Flying Light Must-Have Carry-on Tips!

It’s travel time baby! Yes, time to pack our bags and get out of town. I thought I’d share our carry-on tips. We love flying light and being on the go. Do you? This year we have had a lot of staycations. Trips to the beach, local backyard adventures, and trips back and forth up north of San Francisco. But, by the end of summer, we were already planning our trips throughout fall, and into next spring! We are packing our bags because we have travel plans. We are excited to hit the road, take on new adventures, and fly back East… Do you get excited about planning your trips? 

For me, I get the travel bug quite often. With that said, when I don’t get to travel it feels like it’s the same old, same old. We hit Wits’ End. Do you feel that way when you don’t get to travel? 

I don’t mind routines but, it’s nice to shake out the dust, and pull out our luggage to pack our bags to get out of town. Even if it’s just an overnighter or nearby stay. We love planning and taking trips. Both long and short trips.

We like to see cool places, find things to do… Have you ever been to Nitt Witts Ridge in Cambria? Nitt Witt Ridge is California Historical Landmark No. 939 Just, a little local history for you. It’s just up the road several miles from where we took this photo. As a matter of fact, there are a lot of hidden gems in our area to travel to. You can see all the trips we have started to chronicle here. 

Now, we are both dreaming of that tropical vacation. That’s topping our travel wishlist. 

Traveling Light

Where to next? First, we are traveling north past SF to visit the family. My daughter-in-law is having her second baby! It’s a boy. All things blue, blue, blue. Including blue skies while toting our travel carry-on bag! It’s new too. Thanks to Chester luggage for sending this carry-on to us for free to try out for our trips. It was perfect timing. 

Since school was starting back we decided to pack our new bag for a quick trip. Hitting some of our favorite spots on the central coast (California). We tossed a few things for an overnighter into our new carry-on for a mother-daughter trip. Be sure to catch the end of the video. We spotted a mom and baby sea otter on our adventure. I just love traveling to places and seeing new things. Don’t you?

Are you ready for new adventures?

I thought I’d share our favorite travel gear and travel tips. If you are like me, you might like to travel light. (In a hurry? Just scroll down for the tips.)

I hate the extra fees that come with flying today. I also have found that 9 out of 10 times we used to bring too much stuff. We never used it all. Now, we only bring what we need for short trips or pack for a week and wash clothes for longer trips. If it’s winter we don’t pack jackets, we just wear them on the plane and take them off. Makes a nice blanket when you get cold. 

Although I travel light there are times I have had to check our bags. Like the time Sammie had all her High School AP books with her. That backpack was so heavy to lug around. (We could hardly lift it into the overhead bins. Being shorter doesn’t help either.) But, she had to have her books, laptop, and science calculators for studying. She did a work-study program since we like to travel during the offseason. She had to bring all her stuff to study when we were away to meet her requirements.

On the way back, plans changed I ended up checking her luggage on the way back. I completely filled her luggage with those heavy books and stuffed her clothes in her backpack and in my duffle bag. Just so I didn’t have to deal with a heavy, heavy bag with NO Wheels. Plus, lugging it through the airport!

• To boot our previous luggage didn’t have spinning wheels, which is a pain for going down the plane isles. Grr. Spinning wheels are an absolute must for narrow airplane isles! 

Key point? Always remember to be flexible. No freaking out about making adjustments, pulling stuff out, packing stuff differently, or dealing with your packing problems and travel plans. Delayed flights… S_IT  happens. Minimize travel mistakes by having the right luggage and packing correctly. 

What crazy luggage obstacles or packing issues have you encountered when traveling? Have you ever lost your luggage? 

I have a feeling with our new luggage that this won’t be happening on our next flight for Thanksgiving. 

What is the best carry-on luggage?

