I have logged some miles on flights and been a road warrior more than my fair share. Both a travel lover and someone who literally never lives in the same state as any other family member or any of my best girlfriends from my 20s and 30s, it is imperative. So, here are my essential carry on items for traveling so I'm always jet set ready!
I kind of hate that I’ve become this annoying, high-maintenance traveler. Gone are the days of running to the airport hungover with whatever I tossed in my bag at the last second. Now I’m that lady, and I don’t think there is any turning back. That's why I am prepared with a kind of "set it and forget it" approach.
Let's start by doing yourself a favor. Download the FlightView app. If you don't read any further, just finding this app is worth it. You will now have updates to your flights before your airline even knows it. For real it is magical. You just pop in your flight details (or those of whoever you are supposed to pick up at the airport) and you will see the estimated time of take off, arrival, what gate you are arriving and departing from, your bag carousel number, you name it- FOR EVERY AIRLINE. Mind blown right?! One app, all airlines, always correct and usually faster than your airline’s app. It has given me a minute or two head start on rebooking when flights have been canceled and a heads up that I better get my ass to the airport when guests are arriving early (which oddly happens all the time into Boise). This is one of those times I really like technology.
Carry on motion sickness essentials. Stupid right?! Well after a couple of pregnancies I can’t even turn around to look in the backseat of a car without getting a little woozy (seriously) and forget about riding the backseat if there is a hint of any curvy terrain. I got the cutest, little hand bag made from my talented friend in Italy and always have Dramamine, Sea Band wrist guards and the essential oil you stick behind your ears. I’m not sure the last two do anything, but I’m a mind over matter girl and what’s it going to hurt anyway. I also throw an eye cover in there in hopes I might actually fall asleep.
In a separate little bag I throw in my travel snacks. I always include a Luna Bar, some nuts and a pack of gum. Nothing that takes up too much room, but saves me from lines and dumb prices at the airport and my gut (see sensitivities above) from getting ruined before I intentionally ruin it with more booze and rich foods than usual wherever I’m going.
Plane Playlist. This is making me sound so neurotic, but it’s 100% worth it. On a plane I like to either read or look out the window and reflect. Something about traveling makes me go inward a bit and think a bit deeper about stuff, so my playlist reflects that and is soft enough that I can read to it. Think Harry Styles, a whole lot of Ray LaMontagne, some soft Billie Eillish, Lady Gaga, T Swift and a touch of Norah Jones. It’s got me contemplating life and day dreaming above the clouds just thinking about it.
Travel socks because my tootsies get cold and I can’t handle it (I've earned my nickname Frigid Bitch)! Just toss a soft, fluffy pair in your carry on. Unapologetically be that person.
A wearable blanket. My husband coined this term when he realized I just really like clothes that are actually blankets. Blankets disguised at giant scarves, ponchos, kimonos, you name it. Because once again, being cold sucks!
A functional carry on. I've clearly got a lot of stuff I want right at my fingertips so a great bag is essential. There are other, nicer versions of this type of bag that are more of an investment, but this one gets the job done for an inexpensive Amazon find. Fits right over your suitcase handle, which is essential in and of itself. Great size, right pockets, zipper, you name it.
Packable duffle bag- aka the “Just in Case Suitcase”. I’m super thrifty and hate paying for or lugging around a full size suitcase when I don’t need to. Often times I can fit everything in a carry on pretty easy on the way to my destination, but then the shopping happens (if you’ve ever been to a Von Maur you know what I’m talking about) and I love knowing I can check a bag on the way back. No biggie. No stress about if it will all fit. I can now buy all the things (and feel like I’ve saved money because I didn’t get charged for a large suitcase on the way there. Tricky huh?!)
Once again- another little bag. I know this seems annoying, but they are already packed and on-the-ready for any trip, so you do this once and it makes packing for all trips so much easier. I have a little medicine bag with essentials to tie me (or the kids) over when someone gets sick mid-flight, middle of the night in a foreign country or when our systems are jacked when we’re on the way back from our fun times. Mine usually includes some sort of combo with Pepto chews (always Pepto chews), an allergy pill or two, a cold and flu pill, a couple of teas like throat coat, a cough drop or two, Advil and Tylonel PMs (which my sister refers to as my “little dolls” like I’m some drug addict) because I also sleep shitty when I’m not in my own bed now. Hemorrhoid cream (because I’m a 44 year old with IBS), eye drops and travel sized Aquaphor that will heal all else.
My trusty Packing List that I print off before each and every trip to make sure I haven’t missed something.
White noise app. Sharing a room with a snoring friend or just in general a light sleeper? Block out all that new and unsettling noise. My favorite free app is the White Noise from the photo above and it has a ton of awesome options for whatever you like- rain, ocean, crickets, fan, jungle or if you are like me, just boring old “brown noise”.
