Stuff we couldn't live/leave without

As we prepared for our trip there was some "stuff" we just couldn't live/leave without. Since room is always at a premium when packing for international travel, we need to make sure that everything we bring along are things that we love. Here are some of the items which will most assuredly find their way onto our packing list.

First off we knew we'd be spending hours and hours on an international flight so comfort comes to mind. We already know that economy travel on modern day airlines trumps any of the tortures developed during the Spanish Inquisition, so we have to be prepared and do what we can to minimize the extreme discomfort.

We have already gone over purchasing United's Economy-Plus seats in an earlier entry (a small price to pay for the ability to move ones legs), but there are a couple of items we acquired to help soften the blow even more (literally).

One of the first things we purchased was a pair of travel pillows. It's not like we're letting anyone in on a fast tip here, travel pillows have been around for a long long time and seem to be more popular than ever. It's impossible to visit any airport and not see dozens of people walking around with their pillows draped around their necks, as if they might need to fall asleep at a moments notice. But although the travel pillow is a known commodity, the ones we chose are the creme de la creme of pillows. I love researching things, and the "Aeris Memory Foam Travel Pillow" got rave reviews from just about everyone who has used them. Not only are they amazingly comfortable (knock on wood, I'm just quoting a review here...) but the foam allows you to actually stuff them in a cute little stuff sack so you don't have to walk around like an idiot with your pillow draped around your neck. The niftty package also includes ear plugs and a sleep mask that would be the envy of Mrs. Thurston Howell the third!

The next item we can't live without (anyway we're pretty sure we can't, I mean we haven't actually used them yet, but you know what I mean...) are the Therm-a-Rest Lite Seats. These 11x15" compact 3 ounce seats are self-inflating and roll up to the size of a small ball of socks and fit into a cool little tube for storage.
I know, I know...you're thinking, "but David, aren't airline seats comfortable enough already"?

To which I say, anything can be improved on; and the thought of adding some extra cushion to those already plush seats on a nine hour flight sounds like a no-brainer. These too tested out with very high marks from people reviewing them, and having backpacked with therm-a-rest products on numerous occasions we can also vouch for the quality of this companies products. Another added benefit of both the travel pillow and the lite seats is that they will come in extremely handy on the hours and hours of train travel we have scheduled.

OK, we'll admit it, we can sometimes become a little attached to our laptops and the internet. Hey, it's a pretty handy tool, right? Not only do we find it hard to travel without a laptop, we also are old, and old people don't like to work on teeny tiny devices, so our laptop is big, HUGE by modern day standards. It's an HP 17.3" Envy, and I must admit it's nice to look at things on a screen larger than a postal stamp sometimes. Well we're taking it gosh darn it! We actually DO use it though; we research travel destinations and tourist sites, write our blog on it, write emails, upload pictures to it, etc. etc. We have found that traveling with a computer just helps to enhance our ability to take good pictures. It not only allows you to cull photos that don't meet your expectations, but to view them at the end of the day to see just exactly what you captured through your viewfinder. It's amazing the things that you'll find in the image that you weren't aware were there while taking the photo.

Next on our list of "Can't leave home without it" is our iPhone 7. Do I really have to tell you why? Well, being that I am writing a blog I guess I should provide some content...We will use our iPhone to "call home" of course, take brilliant pictures and videos, text our friends, and aid us in navigation and in mobile connection to the internet.

Now since iPhone's are somewhat fragile and extremely spendy, it's a good idea, especially when traveling, to house your phone in a quality case. After doing some research we decided on the UAG "Urban Armor Gear" Monarch case. Handcrafted with five layers of protection: top-grain leather, a poly-carbonate shear plate, armor shell, alloy metal hardware, and impact-resistant rubber. Coupled with a ultra thin high impact glass screen protector, our phone is about as safe from damage as we can make it.

Books are heavy. Traveling with half a dozen novels would be kinda dumb, so we are bringing our Kindle Fire HD. This allows us to download as many novels and travel books as we could possibly read during our six week trip. It also will come in handy as a back-up way to access the internet. We realized that the iPhone's screen is so clear, that reading on it actually is quite nice so it will free us up to leave one of our readers at home and still allow us to both read if the mood strikes us.