Carry-on Luggage Tips

Must-haves for suitcases and carry-on bags

1. TSA- and IATA-approved fit for a cabin carry-on (so we can skip those fees and toss them in the overhead bins)
2. Strong but, Lightweight
3. Silent 360° spinner wheels glide over even rough terrain 
4. Storage compartments that are easy to pack, unpack, and clean

What can you bring on the plane? 

1. What you can bring on the plane and in your suitcase. 
2. flying specs for Carry-on luggage

I love our new carry-on luggage, it also doesn’t hurt when you can get this stylish suitcase in several color choices. I have a set of black suitcases, and cloth material, and EVERYONE has black suitcases. lol If you check your bags you better have a luggage tag or stickers on your suitcase. Someone almost walked off with ours! Can you see us running! Hey, you have my bag! We tied a colored ribbon on it so we knew it was ours. 

This time we picked a polycarbonate hard shell carry-on with a light blue color, it is so pretty! (And available in 7 colors) We can pick out, and pick up our luggage easily. It is super lightweight! We are ready to pack our bags. Stay tuned for us to share more new adventures with you. 

Chester Travel SuitCases

If you are ready to update your luggage you might like to check out these suitcases.

• Satisfaction Guaranteed 100-day trial and free returns
• Free 2 day shipping and returns   

We are loving the carry-on we received from them! 

Travel Packing Tips 

These are our must-have items for packing and traveling. 

1. Grab our free Travel packing list (with a travel planner) they are so helpful for planning your trip
2. Rolling and organizing your items in Luggage packing organizers will help you save space in your carry-on and other sized luggage (Chester comes with one that opens big but, it’s nice to have more.)
3. TSA Approved Toiletry Bag
4.  9 pieces TSA Approved Toiletry Bottle Set
5. Since we carry cameras and laptops with us, we also use a travel backpack.
6. Rember to check airline rules, but keep essentials with you. (contact lens, travel-sized saline, eyeglasses…)
7. Bring a comfy sleep mask   (The airline sometimes runs out. We have flown plenty of red-eye flights.)
8. Bring comfort-fit earbuds and save $ (Yep, we always carry our own, plus they fit better.) 
9. Toss in a tall size garbage bag for holding dirty laundry or use hotel laundry bags (just fold it up and stuff it in a side pocket)  
10. Lay your pants or jeans folded once flat on the bottom and put other items on top of them
11. To save space roll your clothes, tuck socks, and other items in shoes, and use packing organizers 
12. Purchase a bottle of water after you are through the check-in point (then you don’t have to wait for everything to get settled before they start serving drinks)
13. Have lip balm or chapstick in your bag or purse (the cabin air dries out your lips)
14. I always carry travel size Advil and migraine medicine in case I feel a headache or migraine coming on. (The hazards of being a migraine sufferer)
15. Pack snacks! Even if you aren’t traveling with kids or teens. (Nix anything with nuts in case someone on the plane has a nut allergy) Having snacks are perfect for traveling with kids, teens or if you get airplane delays. Toss in a power bar to get you through. I pick ones with no melty coating. 
16. Leave your valuables and extra credit cards at home. Only bring your bank card and 1-2 credit cards. (pre-call to let them know you are traveling *if needed) This makes it so much easier if something does get lost or stolen. (God forbid)
17. Carry cell phone numbers or important numbers on paper in case you lose, drop your phone in water, or phone breaks. 
18. Take your itinerary. It helps keep things in order. You can always make adjustments to your plans.
19. Leave extras at home. Because do you really need all that?! 
20. Less stuff equals less stress. If you really, really need something you can buy it. 

Tips for packing a carry-on 

• Tips for packing a carry-on

The day I am sending Sammie off to college with her carry-on I might just need a suitcase full of tissues to carry around with me. I am planning a bon voyage girls trip for us though! Shh, more about that later. Hopefully, that trip can hold me over until she can travel back home to travel with me again. At least I have an entire year with her at home before the send-off to college with her carry-on happens. 

What adventures await you? 

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