Travel Bag crossword

This week, I’m hitting the road not once but twice for a work or work/pleasure trip. That’s twice more than usual for me.

Last year, I made business trips to Orlando, New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. And the year before that I traveled about the same amount.

In my 20s while I was still single, I traveled a lot for work. Then I was a SAHM and got out of practice. So in the past few years, I’ve had to relearn what I need to take on a business trip and what will just end up weighing me down.

When I’m on the road, here’s what I take:

Also you can choose Dubai New Year Packages.

1. Satchel – I used to carry a Cole Haan briefcase bag (thanks for the Nike employee discount sis!) – black leather trim, gorgeous to look at, way too heavy. Last year, I nabbed a cute blue tweed Tory Burch tote (see picture) at Nordstrom that was marked down to less than half the original price. It zips closed and is big enough to fit a netbook, charger, miscellaneous files and travel documents and the entire contents of my purse, in case I don’t want to bring one with me.

2. Netbook – Until this fall, my 2009 Acer netbook went with me everywhere. Now it’s attending college with my daughter, so for the time being I’m using a ThinkPad netbook from Lenovo. Not my favorite. I still haven’t tried traveling with only an iPad, though I know lots of people who do – I need a netbook.

3. Netbook charger and mouse – Never leave home without the charger – I used it yesterday on the train home from Seattle. The mouse is there in case I get tired of the thumb pad.

4. Mobile phone – In my case, a Motorola Droid I got in late 2009 and am eagerly looking forward to upgrading. The phone doubles as my alarm clock. I also use Google Maps and Places when I’m away for finding restaurants and getting around town. I use an app called Coffee Fix to find the closest Starbucks and apps from Delta and Southwest Airlines to make sure my flights are on time.

5. Camera – Built into the phone; if I need something better, I bring an Olympus digital camera that belongs to the family.

6. Phone chargers – One for the hotel room and one for the rental car.

7. Business cards – Created to match my website by the wonderful Ron Doyle. I also have Bump on my phone, though I rarely use it.

8. Notepads – What can I say, I’m old school. A notepad is my security blanket – I may or may not use it to take notes, but I want one around just in case. Plus, I’ve switched back to doing handwritten to-do lists on yellow pads.