One of the things we really enjoy about traveling is the opportunity to capture the experience through photography. Not only does it allow you to bring home priceless memories of a trip, but it also is a great hobby for a traveler. Another thing photography does during an extended trip is it helps tie everything together upon your return with a visual road map of people, places and things that you have encountered along the way.

The opportunities to explore the world visually opens up when you have a camera. You start to look at things a little bit differently when you start composing pictures. We find ourselves taking half a dozen photos and when we edit them we realize that only one or two are worth a damn. We like to hand the camera back and forth and take pictures of the same thing, because it's amazing just how much variation there we will be in how we go about composing the same shot. Everyone looks at the world a little differently, and that really comes through in photography.

Cannon G12
We spent a lot of time trying to figure out what would work for us as far as finding a digital camera that was not only small enough not to discourage us from always having it on hand, but making sure it was also a serious enough camera capable of  capturing quality images. After having done a lot of homework we settled on the Cannon G12 and it hasn't been a disappointment. It's light enough to carry around your neck without being a burden, but structurally sound enough to make it feel like a serious camera. It takes beautiful pictures and the color is spot on, and on top of that it doubles as a HD video camera with crystal clear sound. The G12 is so loaded with technological perks that it's going to be great just playing around with it to see everything it has to offer. Last but not least it is VERY user friendly. It can be as simple or as complicated as you like. Functioning equally well as a no-nonsense auto point and shoot to a completely manual camera allowing for any number of setting changes. We love it!

 

So where are they going to pack all of those marvelous yet fragile electronics you may be asking yourself? Is there some sort of ingenious backpack where all of these items could be stored safely and still be accessible? Funny you should ask!

The Everki Titan Laptop backpack is checkpoint friendly, opening up 180 degrees. It has an ultra-soft padded laptop compartment which accommodates up to an 18.4" laptop, a dedicated soft fine-felt lined iPad/Kindle/Tablet pocket, along with numerous other zippered pockets and storage areas to meet all of our needs.

So now that we have all of our gear packed into our two suitcases along with this wonderful backpack, how do we secure them during those times when they're out in the open and exposed to crimes of opportunity.

These two TSA approved locks by Lewis and Clark will not stop a determined thief, but for protecting our bags from snatch and runs or when your bags are sitting next to you in an airport or in the luggage rack of a train or bus they provide a deterrent for would be criminals. Let them pick the bags that are left unsecured.

Wintering on Lopez

Jerani and I have been spending a laid-back fall and winter on Lopez Island in the San Juan Island chain in Washington's northwest corner.

Many wealthy and famous people have owned homes on this gorgeous 30 square mile island including Microsoft's co-founder and Seattle Seahawk and Portland Trailblazer owner Paul Allen, the singer Jewell, and actor Tom Skerritt, just to name a few. We are not wealthy or famous. Hmmm...I know there's some kind of moral here, but I'm not sure what it is. The truth is, it's a lovely island and people like to live here.

Lopez is a pretty sleepy community with a population of just over 2000 that plummets with the onset of Fall and Winter.

Lopez resident

It's just beautiful here and my sister and her family were kind enough to let us stay in their cabin that is perched right on the edge of a hundred foot cliff with views over the San Juan's and to the Olympic Mountains.

Lopez Cabin looking towards Shaw Island

Looking south off the cabins deck towards the Olympic Mountains

Looking west off the cabin's deck towards San Juan Island

That's the positive side of things, the negative spin is that the cabin is heated with a wood stove only so Jerani and I are like two soot covered street urchins from the Medieval world scurrying about trying to come up with enough wood to get us through each day, groveling in front of the fire trying to warm our weary bones. Well it might not be that dramatic, but it's not as romantic as it sounds either. I'll tell you, it just isn't easy to heat a cabin with thirty foot high ceilings in the great room with just one wood stove and a 28 degree temperature outside with 25 mph winds! Got a little BBbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....cold sometimes.

One thing we've been concentrating on during our time on the Island is living a more healthy life style and working on losing weight. Lopez is great for this as it has a very health food oriented, granola, tree-huggy atmosphere which has served us well.

We have started eating much healthier with an eye towards non-GMO and organic foods. We have also cut out carbohydrates from our diet for the most part, and we are eating much smaller portions. All in all we are focusing on smaller quantities of  healthy food. That can't be a bad thing, right?

