Issue #27: From Mishaps to Foot Loose and Fancy Free Travel
Summer has arrived! My girlfriend's guide to packing for your summer vacation and five homes with swimming pools to have your best summer yet.
The Silvert Lining is a place where I talk about real estate, cool homes for sale, things I’m looking forward to, and how I’ve been spending my time. In addition to this newsletter, I also post regularly on Instagram. You can follow me at Dan Silvert Homes. If you would like to meet with me to discuss your home search, you can schedule time here.
Editor’s Note: A Word from Dan
This week’s newsletter is not an ode to Sir Rod Stewart’s 1977 album Foot Loose & Fancy Free. Although, Sir Rod is playing on Saturday, June 14 in Lake Tahoe. I know summer officially starts on June 20 with the summer solstice, but Memorial Day was yesterday and I’m thinking about my ideal state of mind this summer. The weather is warm, I’m spending my evenings at baseball games, Tom Cruise’s summer blockbuster Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning just opened in theaters, and the Masumoto peaches are almost ripe.
Summer is also synonymous with vacation. I have a few short trips planned this summer, but I will mostly be staying local, attending Ballers games, and working with some dear clients on listing their home (I will be sharing more details in the coming months about this special property).
When I am jet-setting I rely on my girlfriend, Jessica, as she is exceptionally good at traveling and a packing expert. Last year Jessica visited over 18 countries while I often stayed home with our cats. When I travel, Jessica packs my suitcase for me. I know, I am very spoiled!
For this issue of the Silvert Lining, I asked Jessica to share her advice on packing. Before I met Jessica, my suitcase looked like it was packed by a drunk raccoon. Now that my suitcase is packed by Jessica, it looks like a Scandinavian architect’s masterpiece.
Jessica’s Guide to Packing for Your Next Trip
I love to travel as I find it invigorating rather than stressful. My travel mantra is, “the juice is worth the squeeze.” This helps keep things in perspective when flight delays and missed trains stretch a travel day past 24 consecutive hours. In my two decades of spending many months of each year traveling for work and fun, I have made countless mistakes and often made traveling more difficult than it needed to be.
This week I am sharing my packing advice and items I never leave home without. I have a tendency to overpack and often joke that I look like I’m moving to my destination. When I’m more disciplined and pack only the essentials, I feel smug when I see other travelers grappling with their large overstuffed suitcases.
If you like to buy things when traveling, consider shipping.
My constant conundrum when traveling is that I like to buy things, but I don’t want to schlep my purchases around for days or weeks. The best solution I’ve found is to have my purchases shipped home. Many stores will ship your items for free or a nominal fee. Last summer, my mom and I went wild buying woolen goods at the Blarney Woolen Mills in Ireland and they shipped our box of Aran sweaters to California for free and did not charge us the 23% value-added tax (VAT). I’ve had rugs shipped from Istanbul, glass bowls shipped from Kosta Boda in Sweden, and Murano glass shipped from Italy. On some longer trips, I’ve brought my shopping bags of purchases to DHL, and they provided and packed a box before shipping it home to me. Coming home to a box of treasures I purchased while traveling helps stave off my inevitable post-vacation malaise.
A carry-on is always a good idea.
Ideally, I would travel with only a carry-on suitcase and not check a bag. That said, sometimes you need more stuff, especially when traveling for work, and checking a bag is unavoidable.
If I am checking a bag I try to book a direct flight to my destination and arrive at the airport on the early side to ensure my bag makes it on the airplane. If I am going on a trip where I need specific clothes due to an event or weather, I carry that precious cargo in my carry-on bag.
For a number of years my job required that I travel to Florida for work. I usually went to Tallahassee to meet with the Florida Department of Education, and sometimes stayed for up to four weeks. I was in Tallahassee so frequently I would drop my work clothes off at the dry cleaners on my way out of town and then pick them up once I was back in town for my next work trip. This was an elite travel hack, but the hubris it inspired led to an embarrassing mishap.
I was required to attend a multi-day work conference in Orlando. I was tired of being in Florida, and asked my boss if I could arrive the night before the conference started to minimize my time away from home. She approved my request, and then suggested I pack at least one work-appropriate outfit in my carry-on if I planned to check my main suitcase. I agreed and then did the opposite. When I arrived in Orlando at 9 PM the night before the conference, my checked suitcase was nowhere to be found. It was too late to buy new clothes, and I attended the conference wearing the less-than-pristine athleisure outfit I had worn on the plane. Every coworker I saw asked me why I dressed that way. My suitcase did arrive in the late afternoon and I was able to change clothes, but I still looked like a disorganized amateur.
Sometimes I’m tired of lugging my luggage around and check my suitcase for the flight home. Yes, living dangerously occasionally means my suitcase does not arrive with me, but who cares as I’m at home. My suitcase always eventually arrives and the airlines will courier it to my house for free.
Don’t worry! You can buy almost anything you need at your destination.
Aside from things like medication or prescription glasses, you can buy almost anything you need at your destination. The only place I’ve been where this was not the case was Cuba, so I packed more carefully.
I regularly need to buy a toothbrush, toothpaste, and/or an electrical converter. I like exploring pharmacies and grocery stores and do not consider needing to purchase a few essentials upon my arrival burdensome.
