I have written several times about how I wear bike shorts under skirts and dresses on travel days. It just makes so much sense! It alleviates worry about any unexpected TSA pat-downs, wind gusts, or, of course, chafing. For what seems like forever I have just worn normal bike shorts from Target. My problem with them, and with most typical exercise bike shorts, is that they’re just too long! With my knee-length dresses I am constantly concerned that they will show as I’m walking. Not fun at all.

On a recent Corporette post, a commenter mentioned that she uses Jockey Skimmies Slipshorts. Seriously, these seem like the answer to a prayer. They are inexpensive, come in a bunch of colors, and have different lengths. Plus the reviews are mostly very good, and report no roll-up (or down) or muffin-top. Woohoo! I am definitely going to be trying out the regular length, although there is also a shorter length. $20 at Amazon.

Readers, have you tried the Slipshorts? Do you feel comfortable wearing dresses on travel days?

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This contest is closed.

After 18 months of research, Hyatt has recently come out with a new array of offerings geared toward the frequent traveler. The new features are tailored to guests’ individual preferences, and include a service providing frequently forgotten items, healthy new menu options, and upgraded bath amenities. I have experienced all of these firsthand, and I think road warriors and warriorettes will benefit tremendously! (I’ll be doing an in-depth review this week, so stay tuned!)

To celebrate, we are doing a contest and the winner wins one free night at a U.S. Hyatt Place! To enter, please leave a comment answering the following question: The bulkiest item I have to pack and can’t live without is_________. (And let’s be more original than, say, “my computer,” because everyone needs that!) The contest runs through Monday, April 22 at midnight CDT and the winner will be chosen randomly on Tuesday April 23. As always, one entry per person.

The bulkiest item I can’t live without is, no question, my curling iron. My computer is on that list too (of course!) plus my makeup. I’m not sure what it says that 2 out of 3 items are grooming related…..

Good luck!!

Time for another edition of, “Is This Rude?”

Over the past several months, I have noticed something happening more and more often. People are boarding planes, trying to shove their rollaboards into the overhead bins, and they just won’t fit. So they climb up onto the seat to push it in. Then they get down and merrily walk on their way to their own seat. Honestly, I’ve been kind of appalled. I guess I see seats in planes like someone’s chair—chairs that are really close together, but chairs nonetheless. The idea of standing on someone’s chair would never occur to me, for any reason, but I’ve seen it happen on four of my last ten flights. In my opinion, if your bag won’t fit in the overhead bin it’s too full and you need to take something out or gate check it. When I think about all of the stuff that gets on people’s shoes, it icks me out to think of that same stuff on my chair! Really, the only thing I think is even a partial justification is if someone is very short, but even then, I don’t really like it.

Readers, what do you think? Is this rude? Or am I naïve for thinking that people should treat airplane seats like chairs?

It has become clear to me that a lot of travelers are not clear on how to get to a non-aisle seat politely. I’ve covered it before, but after a recent flight I figure a rehash is in order. On this particular flight a few weeks ago I had the aisle seat, and when I got to my row I stowed my bag and sat down with my book. I never put my seatbelt on until everyone is seated so I can stand up and get out of the way easily. As I sat there reading my book, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that the line wasn’t moving anymore. I glanced up and realized there was a young guy standing there, just staring at me. He hadn’t said anything, so who knows how long it would have taken me to see him if I had been more into my book! I quickly jumped up and he slid into the window seat without a word.

A few minutes later, I was reading my book again when someone just started squeezing in front of me. It completely took me by surprise—I didn’t even see the woman come up! I said, “Hang on a minute!” and again jumped up to get out of the way.

When I have to get into the middle or window seat, I will smile at the person in the aisle-seat and say, “Hi! I’m sitting there.” Then I pause, giving them a chance to get up. If by chance someone doesn’t move I will ask them politely if they mind getting up. Sometimes they ask if they should get up, but typically people are happy to stand up and move out of your way. After all, it’s part of the deal with flying.

Readers, what is your experience with the middle and window seat? Do people usually stand up (or wait for you to stand up)?

