As the items start rolling in, we have to make some tough decisions about what we are bringing. The list is long right now, and will likely change before long!
We ordered a Kindle Fire for one of our daughters when Amazon was having a sale. Jacob had another one that he got from credit card points a year or so ago and never used. We will use them for school purposes for the girls. They have already discovered the math and reading games and love to play them. The cases they picked out were part of the “stuff” that came yesterday. Here is a list of the other stuff:
Parachute Cord: We have read over and over that having some kind of clothes line with you is helpful. My friend told me never to dry anything flat while in Costa Rica because it will immediately start growing mildew. You can buy a “travel” clothes line but the reviews indicated that is was sometimes too short and the material started breaking down right away. Another blogger raved about parachute cord because it can serve many purposes and is a fraction of the cost of the “travel” clothesline. So, we’ll see.
Packing Cubes: Ok. These definitely have mixed reviews. Some people hate ‘em some love ‘em. Jacob was on the fence but I like the idea of pulling out one cube of clothes or electronics or whatever instead of rummaging through the pack and disturbing the organization. Plus they are purple, can’t go wrong with purple. ☺
Plugs and adapter: I think we will have more electronics than anything else in our packs. 4 kindles, one ipad, two laptops, two phones, electric toothbrush, and a Bluetooth speaker. “Holy Christmas” as my good friend D’ would say. That’s a lot of electronics. For this reason, we decided to purchase a travel power cord. It has multiple USB ports. It seems pretty bulky but I’ll make Jacob carry it. 😉 Jacob discovered that all of our electronics are made with an internal electricity adapter, meaning they will automatically convert the watts necessary for power so all we need is the different plug adapters.
Flash drive: Video and pics take up a ton of memory so probably a good idea to have extra storage.
Sleep Sheet: Oddly enough, I already have one of these and my mom had two silk sleep sheets from when my sister and I were kids. She made our down sleeping bags from a 1970s Frostline Kit, I guess the sleep sheets were part of that kit. I bet she didn’t anticipate them going around the world with her granddaughters! We have been told and also read that some hostels charge extra for sheets and we may also want these for other situations where we want a layer between our bodies and the bed. (yikes).