Blossom Grocery

Blossom Grocery on Lopez has been a great healthy food source for us with a great selection of organic and non-GMO items.

Iceburg Point

On top of eating right we have also been walking every day, averaging about two miles a day. Lopez has a litany of beautiful places to walk with different levels of difficulty, from flat road walks to steep hills.

We have pushed ourselves to walk in all types of weather too, not letting rain, sleet or snow deter us, sort of like healthy mailmen.

Spencer Spit State Park. Jerani and I got married right where this picture was taken 32 years ago!

Now that winter is winding down we are becoming anxious to spread our wings and take the ferry away from this small piece of paradise and head out into the real world. Although we will miss the quiet and solitude it will be nice to have a few more options available to us.

Friday Harbor Ferry Landing

Travel Logistics. Making plans and preparations on your own. (Part 2.)

Driving through Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France 

Now that you've found some interesting short term vacation rentals during your stay in (insert country of choice here), it's time to start thinking about how you're going to get around once you arrive.

Airfares-To book the best airfare it's a good idea to do it as far in advance as you can. Get familiar with what the average prices are by doing a bunch of searches online over several weeks. Keep doing it and we've found that if there are regularly prices for $300 you can find one super cheap by doing a search on a Tuesday instead of a weekend day. We found a price for one ticket to London for $150. The return from Paris was $220. Make sure to pay attention to the times of departure and the layover length. Critical to get what works for you. No one wants a 24 hour layover in Istanbul! (Maybe back in the day, but not so much anymore) After we booked our super cheap economy seats we upgraded them to Premium Economy which will be well worth the reasonable price. You would pay double that DURING the flights to upgrade, believe us.

Airport Transfers-We will be staying at a friend's house about 30 minutes from PDX and normally we park our car in long term economy parking for a vacation, but if we did that for six weeks it's around $400. More than our flight dang it. So we are parking the car at our friend's house (Thanks Pat and Andy!!!) and have found an amazing new airport transfer service that is in cities all over the world. It's called Blacklane. We booked a trip online and they are supposed to pick us up! It is very reasonable and cashless so you don't have to make sure you have tip money for the driver. It's all included in the price.

After booking with Blacklane for our airport transfers from PDX we started thinking about what we were going to do in London. Take three different transportation methods to get to our apartment near the Imperial Wharf, all while hauling all that luggage? While of course we COULD do that, it just doesn't sound fun or very smart, so we looked up the Blacklane fare and it was only $70. Done deal! Now we will be met outside of baggage claim by a friendly Blacklane driver with a little sign that says "Horne" and he will deliver us in a fancy black car to our stunning apartment in London. No brainer!!! (We will review them after our trips and we'll see how it actually goes. This is all in theory of course.)

Our Renault rental in Brittany, France. We drove it close to 1000 kilometers!

We aren't renting a car on this trip but it's a great way to see the countryside that isn't served by rail or bus. There are lots of good companies to choose from. We've used the Renault Eurodrive before and had good luck but make sure you have your paperwork with you. Make sure you have contact phone numbers and clear instructions about how to pick up and return the vehicle. Also make sure you understand the insurance coverages. A policy that covers the car completely is best. Including loss of revenue from loss of rental when the car goes in for repairs from a crash. Talk with your insurance agent before you go and have a valid US license or you are out of luck. We've done that before! Got to Hawaii and went to pick up our rental car and neither of us had valid driver's licenses! Caused a bit of stress but Avis came to our rescue there.

Renault Eurodrive/Europcar, Hertz, AutoEurope, and Avis are some International Car rental agencies. And don't be worried about driving on the wrong side of the road. Look up some You Tube videos on the subject and there are lots of hilarious videos of people driving in England for the first time. Just relax and realize it's scary for everyone. You can use Google Maps to look at the roads at street level and it helps to get familiarized with where you're going before you even get there.

David checking the map somewhere in central France-Ah, the joys of International Car Rentals!

Train Travel- We're traveling together all the time so we can buy a Two Together Railcard and use it when we book train fares to save 1/3 off the fares. It's a great deal if you're going to be going on a lot of train trips. Bring 2 passport size photos with you because they need them to issue the photo rail card.

