My Favorite Resources ~ Travel Gear
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Now that cons are starting back up and I’m traveling again, I’m rediscovering my love for all the bits and bobs that help make the whole process easier. Because, let’s face it, as fun as travel is, it’s also stressful like whoa.
And these items aren’t just great for work events (though they definitely are that). They’re great for personal travel too. But first…
Required disclaimer: the product links below are affiliate links, which means if you purchase something via one of these affiliate product links, I make a little bit of money off the sale.
As you’ll see from the descriptions below, though, I’m only recommending items that I use and love.
Want more tips for traveling and live shows? Be sure to check out my other travel-related blog posts at the bottom of this page. Okay, let’s get to the good stuff. That is… the actual stuff. I’ve broken these down into sections for easier navigation.
Food
16oz Thermos ~ First up, let’s talk about food. Because is it really a blog entry with me if we don’t talk about food? Look, even if you have an assistant with you, mealtime can be fraught when you’re traveling and/or doing an event. Eating out is expensive. Trying to avoid fast food^ while getting a quick bite, doubly so. I often do events on my own, so there’s no one to send for food and I don’t really have the luxury of leaving my table for thirty minutes or an hour or whatever. Plus, if parking was a pain in the first place, I hardly want to put myself through that again. And don’t even get me started on food allergies.
The solution: bring food from home, heat it up in your hotel room/Airbnb^^, and pop it in this thermos guy. Trust me, it stays hot and ready (like, real hot, so be careful) for hours.
^Don’t get me wrong, I friggin’ love me some Arby’s curly fries and maybe some sliders, but eating that day in and day out starts to make me feel like I’m made of fries and beef and bread, and it’s not a nice feeling. Plus, there’s really nothing like the taste of homemade goodies when you’re traveling.
^^This, of course, requires your hotel room/Airbnb to have a microwave. I tend to stay in both, depending on which is cheaper, more convenient to the event site, etc., so I always, always, always research the microwave situation first. Some hotels have a communal microwave, which works too and the hotel staff at most popular chain hotels (e.g. Hyatt, Holiday Inn, etc.) are really good about keeping them clean, but the choice is yours.
Microwaveable Storage Containers ~ Of course, if you’re gonna heat up food, you’re gonna need a container to do it in. I personally prefer to microwave in glass rather than plastic, but given glass’ higher breakability, I’ve included links for both my glass and plastic container recommendations below.
Of course, you don’t have to have hot food. Cold bean salads are great since most of the ingredients come in tins. And because I love you and want you to be well fed and happy, I’ve included a recipe for an easy, delicious, cold bean salad that I eat on the regular.
Miriam's Little Salad (my favorite cold bean salad, taught to me by my friend, Miriam)
Serves: 4
Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
-1 tin northern beans, drained
-1 tin garbanzo beans, drained
-1 tin corn, drained
-3 tsp dried parsley
-1 to 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
-1 to 2 tbsp balsamic glaze or vinegar
-1/2 tsp salt (you can substitute garlic salt if you like that) and 1/2 tsp pepper
-3oz feta cheese
Directions
Combine everything in a bowl and mix well. Job done.
Pre-Made Soups ~ Okay, but let’s say you don’t have time to make something beforehand and/or you don’t want to lug ingredients with you, nor do you have the time and/or inclination to stop by a grocery story. Totally understandable. In that case, I highly recommend some boxed soup (or tinned, but my favorite comes in boxes). In this house, we like Pacific brand’s chicken and wild rice soup because it’s gluten-free, full of all kinds of good things, and delicious.
Totally up to you, though. Soup is a very personal decision.
Wine Carrying Bags ~ I don’t even have a link for this one because, honestly, you can get these things just about anywhere. They’re the bags with little dividers for wine bottles and usually hold either six or four bottles. Some places even give them away for free when you buy a certain number of bottles. In addition to wine, though, you know what else they’re good for holding?
Just. About. Anything!
In mine, I usually have a container of trail mix, a water bottle, backup water bottle (hydrate thyself, ya’ll), protein bars, instant coffee and coffee fixings, and hand sanitizer. I might also have more snacks, the afore-linked boxes of soup, pens, plastic flatware, and anything else I might possibly need that day.
The Amazing Snack Bottle! ~ This is the item’s unofficial title, bestowed upon it by the hubs. And a darn good title it is too. More goes into a water bottle choice than you might think…
How big is it? Or, asked a better way, will it fit in my cup holders?
If I drink from it while driving and I hit a bump, will it splash water all over my face?
Is it useful for things besides water?
Can I easily open it one handed?
Follow-up, during said opening, do my hands have to touch where my mouth goes?
Follow-up to the follow-up, is the mouth section protected from the world at large?