One summer my grandma and I went on a three-week trip to Scandinavia and Russia on a tour with the Sons of Norway. We were supposed to fly from California to Minneapolis to meet the rest of the group and then on to Bergen, Norway. As we were waiting for our flight to leave LAX, Northwest Airlines’ entire computer system went down (that detail really dates this story). After waiting for hours, we were eventually rerouted and arrived in Bergen without our group. Our checked suitcases were lost somewhere along the way. We were dressed for summer in California, not summer in northern Norway. At the small airport my overtired and hungry grandma melted down as I was trying to give the airport employee our hotel information for the eventual delivery of our suitcases. I might have yelled at my grandma to calm down and stop crying. It was a low moment for everyone involved! It turned out that many of the other people in the baggage claim area were on our tour, and my grandma and I made a less than ideal first impression.
We did have our rain coats, pajamas, and a few other essentials packed in our respective carry-ons. The next morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and went shopping for warmer clothes to tide us over until our suitcases arrived. I bought a cute long-sleeved shirt and a pair of jeans I wore for many years to come. We had fun exploring Bergen in our new outfits, and our suitcases did arrive before the tour was scheduled to leave Bergen.
A couple thoughts on doing laundry and researching dress codes.
When I’m on a longer trip, I always plan to do laundry. Sometimes I send my laundry out or spend a couple hours at a laundromat. I have also booked hotels and Airbnbs with onsite laundry facilities that made washing clothes convenient. If all else fails, I buy detergent and wash my clothes in the bathroom sink.
I’m fine with buying anything I need when traveling, but I do try to review dress codes before I leave home. Nothing screams “noob tourist” like arriving somewhere and being turned away because you’re violating the dress code.
For example, if you’re visiting the Vatican City to chat about the White Sox with Pope Leo, there is a specific dress code that can seem arduous during a steamy summer in Rome. Many nicer restaurants have specific dress codes, such as Commander’s Palace in New Orleans requiring men to wear collared shirts and forbidding everyone from wearing shorts and sweats.
My travel essentials, including my GOAT suitcase.
Many suitcases have met their demise in my possession. If I were looking for an affordable workhorse suitcase, I would go with Travelpro. As long as the suitcase has four wheels, you’ll be fine.
A few years ago, I spent too much time researching the best, most durable suitcases. I settled on this Briggs and Riley suitcase after I read it was the preferred luggage of pilots and flight attendants. My suitcase is a 22-inch carry-on with the patented compression-expansion technology. This means that I stuff my suitcase full, zip it up, and then compress it so it fits in an overhead bin. It’s magic!
The suitcase is an investment. I purchased it from Touro Luggage in Walnut Creek so I could test it in person. I do feel the price matches the quality as it still looks brand new. My one criticism is that the compression mechanism makes the suitcase itself rather heavy. I prefer soft-sided luggage to hard-sided luggage. If I were going to purchase a hard-sided suitcase for the long haul, I would save up to splurge on a Rimowa.
For my “personal item”, I often carry this Bric’s backpack. I also have and like the Foldie expandable duffel bag. My primary requirement is that my personal item must have a trolley strap so I can attach and secure it to my suitcase.
Here are the other items I always bring:
AirTag: I have an AirTag for every piece of luggage (main suitcase, backpack/duffel, etc.). This way I know where all my items are at all times, including when I check a bag.
Customized Luggage Tags: In addition to AirTags, I have customized tags with my name, phone number, and email address on all my items. Etsy has great options that you can customize; I have this monogrammed tag on my backpack and this smaller tag on my suitcase.
Packing Cubes: Packing cubes compress your clothes, keep everything neat and organized, and make finding specific items easier, especially if you have packing cubes in a few different sizes.
Portable Charger: I have this charging block that includes four different built-in cables. I charge the portable charger before I leave and never have to worry about my devices dying.
eReader: I read actual books at home and use my eReader when I travel. I use the Kobo Clara as I only read ebooks from the library via the Libby app and the integration is seamless.
Reading Light: If you are bringing actual books, a reading light means you can read on planes and trains without disturbing your neighbors.
Compression Socks: I never board a plane without wearing compression socks.
Apple Watch: I try not to have my phone out when exploring a new place unless I’m taking a photo. My Apple Watch has a maps app that means I can discreetly look at my watch to follow directions rather than holding my phone and announcing to everyone that I have no idea where I’m going. I find this particularly helpful when I’m traveling alone.
Local Currencies (or at least a currency converter app): If I’m traveling internationally, I like to order that country’s currency from my bank. This means I’m ready to hit the ground running once I arrive and avoid ATM fees. At the very least, I download this currency converter app to know the current exchange rate.
TSA PreCheck and Global Entry: Your airport experience will be improved with TSA Precheck (you keep your shoes on!) for domestic flights and Global Entry for international flights.
If I’m taking a road trip, I like to pack these extras.
Cooler: Before any road trip, I stock up on snacks. Having a cooler filled with ice and my preferred LaCroix flavors is icing on the cake.
L.L. Bean Boat and Tote Bag: I like having this versatile bag so I can easily corral miscellaneous items in the car, including my snacks. If you’re driving with your family, everyone can have their own color with their unique monogram (I live for a monogram!).
A final note: I have planned almost every trip using the Lonely Planet guidebooks. Their advice has never led me astray and, generally speaking, their recommended spots are filled with locals, not tourists.
In my first issue of the Silvert Lining, I wrote about my love of homes with swimming pools. I actually have clients closing on a new home with a swimming pool next week. The entire family is excited to spend this summer poolside in their new backyard. If you dream of owning a house with a pool, let me know. If we start working together now, you can be swimming in your own backyard this summer.
Let me know if you are looking for a new home and I can create a customized search based on your wants and needs that will email you homes that meet your search criteria. You can schedule time with me to discuss your search for a new home or selling your current home by emailing me at DanSilvertHomes@gmail.com. DRE #01963734
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