Just a few more common sense travel tips

I ran (I use the term loosely) the Walt Disney World Marathon in January. Given that the marathon was at Disney World, my parents wanted to come too and of course, they wanted to turn it into a vacation for my three year old son. Because my husband had just started a new job and couldn't go and because my parents were flying from a different destination, just my son and I traveled from North Carolina to Florida.


Traveling with a three year old isn't fun. To top it all off, for some reason I left my brain behind on this trip. Besides the typical delays and having to entertain a three year old, I had shampoo spill in my bag, had to pay an overweight bag charge, had to put sweaty marathon clothes back in my bag touching my clean clothes, left a few things in the hotel because they wouldn't fit in my bag, and the list goes on. If only I'd remembered:

• Put your personal hygiene products in plastic bags.


• Don't remove the plastic bags from your dry-cleaned items as they help reduce wrinkling.


• Use grocery bags for packing shoes and bring along a few extra for damp or sweaty clothes.


• Never pack your jewelery or medicine in your suitcase.


• Put a collapsible bag in your suitcase to provide for more packing room on your way home.


• Always make sure your name and contact number are on your luggage.


• If you take a hairdryer or electric razor, make sure you pack an appropriate adaptor, if necessary.


• Check your airline's baggage fee schedule. Sometimes the charge for a second bag is cheaper than paying the overweight charge on one big bag.