My Travel Essentials

This weekend I decided to sit down and write out my top 10 most essentials items for travel. First and foremost, a camera. It doesn’t matter if its a digital, film, or even just your cell phone. A camera is the absolute best thing you can take with you. There is nothing I love more than looking at photos and falling in love all over again. I would pick my camera over spending money, a first class flight, and my iPod. And music means a lot to me.

That’s why it comes in second. My iPod has been one of my favorite gifts of all time. Music has the power to change your entire perspective on a situation. The highs, the lows,it can bring you through it all. The truth is that all adventures go as planned and although music is a huge pick-me-up, nothing is better for your attitude than optimism.

That comes in at number three. The way I see it, life is this amazing gift and if you’re lucky enough to be traveling, you’re lucky enough. And while traveling isn’t the only time you should be optimistic, it sure is a great thing to bring along with you.

Coming in at number four is your friends. Traveling with your friends shows you a whole new side of them. It also becomes increasingly easier to be excited about things when you’re around the people you love. I would have put this higher on the list but I believe there is so much to be learned about yourself when you go at things alone. It also forces you to meet new people, which I love doing.

For number five I’m going to have to go with worn-in shoes. They don’t have to be anything fancy, but you do have to be able to walk in them for hours on end. I own more converse than other shoe and I would gladly trek across the globe in them. I’m sure that wouldn’t be as fun as I think but I love them. Your feet are going to hurt for the first few days no matter what, but it does get better.

Number six has to be jeans. If you have any interest in going into cathedrals they are a must because you have to cover your knees. That also brings me to number seven, a jacket because you also have to cover your shoulders. It also serves the purpose of going out on a nice spring, summer, or fall night. And you do not want to miss out on those beautiful nights.

This one may be a little too far down the list, but number eight is a journal. If you haven’t gathered it by now, I love to write. The journals I’ve kept from trips over the years have done nothing but make me smile. There are always little things that you forget after a while and reading what you wrote, years later, brings back great feeling and even more memories. And it may seem weird but I always write the whole story, even if things didn’t go so well that day. Later those things may not seem like such a bad thing and they’ll probably even make you laugh.

Number nine has to be a book. You never know when you’ll get stuck in the windowless seat or stay in for the night because of a storm, and don’t even get my started to layovers. They can do nothing but add to the trip. If you don’t get get to read it, that’s fine, at least you had the option.

To round out the top 10, I’m going with a hammock. This is something I recently discovered. They’re light and compact so I see no reason not to bring one. They also make finding a place to sleep relatively easy.

I didn’t pick these things because they are the most practical. I did it because these are the things I love and the things that can turn our whole trip around. If you feel like I missed a big one tell me what you would bring in the comments below. And please subscribe at the bottom of the page for emails when I’ve written something new.