Is there a carrying handle or loop of any kind for easy hands-free transport?
See what I mean? There’s a lot to consider. The hubs found this particular model and we’ve never looked back. It’s a perfect size for cup holders, the spout (which is the perfect size for splash-free drinking) has a protective lid that can be popped open with a single digit, there’s a loop that clips in at the top for carrying, and the opening is wide enough for small snacks like trail mix. Best bottle ever!!!
Transport Gear
Milwaukee 4-Wheel Folding Hand Truck ~ I’ve had this baby for years. It’s an absolute workhorse and has put up with all kinds of abuse from me. When it goes—and fair dues whenever it does because I’ve gotten so much use out of it—I’m gonna buy the exact same item again. The best part is that it can function as either a two-wheeled dolly or a four-wheeled hand truck. 99% of the time, I go for the latter since I tend to have a lot of stuff for my events.
Cardboard Wine and Liquor Boxes ~ The principle here is the same as it was with the wine bags. And these you can definitely get for free. Basically anywhere that sells alcohol usually has them on hand for the taking. In my case, wine boxes are the perfect size to stack and keep my candle orderly. Liquor boxes come in a greater variety of sizes and the possibilities are pretty endless as to what you can transport in them. You might just need to do a little searching for the right size. I tend to use liquor boxes to keep the variously colored skeins of yarn I use for my pride dice bags organized.
<Inserting shameless self-promotion>
Those bags are available on my Etsy shop here for anyone who’s interested.
Six-Foot Folding Table ~ Not every event provides a table (always be sure to check your vendor terms and vending guidelines), so having one that folds up nicely is a huge help. This too is a workhorse I’ve used for years, and it gets pulled out before every event I do so that I can practice my table setup (check out the Live Show Guide link at the bottom of this article for more on that). There are a bunch of companies that make this sort of thing, but this is one I have, so I can vouch for it.
Cardboard Boxes, Wicker Baskets, and Wooden Crates ~ Anything that can serve double duty for me is a good bit of gear in my book. Your girl Dana is a frugal poodle, so I make use of any random stuff that I can.
When it comes to cardboard boxes, I’m specifically thinking of the treasure chest style ones because they’re small but sturdy. My coffee subscription happens to comes in boxes like these, so I tend to store smaller items in them during travel and then cover them with a pretty bit of cloth and use them as lifts^^^ for my wicker baskets, which also do both travel storage and display work.
^^^Don’t forget to make use of vertical space in your displays, friends.
Clear Plastic Storage Bins ~ Unfortunately, these aren’t really suited for super heavy duty book transport—books are heavy, y’all—but they’re good for just about everything else. I personally like these I’ve linked to because the lids are designed so that the handles don’t unclasp when you lift the bin. I’ve have some like that and they have been relegated to the attic for Christmas decoration storage. And, of course, with them being clear, you can see what’s inside without having to open the thing. And these ones come in loads of different shapes and sizes. Plus, they’re a great place to display your stickers.
Pro-tip: As much as I’d like y’all to use my links, you can sometimes get them after Christmas or New Year’s for cheap. I think I got my first ones (not the crappy aforementioned ones that now live in the attic, but rather these I’ve linked to) from Target for about $5 a pop not long after Christmas.
Check out all this transport gear together in one picture. I’m telling y’all, workhorses, the lot of them.
Safety
Face Mask Megapack ~ Look, y’all, I know it sucks, but the fact is we’re still in a pandemic. Masks are still very much our friends. I firmly believe two thirds of the battle is finding the size and style that fits you best. Masks are like pants for your face, and everyone has different needs when it comes to pant sizes and shapes. For instance, I’ve got a real tiny face, so I personally like this style I’ve linked to because I can adjust the ear straps just by tying a little knot in each strap. Being plain black, they almost always match my outfits too. And since 100 come in a single pack, I’m good for a long ol’ time.
Hand Sanitizer ~ Hand washing is more effective, but when you can’t do that, hand sanitizer will work in a pinch. I’m not linking to any one type here since you can find this pretty much everywhere too.
Phone Recharge Power Packs ~ I’m putting this under safety since I feel better with a fully charged phone on me. I’m also not linking to anything because, to be honest, I got all my power packs for free from various events—if Toyota sponsors an event you go to and you drive one’a them, they may just have a free charger for you. Office supply stores will do this a lot too as a freebie for buying other stuff.
Okay, friends, there’s my list of travel gear. I hope this makes travel life a bit easier for y’all. And if you have any gear suggestions of your own, drop them in the comments below 👇. And here’s that list of other links I promised:
Thanks for reading!
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Dana Fraedrich / www.wordsbydana.com participates in affiliate advertising programs designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, Audible.com, and others. This page contains affiliate links.
