There are some essential things that we have learned to pack for every summer trip. These are the don't-leave-home-without-them kind of things.
- Passports - this summer we spent a ton of money just to get visas in our passports to travel to China and Vietnam. Sending your passport to Washington D.C. for visas and HOPING you get it back is a little stressful.....but the company GenVisa did a great job and was very helpful.
- Acer Aspire One Netbook - how would we ever keep up this blog without a mini-laptop? It's got a perfect sized 10.1" LED display, Wi-Fi, and 160 GB to hold all of our backup photos. I prefer this to my iPad for vacations.
- Canon PowerShot SX40 - this powerful camera came in super handy for all of our safari trips in Africa last summer. This Canon has a high powered 35x Wide-Angle Optical Zoom (24-840mm) with Optical Image Stabilizer delivering magnificent images whether up close or far away. The smaller point-and-shoot cameras are great for most shots, but you have to have one of these big boys to really capture it all!
- Panasonic Lumix DMC-SZ7 - we needed to replace our smaller point-and-shoot Sony camera after last summer. After researching the internet, this Panasonic camera was highly recommended and well-reviewed by all sites. It actually doubles the zoom of our last camera, delivering 10x optical zoom. Easy to slide in a pocket and take with you wherever you go!
- Capitol One Credit Card - if you ever travel to a foreign country....here's a little tip! With these credit cards you never have to pay those pesky foreign transaction fees. Trust me, after coming back from our trips....it's mind-boggling how much those fees really add up to be! Save yourself some money.....and use it to buy me a beer for that great tip!
- Phone - it sure comes in handy when you're lost, homesick, or heaven forbid.....mugged! It's not cheap to call home, but Jenesa has to check-in at least once a week with the parents. :)
- International Adapters - almost impossible to charge your electronics if you forget to carry these adapters with you on a trip to a foreign country. On this trip, we'll need 4 different adapters to plug in our electronics: 1) China, 2.) Hong Kong, 3.) Asia, and 4.) Japan.
- A Good Book - this summer Jenesa is addicted to the Nicholas Sparks novels. I'm not sure which one she's bagging for our trip, but she just bought three last week! I just finished the latest Dan Brown book (Inferno)....so I managed to snag one of his first books (Deception Point) that I haven't read yet! I think 736 pages should keep me busy on our 15 hour flights!
- Alarm Clock - we always carry our own alarm clock with us everywhere! We have learned 2 things over the last few trips 1.) never trust a clock (or the alarm) in hotel rooms, and 2.) never trust the front desk for a wakeup call each morning.
- Luggage Scale - some airlines are so picky about a few pounds! We have been asked several times to remove things from our luggage to maintain the 50lb luggage rule at the airport. It gets so annoying that we wound up buying a luggage scale. It hooks to the handle of your suitcase and then I lift the scale (and suitcase) up to determine the weight.