London Oyster Card-
Oyster is a plastic smartcard which can hold pay as you go credit, Travelcards and Bus & Tram Passes. You can use an Oyster card to travel on bus, Tube, tram, DLR, London Overground, TfL

Rail, Emirates Air Line, River Bus services and most National Rail services in London

Getting around London- There is a great App called Citimapper. You can put in where you are and tell it where you want to go and it will give you a walking, bike, or transit option. It gives the distance and time and tells you which transportation is faster. It also will alert you to get off at the right stop and gives instructions to walk to a different platform to catch a different bus or train, etc. It also keeps track of work or strikes that affect transportation times and gives you alternates. It's a marvelous tool and we can't wait to use it! Outside of London just do a search for bus transportation in the area you want to visit. Then find their website and find the links to routes and times and stops for planning. It will also talk about fares and how to pay.

This is how we get around and it's worked pretty well. Once in awhile there's a misadventure but those are the stories you tell over and over and are the most fun to look back on.

Travel Logistics. Making plans and preparations on your own. (Part 1.)

So you've been thinking about traveling, visiting some of the places you've always yearned to explore. You'd like to try something a little different this time, to break away from the usual all inclusive cruise or the hum-drum hotel experience, but the fear of the unknown is holding you back. "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown"-HP Lovecraft

Logistics. The careful organization of a complicated activity so that it happens in a successful manner. This is the part of travel preparation that can be daunting. It's what leads people to choose a planned tour or book a standard hotel room. It's the difference between taking a shore excursion off a cruise ship and driving a rented fiat down the Amalfi Coast. On one hand you have everything prearranged for you, with all of the nit-picky little details worked out in advance, a calming homogenized experience. On the other, you deal with personally procuring a vehicle in a town where no one speaks your language and then driving said vehicle down a twisty narrow road with five hundred foot drops to the sea. A gritty, sometimes harrowing experience. Ah, the difference between travel and adventure.

Now we'd be the first to confess that we are not the type of travelers who hitchhike to Machu Picchu and then hang glide down to the village below in time to have a stylized tattoo of Pachamama rendered on our calf by a local Shaman. We're not that kind of adventurers.

Off the beaten path-Venice

But we do like to get off the beaten path once in awhile, and we try to experience the places we travel to in a little bit more intimate way, and to do that it takes forward thinking, planning...logistics.

So let's look into some ways you might be able to make your next trip into a little less of a vacation and a little more of an adventure.

Airbnb, Homeaway , Flipkey and VRBO:
These are but a handful of the short term rental sites available to you. With all of the different rentals available now in every part of the world it's an exciting way to break free from the standard Double Tree by Hilton room that looks and feels the same no matter what part of the world you find yourself. Renting a room or a house from a private party half way across the world takes a bit of planning and screening, but most of these sites are well equipped to guide you through the myriad of choices available using customer ratings, detailed descriptions and photos. In our travels we have stayed on a one hundred acre copra farm on Vanua Levu in the Fijian Islands, a stone cottage sitting on top of a four hundred foot bluff in Saint-Cirq-Lapope, France, a house with a dock and pool on Palm Island in Florida, a houseboat in Amsterdam, a cabin in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho, an apartment over a canal in Venice and a half timbered home off a cobbled street in Dinan, France.

Siga Siga Plantation, Vanua Levu, Fiji

Patio of the stone cottage in Saint-Cirq-Lapope, France

Plantation Cottage, Maui, Hawaiian Islands

View from our 19th century Venice Apartment rental along the Rio di San Girolamo

Half Timbered frame House rental Dinan, France

Gearhart Cabin, Oregon Coast

Palm Island, Florida

17th Century Cottage in Saint-Cirq-Lapope, France

These are just a few of the places we've found to stay during our travels, and the great thing about them was they are almost always less expensive than booking a room in a standard hotel. On top of that they are usually self catering, meaning they have kitchen facilities. This allows you to live a little more like a local, be able to take advantage of the local markets, and not always having to rely on restaurants for your meals.

Twenty five days and counting!

We are getting close to taking off for our six week adventure to the United Kingdom and Paris and we are starting to get excited! 

Now that our February 28th departure date is right around the corner the reality of tying up all of loose ends and the innumerable little details is starting to become mission critical. Current passports, check. New VISA without foreign transaction fees, check. London "Oyster Card", check. VRBO and Airbnb reservations, check, etc. etc. The list goes on and on and although it's sometimes nice to just wing it, the reality of modern travel is that you'd best have all of your ducks in a row before you leave to try to minimize the amount of panic and angst you're sure to undergo once you reach your destination. 

