeles, CA 2024 **Purpose**: Fun **Method**: Airplane **Planning**: [[2024 Los Angeles, CA|2024-Los-Angeles]] For this trip, applying what Hawaii taught me, I committed to a personal item only. No checked bag, no second chance on the things I overpacked. Despite months of research on the subject, I still had not bought a camera. I was also not yet using noise-canceling headphones. Both of these facts were still future problems. **Lessons** - Bring shampoo, conditioner, and lotion. The hotel might have them. It might not. The hotel bathroom is not a store. - We still packed too much. This is a tradition at this point. - We did not pack a long sleeve. It would have been useful. - Talk to the locals when you can. They know things. :) - LAX past security is a miserable walking airport. Factor this in. - Do not assume the showers will be decent. They probably will not be. - Every ounce matters after 20,000 steps. Budget accordingly. - The backpack was too large. A 15-20L would have been right for this trip. - Minimize electronics. Phone and iPad only, unless it is specifically a work trip. - Bring something small and creative to do. - Sort out the bathroom situation before you need it. **Gear purchase or change** - Invest in merino wool clothing for travel. Lighter, packs smaller, less of everything. - Moisture-wicking underclothes are worth it. Look at Ex Officio. ## Hawaii, HI 2024 **Purpose**: Work **Method**: Airplane **Planning**: [[2024 Hawaii, HI|2024 Hawaii]] **Lessons** - Unexpected things will happen. This is always the first lesson and it does not get easier to remember in the moment. - Boeing planes are genuinely uncomfortable. This is not a preference, it is a fact. - On Airbus planes, the exit aisle is excellent for legroom about 99% of the time. Book it. - Window seats make me nauseous. Aisle seat, always. - Ignore the complimentary snacks and bring your own. The ones they give you are not food. - Eat breakfast, even if it is small. You will be grateful for it later. - Do not let the tour people give you a map. You have a phone. Their map is a trap. - Cold showers and no microwaves happen more often than you expect. Adapt. **Gear purchase or change** - Find a travel-friendly camera that does the job without adding real weight. ^hawaii-camera - Pack a single bag. An unexpected layover in Honolulu with extra luggage is not the same trip as one without it. - Invest in lightweight noise-canceling headphones. Corded is fine.