ABOUT US: I am retired aircrew and have visited some 80 countries. Since we retired ten years ago we have travelled in over 60 countries, have had resort holidays in Hawaii and Mexico, done Mardi Gras in Orleans; have been on fourteen cruises (eleven salt-water and three European riverboat cruises); a bus tour of the Adriatic; motored from Ottawa to Vancouver to Colorado and back to Ontario, flown to the West Coast over 25 times and Colorado five times.(Click here to see where my travels have taken me.)
PROBLEMS: We have experienced the following problems in the past twenty years. In Buenos Aires I had my main suitcase go missing between my ship cabin and the dock, a distance of a few hundred metres. We were robbed by Gypsies in Rome while boarding the subway. Our daughter's purse was snaked out from under her seat in a café booth in New York City. Burglars tried to break into our house under circumstances that indicated they had been watching for us to leave for the afternoon. My suitcase took three days longer to get to Edmonton than I did, and and our baggage two days longer to get to Colorado Springs than we did. In Zagreb, I shook hands with a Gypsy lady in my own pocket! (On the brighter side, they didn't get into our house, my bag was in my hotel in BA by suppertime, and the Gypsies didn't get anything of great value.)
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IN CONCLUSION: As seniors we have lots of "seniors' moments" and could easily forget to pack required items. However, as aircrew, I am accustomed to do things by checklist, so we have developed some very handy checklists that have helped to reduce the packing panic and also help us to leave on short notice when a bargain is available. We are not independently wealthy so we economize where we can so that we can take more trips rather than luxury trips. Our checklists do not, of course, include the many additional items we would need if we were travelling with children. But as a guide to things that anyone should consider, they can form the basis for customizing your own lists.These master lists are made for car trips, flights and cruises and all seasons - I simply delete the non-applicable items before I print the list. (Obviously we don't take a Koolatron refrigerator on a flight, or make snow clearing arrangements in July) Hint, don't save the list after making the deletions or you will lose your master list! | |
It would be hard to find a more exhaustive rundown on packing than www.onebag.com. It offers pages of comprehensive, specific packing tips, all geared to get you off the ground and on your way without having to check luggage. Some imaginative ideas from the site:
- Always carry dental floss. In-flight knitters can use the cutter for yarn; in a pinch it can be tied around zipper pulls as a temporary bag lock; and our favourite -- tie a piece around a dripping faucet and arrange it so that the water runs down the floss and stops making noise.
- A sarong can be many things. A dress, a skirt, a shawl, a hat. "It also functions as a sheet, beach/picnic/airline blanket, towel, tote/laundry bag, shower/window curtain, pillowcase, changing room, tablecloth, and more."
- Likewise, a bandanna: "A large cotton bandanna can serve as a neck/head scarf, headband, hat (knot each of the corners), halter top (for the sufficiently thin), sun shade (hung French Foreign Legion style from the crown of a hat, or low over the brow in front; also from a rolled-up car window as a mini-curtain), napkin, handkerchief, dust mask, sun/sleep mask, tablecloth, seating mat, towel, washcloth, scrub rag, bandage, tourniquet, hot pad, cold/wet compress, short cord, toothbrush, fly swatter, etc."
© The Ottawa Citizen 2008
CHECKLISTSIf you would like to look at someone else's idea of check lists, try Real Simple Travel OTHER TIPS |
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