Travel Hints – Sheri Graner Ray

I will be attending theGotland Game Conference in Vispy Sweden in a couple weeks (http://www.gotlandgameconference.com/2013/) and my friend and co worker Heidi McDonald will also be attending. She and I started talking about what things a person should take on a long (4+hour) plane trip. Here are my recommendations.

OK. .here are my hints and I will tell you they are ALL from experience…and mostly not good experiences! hehehehe

In your carry on I recommend..

1. An extra pair of undies and a clean shirt. This is for you to change in to before you land. Seriously. Sitting on those polyester seats for all that time can (as they say on those gawdawful commercials) “leave you feeling less than fresh.”

I had the terrible experience of arriving in London “not so fresh” and having the person who picked me up take me directly to their office to meet a bunch of dignitaries… oh gawds that was unpleasant. I stunk and had dripped food all down my tshirt… ugh!!

Also you never know when they will misplace your luggage and having to rinse your undies out in the sink only to have them not quite dry in the AM.. yah.. it sucks.

2. a small travel package of diaper wipes.. the kind you take when you go on a short trip with a baby.Use them when you go to the restroom. Keeps you cleaner than the see through toilet paper they have on the plane and helps prevent UTIs. If you don’t like the diaper wipes, you can use the travel pack of Preparation H wipes. (see above for ‘bad experience’)

3. Waterless toothbrushes. They are called “Wisps” and you can get ’em in drugstores. You will want to use them before you land. (heck I carry a two pak of these in my briefcase all the time anyway)

5. Reading material and spare battery. They don’t usually have outlets on the overseas planes, so you’ll want a full charge and maybe a backup battery for your iPad or Kindle

6. Prescription meds

7. a snack. Sometimes you will want something when you wake up and if you are in a middle seat you don’t want to wake up your seat mate. (This is silly, but I usually carry a bottle of milk. It has enough protein to keep me satisfied until the meal is served.)

8. your jewelry if you are taking anything other than what you are wearing.

9. do not over pack your carry on. It’s a hassle to drag it through the airports and shove it up into overhead. Just take what you need.

HINTS for travel

1. No alcohol if you can help it. It dehydrates (the other big thing that causes jet lag) Use natural relaxants such as melatonin, passion flower, hops, chamomile.. I like a produce called Naturemade Sleep http://www.naturemade.com/products/segments/sleep I take it as soon as I am able to once I’m on the plane.

5. I carry my own little pillow. I use the ones from the plane for lumbar support. I find those horseshoe shaped things are less than useless. I have one like this http://tinyurl.com/ltn4vmu and I can use it in the hotel to supplement the pillows they have.

6. I get up once or twice to walk the plane. I also do the leg exercises while seated. I have had a couple of friends pop up with DVT and it sidelined them for MONTHS 🙁 It’s nothing to mess around with.

There ya go. I may add a “getting through security and the airport for new travelers” to help you get through to your plane like a pro. 🙂