Carry On Only

It's travel season, what are we packing?

Hi friends,

We’re back and we’re talking travel. It’s the season for long lines at TSA and hopefully, some fun trips! I love a quick weekend trip and of course, a laptop free getaway and travel brings out strong opinions. Whether it’s a specific airport lounge, an airport arrival schedule, or the “best” airline, people have their favorites. I think this is mostly because air travel is so miserable (the government could do much more to regulate and make air travel safer and better) that it’s become necessary to hack or gamify it and pay for upgrades to have a remotely pleasant experience. I don’t like that and stubbornly bristle at things like TSA precheck or expensive credit cards with lounge access because I think everyone who buys a ticket should have a smooth and humane experience, not just those who can spend hundreds extra and have good credit. Will I eventually cave at some point after a particularly miserable experience? Probably, but I will do so begrudgingly.

Baby Abigail on a great trip to San Cristobal de las Casas. We took a long bus ride there.

Of course, train travel is great and I love a road trip playlist. I love looking out an airplane window at a sunset, a skyline, an ocean or a mountain and remembering how we’re tiny specks on a floating rock. I love listening to one song on repeat, watching a movie with no sense of time, reading a book with utter focus, and eating a little bag of pretzels.

In the past few years, I’ve found a few travel rituals that make the experience better. I’d love to hear yours and I’m in the market for a new personal item (I have the Beis weekender and don’t like the way it closes or how the strap feels)! I’ve heard good things about Dagne Dover and Calpak and am interested in having less shoulder pain after a day of lugging things.