General Tips For Travel

Travel and basic hotel fire safety

My husband is a fire protection engineer for a global insurance company. I write this article for him as he has taught me to be more fire prepared. Always have a plan for each hotel.

While traveling do not stay above the 6th floor. A firemen’s ladder can only go to 6 floors.
Always walk your way out of the building through the stairs as soon as you get to your room. If their is a fire you will need to crawl your way out. There is more oxygen close to the floor. Wet a T-shirt or wash cloth to breathe through while going through smoke or fire.
Always shut all doors. There was a fire on the first floor of an apartment building. The women ran out of her unit but did not close the door. That fire roared up the stairwells to the top floor. If she had just shut the door it would have bought more time for the fire dept.
If any part of you catches on fire always remember STOP-DROP-AND ROLL! If you run so will the fire. Stop drop and roll and cover your face if you can.
Learn the emergency phone number for the country you are going to be visiting. Here are the top 25.

how to successfully escape a fire

If the door is warm to the touch!!!!!!!!!!!!!if the door is warm do not open it.

2. stuff the cracks around the door with wet linens from your towels to your clothes.

3. If you have a phone in your room call 911 or the local emergency code for the country you are visiting and let them know where you are in the hotel and that you cannot get out.

4. Signal at he window with a flash light or wave a sheet.

If the door is not warm -Slowly open to check for smoke

2. Take the stairs down.

3. Pull the fire alarm if it is not going off.

4. Get out and stay out.

General Tips For Travel

Packing cubes your chest of drawers on the road!

The best new travel item is the packing cubes. I have tried about 4 different ones and they all make traveling easier. They do not add any weight, they keep things clean and organized. They can also act as a compression bag. There are many YouTubes showing how to squish as much as possible into these packing cubes but the truth is they don’t have to be full at all. Just think of them as your chest of drawers at home. This one is for pants, long sleeve, underwear and socks, warm clothes and specialty.

This was my first set and it hooked me. I learned I like different colors of cubes so I can easily identify which drawer I need to open. I had to make labels for each one because they all were similar.

These turned out to be a little too cheap. The threads kept getting caught in all the zippers. Some are still usuable, but not trustworthy for a 3 week trip.

We normally do not go to one place and stay the entire time when we vacation. This past Christmas our trip was 6 nights and 3 hotels. We were at very nice hotels for dinner. On Christmas Eve we were required to wear evening gown and suit attire. The next two nights we were at a rustic lodge in Yosemite hiking. So I packed all my evening gown attire including strapless bra, underwear, earrings, long skirt and long pants. All of that went into my cube labeled specialty. That night I just opened up the cube and everything was there for me, but shoes. I love these Travelon cubes!

I could not make up my mind if I wanted to wear flowing thin pants or the long skirt so I took both.

I packed all into this one packing cube and labeled it specialty. I made sure to have everything I needed for that one fancy night.

I had to bring dress shoes so I packed them along with tennis shoes in this thin shoe bag.

This is my second set. They are Travelon and are smaller and have a wire around the edge for stability. I love the three different colors and the fact you can see what’s inside.

Bagail is my new favorite as they are sturdy, cute, have double zippers, have a small handle and a partial see through area.

Just start with any packing cube and you will see how much easier it is to travel.

General Tips For Travel

Go to second hand stores when you travel and especially in foreign countries.

We went to the St. Vincent de Paul thrift store in Waterford Ireland. I found a beautiful etched vase that needed a little cleaning for 5 euros. Many former Waterford glass cutters got to keep their machines after they retire. You can find some one of a kind pieces that would cost a lot of money at the Waterford factory. This was a steal.

In Croatia I asked the proprietor of our B&B did she know of any good second-hand shops? She gave me directions to 3 of them. I bought a purple winter rain coat with double zippers that I wear when I travel. I love it but if I lose it or leave it behind I have very little money in it. It is perfect for on the water in a boat. It protects me against wind and rain. My husband got a beautiful leather vest.

In Colorado after my hiking boots fell apart on the way though security I needed a pair quick, yet I did not want to spend $250 at a fancy Telluride store. So I went to a second-hand shop in Telluride and bought a pair of hiking boots for eight dollars that got me through the trip until I got home. Also a great place to get souvenir t-shirts.

In HHI there is a second-hand shop called Bargain Box that people wait in line to get into almost daily. They even had an airplane for sale one time. I have bought furniture and chandelier and many designer outfits.

Now you won’t find any thing you want in a second-hand store in Africa or Cuba but most countries and definitely in the United States make sure to hit second-hand stores or even Good Wills to help if you left something at home. Also a great place to get a used suitcase if yours breaks or a back pack.

We love the cultural treasure hunt. It is always interesting to look through other people’s clothes and things. This is great for cheap entertainment.

General Tips For Travel, Tips For the 60+ Woman Traveler

A woman and her shoes, oh my!

*Here are the big ugly shoes I needed as a child!*

How can you travel if your feet hurt. Your feet are what carry you on your trip.

No one ever said “look at her cute shoes to me growing up.” No one! I was born with very flat feet. The Doctors intervened when I was 3 years old and made me start wearing ugly prescription shoes to help my feet.

Now I am in my 60’s and plantar fasciitis, flat old feet and one big bunion later and I am in misery without proper foot wear. Even hiking boots which were my go to shoes for years can start to hurt after many days hiking.

The older you get the more money you need to spend on your shoes. Your body needs more support than cheap shoes can provide.

Luckily there are many new orthotic type shoes to the rescue.

I love Vionic’s and Ortha heels shoes and sandals. Very very cute. You can walk for miles in these cute sandals! If you are a flip-flop type a person they also have great looking flip-flops that are better for your feet. Lots of younger gals also like their sandals for travel.

I pack all my shoes in my carry on. I cannot replace them easily in foreign countries. The heaviest shoes are on my feet on the plane. I also like Merrell shoes and Clark shoes but nothing beats the Ortha heel in my book.

These are my real cute black orthotic sandals that I wore in Myanmar. I have them in many colors. Ortha heel makes lots and lots of great looking sandals but, I have not found many full shoes that are attractive and work as well as their sandals. I have their Walker tennis shoes in black to go with black travel pants. They do look like orthotic shoes but I can walk forever in them. At least they are not white shoes, which look terrible in pictures.

*Good shoes will correct your gait and make walking a pleasure.*

For the first time in my life people actually say cute shoes! You can find these shoes on-line at QVC (which I like to go to first for the reviews) , Zappos, Amazon or ebay. Yes they will cost more but they are worth it!

You have to get used to wearing them if you have not worn proper shoes in the past. Wear them for an hour or two for a week before travel to get used to them. Many people give up after an hour and say these shoes hurt my feet but it is just your body getting used to proper alignment.

Hey those can’t be orthotic shoes they are too cute!