I recently got back from a two week trip to Japan traveling with my family - husband and toddler. We went to Osaka, Nara, Kyoto, and Tokyo. I thought I extensively researched ahead of time ... Not even close! Here is what I wish I had known before going.

Firstly, a video specific to traveling Japan with a toddler (or even a crawling baby):

https ( Read more... )

Picture a chair with an ottoman. Any chair with its matching ottoman. If you cannot picture one, I've got an assortment of images for you. We have it in mind? Good!

At what height is the top of the ottoman with regard to the height of the surface on which you sit your butt?

You won the game if you said, "The same height, J. The same height."

And ( Read more... )

Let's talk decanting into travel toiletry packages for a second. Did you know that you need less than 2 mL of liquid roll on deodorant for a week long trip? Did you know that you can leave the bulky roller ball at home if you decant it into a tiny dropper bottle to apply with your fingertips?

I did!

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I don't know who needs to hear this, but 0.7 mm mechanical pencil lead, carefully controlled, can be used to pop out a SIM tray. #traveltips 

... it was FABULOUS! We used 0.86 gallons of gas for the entire 7 hours we were asleep, and the climate controls kept the car at a comfortable 73F. We calculated that at $3/gallon, that's about $3 for a pleasant night of sleep for the both of us.

We both woke, completely refreshed, at a more normal hour to be awake. The Significant Other, who did ( Read more... )

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12 Hours 45 Minutes Down, 1 Hour 15 Minutes To Go

Luckily, there was a nearby park and we headed there without any plan of what we wanted to accomplish. I was thinking that we might sit on benches. But when we got to the park there were a lot of people with flashlights gathered around tables having animated conversations in Mandarin. The ( Read more... )

... And then it was morning. Wednesday. Our day of 14 hours of go-go-go NYC action.

The Significant Other woke from sleep at 6:30 am thanks to the rising temperatures in the Prius as the sun was up and had taken it upon itself to heat up the world. We had an 8 am appointment in NYC to slide the car into the valet garage we'd scored on SpotHero ( ( Read more... )

... And then it was morning. Tuesday.

I was summoned from slumber by my alarm that I'd forgotten to silence on my phone. It was waking me for the work I didn't have to attend. Luckily, it woke only me as Significant Other was sleeping on a different surface, the couches being only single-wide and all.

I snuck past my host and into the ensuite (and ( Read more... )

I had a week off of work and Connecticut CouchSurfing was throwing a CouchCrash that coincided; I listened to the universe and made a point to attend. I was going to bring my live-in significant other and we started pricing out all the travel options that would get us to Connecticut in time for the CouchCrash and then me back home in time for work ( Read more... )

You know the old Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy saw about always travel with a towel? Well, if you run hot naturally and fancy a square one that you cannot use as a blanket (that's not me), a shemagh will do you.

Not only can it be used as a hat, a scarf, a dust mask, a small sitting blanket, a bag via furoshiki knotting techniques, a pillow ( Read more... )