And for the love of God unless you are headed straight to a mimosa brunch when you get off the plane, dress cozy! There are SO many cute, comfy outfits now. Hello Vuori! Check out this post for some great athleisure options.
Side note- let’s Babble about some horrible travel stories. The kind of stories that force you to just be more prepared in the future and turn you into the neurotic, annoying, old travel lady I am now. Let’s start with my honeymoon…
Thomas and I spent a week in Spain for our honeymoon and it was wonderful! Sleeping late, sharing tapas and giant pans of paella, sightseeing and our first international trip as a married couple. That was until the very last night. We had an early flight back home in the morning dropping Thomas off in London on the way so he could finish up his masters program in Scotland. Being the super, over planners we are, we decided to hit all of our favorite tapas restaurants from the week one last time, sharing our favorite dish at each and some sangria. We would pay in all cash, using up what Euro we had, leaving just enough for our bus tickets to the airport in the morning. Brilliant.
Well something hit me, and it hit me hard. I think it was the mushrooms but I’ll never know for sure. I spent the last night of my honeymoon in my cute little white neglige puking out one end and shitting out the other. Simultaneously. In between bouts there were a couple of laughs about “in sickness and in health” but we stopped laughing after Tom had made multiple trips to the pharmacy trying to figure out what to give me that would help and when this continued through the entire night and into the morning realized there was no way I could make this flight. Have this be known that this is the only time I have changed a flight for being sick and I flew violently hungover for the entirety of my 20s. Every. Single. Flight. You know I was really sick.
Tom had to handle changing flight reservations and working out another night’s stay at our hotel. I felt relaxed knowing that I could get this out of my system before the long, international flight back to Denver. This went on all day. I could not eat a morsel or have a sip of anything without running back to the bathroom. It was awful. The next day the hotel made it abundantly clear that we had to evacuate our room because they had other guests coming and some poor soul had to clean that bathroom. I had to suck it up and we had to make this flight.
I was so weak and so sick. This was the only day it rained on our honeymoon. Of course we don’t have umbrellas and the line for the bus was huge. We stood in the rain in that giant line and just seeing everyone crammed on the bus, with smells of food and body odor I started crying and told Tom I just couldn’t get on that bus. He was super sympathetic and we went to sit down on a soaking wet bench. That's when I shit my pants. I looked up at him with my wet face, both from the rain and my tears, and told him what I had just done. He knew I was a mess and the situation was shitty (literally).
By some miracle he hailed a cab. Everyone wanted a cab in that rain storm, but Tom got one. We were on our way to the airport, me with a puke bag held at the ready just in case. It was a pretty lengthy drive and when we got to the departure drop off Tom handed him his credit card to pay but the taxi driver informed us he only took cash. We had a tiny amount (like coins) that we had so strategically kept for our bus fair when we were supposed to leave the day prior. The taxi driver FREAKS out! This is prime money making weather for him and Tom had to run into the airport and find an ATM to get cash while I sat in the back crying in my shit pants into my puke bag. That out of the way, we go to check in. I am now at the stage where I just find a corner in the airport and lay down on the floor while Tom handles everything. They asked where I was and he pointed over to me and they told him I had to get up and prove I was well enough to fly. In hindsight, we should’ve gone to the hospital, but I got up, so dehydrated and weak, looking like death and smelling like actual shit and they let me on the plane. Ah pre-covid times.
We flew to London and met up with Tom’s grad school buddies. I stayed with them for one night, never leaving the hotel room that we had to share with one of his classmates. They all left for Scotland the next day and I had to navigate my way on London’s Tube for the first time on my way to the airport to get my flight back to Denver. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t easy, but I made it home and actually ended up having to take another week off work recovering from whatever happened to me.
You’d think that would be the end to the story. Well it was for me, but not for Tom. He gets to Scotland and their block of hotel rooms isn’t ready so they tell them to all put their bags in a big conference room. Tom’s bag was the last one in and closest to the door. Sure enough those first few bags got rifled through, including Tom’s, and our new digital camera was taken. The one with Every. Single. Photo from our honeymoon. We don’t have a single photo from our honeymoon (and we drank a lot of sangria so we could’ve used a refresher on that entire trip). That is the reason there aren't any photos to accompany this story.
Still not finished though because just as Thomas went to present his presentation culminating his master degree he went to the bathroom. He knew his stomach wasn’t well, but didn’t expect to be leaving the bathroom with his underwear in the garbage can. It didn’t even occur to me (or to him) that he was sick too! His stomach of steel felt off but he thought it was just from having a front row seat to the train wreck that was me. Some sort of delayed response and thankfully he was functional to get us both home and organize all of the arrangements. See why I pack Pepto everywhere I got now?
OMG!!!
THAT STORY! HOLY COW!!!