When we took our first flight with the boy when he was three
weeks old, or went anywhere when he was an infant, I felt like we packed the
whole house and took it with us. . . trying to prepare for any eventuality; any
situation. Fast forward 9 years. And, while we aren’t packing the whole house
anymore, we do tend to prepare for various situations that may arise and we
definitely pack more electronic gadgets.
Phones—the husband and I both have cell phones and they go
with us on trips. Before our current
cell phone plan, I would contact the cell phone company prior to a trip and add
on roaming minutes for a minimum charge.
This was much more economical than paying for the minutes after a
trip! Neither of us have “smart” phones
or data packages. Just talk and text—and
texting is an upgrade from where we were even a year ago! I envision that we will someday be a three
phone family, but not yet.
DVD player—we have one built into the car! What a lovely invention that comes into play
when we travel for more than 30 minutes.
We also have a portable DVD player that has been on many vacations with
us and provided in flight entertainment.
It has been replaced by the. . .
iPad—a unique device that allows for fun and
productivity. When we are traveling it
is a game center—with the game apps and entertainment center with either
downloaded or “rented” movies and books.
Free wi-fi at airports and on airplanes gives us even more options for
use. We also learned that Coronado
Springs, the Walt Disney World Resort we will be staying at for our next trip,
has free wi-fi!
Nintendo DS—the small gaming device travels with us,
too. It is great to bring to meals on a
cruise ship or at Walt Disney World. Its
portability is one of its strengths, as it is easy to carry around in a “day”
bag at the parks. And, is another option
to the iPad, especially if the husband has commandeered the iPad.
Cameras—we usually don’t leave home with at least one, if
not two. . . sometimes more! Our trusty
digital camera with 8G memory card has more than earned its stripes. Add on the Flip camera for video to our
entourage. If we are traveling to a
destination that involves water, we usually have some sort of waterproof
camera, too. I’m in the process of
looking at digital waterproof cameras—have been for a couple of years. When I find the right one, I’m sure it will
come with us too!
And, the most important gadget of all? The power strip! We keep all of our chargers—phones, iPad,
Nintendo, camera battery—on one power strip and it goes with us on any
vacation! Sure beats trying to hunt for
chargers and outlets when traveling. One
plug and done! (That sounds a bit like a
commercial, doesn’t it?)
Before our gadgets were binkies, blankies, and books. Now, most of our gadgets have a two pronged
plug or battery life! Evolution!
Posts
I love reading your blog. I am a fellow Disney lover, and it gives me your fix. I used to live in your neck of the woods (Donnellson), but have moved to the Quad Cities area. I read that you were looking for a digital underwater camera. I bought a Kodak Easyshare Sport Digital Camera that is waterproof up to 10 feet. It takes great pictures in and out of the water. I took it to the Dells last summer and loved it. And it was only about $65. Hope this helps, and thanks for your blog.
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