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”Benjamin Franklin. I know Jerani would often rather have me go by the quote “Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans." Allen Saunders But I'm a realist and I know enough to understand my limitations and how to make the best use of my low level OCD. In any case, it surely doesn't hurt to know things like when your flight gets in, and how you'll get from point A to point B. All the other stuff in-between will be daunting enough to muddle through as it is; no use making it that much more difficult on yourself when so much can be easily researched from the comfort of your couch back home.

 So having done the lions share of our planning during the past four months from the safety of home, our itinerary is all set as well as all of our flights and we've also booked passage on one overnight ferry and one train trip from Amsterdam to Paris. We have also made reservations to stay at three Airbnb vacation rentals, one VRBO rental, one private party vacation rental, one Inn and one hotel.     We arrive in London on March 1st and spend twelve days in a brand new Airbnb apartment near the River Thames in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. We have never been to London, or the United Kingdom for that matter, and we are very excited to visit the myriad of museums and soak in the history and ambiance and to see all that there is to see. 

After leaving London we we take a train and head to the tiny village of Llanfaes on the Island of Anglesey in Northwest Wales. We have rented "The Smithy", a 16th Century actual smithy that has been converted into a beautiful vacation rental. 

After four days in Wales we take a train to York, England where we will spend the next four days exploring this enchanting walled city and the beautiful Yorkshire countryside beyond. York is a city rich in history. The first inhabitants were Mesolithic people from around 7000 BC, the Romans occupied the city in 41 AD, the Anglo-Saxons ruled in Northumbria from the 5th century, and the Vikings settled here in the 9th century, naming the town Jorvik.

The "Shambles" is a pedestrian only section of the old city of York and one of the best preserved medieval neighborhoods in Europe. We look forward to poking around the tight little warren and half timbered building. 

York still retains most of the original defensive wall that encircles the old town, along with an ancient Norman castle and a stunning Gothic Cathedral. We are going to be staying in a VRBO vacation rental just outside the old town on popular Bishy Road, the winner of the "Best British High Street" award in 2015. Bishy Road is known for it's great cafes and eclectic shops and we will be staying in a walk-up above a small flower shop. 

Our walk-up apartment on Bishy Street

Our next destination is the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh. We will take up residence for nine days in the luxurious confines of the "Wee Palace", a gorgeous Airbnb apartment located in the Grassmarket in the old town, with outstanding views of Edinburgh Castle. 

View out our window at the Wee Palace

The Wee Palace Apartment takes up the entire top floor of this historic building in the Medieval Grassmarket in Old Town Edinburgh. Scotland is someplace I have always yearned to visit. My middle name is "Craighead", my mothers maiden name, and my roots run deep in the area near Edinburgh and the Firth of Fouth. I have also learned recently after looking into my fathers family history that the name "Horne" goes back generations in the small coastal villages just south of St. Andrews, Scotland. On top of that we just uncovered the fact that Jerani's last name "Queen" is also a well known name in Scotland with strong ties to the Isle of Sky off the western coast. So what do you know, we are both of Scottish decent, and this is something of a homecoming for us.

Arthur's Seat looming high above the Edinburgh Skyline

After our time in Edinburgh we head over to Glasgow and board the famous "West Highland Line" and take what has been described as one of the most scenic train trips in the world. The route passes through some of the most remote parts of the Scottish Highlands and arrives five and a half hours later in the secluded fishing port of Mallaig.

The West Highland Line passes through dramatic mountainous landscape, along vertical-sided lochs and winds it's way past lonely heather covered moors. Along the way the train stops at some of the smallest and most remote stations in Scotland and all of the United Kingdom.

Once we arrive in Mallaig we will stay for two days in the one hundred year old Chlachain Inn. We are psyched to get the chance to dine on one of the areas seafood delicacies, Langoustines! Commonly refereed to as the Norwegian Lobster, these wonderful little crustaceans are plentiful and unbelievably economical in this coastal town. We look to unwind, catch our breath and take in the austere beauty of this far off outpost.

The Chlachain Inn 

Langoustines!