The winners have won an Arc Compact notebook, AvantPro pen, and Relay Micro USB Flash Drive. Congrats!! Here are the messages from the lucky tweeps:

@roadwarriorette two conferences in two different cities this summer!#StaplesMakesTravelEasy

— Henry Mensch (@henare) March 15, 2013

@roadwarriorette I’m headed to Phoenix in two weeks then St Louis next month#StaplesMakesTravelEasy

— Claudia Coker (@cgc1653) March 14, 2013

@roadwarriorette I am still planning a spring break trip – Phoenix or Los Angeles. #StaplwsMakesTravelEasy

— D Lloyd (@ddklloyd2) March 14, 2013

@roadwarriorette I’m headed to Europe this summer and those supplies would help us create a travel log#StaplesMakesTravelEasy

— pattonroberta (@pattonroberta) March 14, 2013

@roadwarriorette I can use these for my trip to China next week!#staplesmakestraveleasy

— The Travel Playbook (@TravelPlaybook) March 14, 2013

Thanks again to Staples for the prizes!

Let’s play another game of “Was this rude?”! The last time I asked this question we had a great discussion. This morning while flying to Dallas I saw something that seemed questionable to me etiquette-wise. This situation is (IMO) definitely not as controversial as last time, but I still thought I would put it out to the community.

This morning I flew on American to Dallas. I boarded with the Elites, and got comfortable in my window seat. A guy sat in the aisle seat, but didn’t put on his seatbelt or get stuff out—I assume he was waiting to see if someone needed the middle seat. As time passed, the plane (and overhead bins) got more and more full. Eventually I heard a women say, “Mind if I slip in front of you?” and moved (without waiting for an answer) into the space between the guy and the seat in front of him. He assumed (as did I) that the woman needed to get into the middle seat, and moved to stand up and get out of her way. “Oh, don’t get up,” she said. “I’m just waiting to get to my seat up there. I had to put my bag way in the back!” So, the guy just kind of sat there awkwardly while the woman stood very very close to him and waited to get to the front of the plane.

I’m of two minds about this. On the one hand, I’ve seen flight attendants do it often and it doesn’t seem rude then. Plus, well, if you have to get to the front of the plane how else can you do it? But it just seems like it would be super uncomfortable for both parties. Of course, the woman didn’t seem uncomfortable at all, like she did this all the time.

Readers, what do you think? Is it rude to stand in the row in front of someone? What could she have done instead? What would you have done?

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Something a frequent traveler notices pretty quickly is regional differences. Sometimes it’s clothing related—I’ve noticed (and I’m sure I’m not the first) that New Yorkers wear a lot of black, while in the South there is way more color. Or it could be local vernacular, like saying “y’all” in the South or putting “the” in front of highway numbers in California, i.e. The 101.

So I don’t know if this counts as a regional difference, if it’s just a state difference, or what it could be considered, but I think it’s interesting. The last time I went to Nashville, as I drove down Elm Hill Pike, I noticed the cars around me looked funny. Something was missing, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Once I finished my meetings, I walked outside, and realized—the cars don’t have license plates in the front! In Texas, cars are required to have license plates in the front and back. Are there other states that only have plates in back? I have to wonder—what happens if someone from Tennessee is driving through Texas. Do they get in trouble?

After a quick Google search, I found this eHow page that talks about it a bit. Apparently almost half of states only require a license plate on the back of a car. It’s crazy to me that I’ve traveled around the country a LOT for years and this is the first time I’ve noticed this.

Readers, have you ever noticed a state or regional difference that surprised you?

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Happy New Year!

2012 passed in a blur of work, travel, conferences, pregnancy, and babies. Was it a crazy year? Yes indeed! And I wasn’t able to travel for several months. So I was about 50-50 with my 2012 travel resolutions:

Get to Chicago and South Texas. Visiting family is always a priority! I was able to visit Chicago three times last year! That’s a lot of sister time. The Home Warrior and I traveled to South Texas to visit my grandmother twice, and took the Mini Warrior once. As a bonus, we also went to North Texas to visit the Home Warrior’s family twice. I’m sure the Tours of Texas will continue this year!

Take at least one fun vacation. With all the conferences and work trips this year, it’s a wonder the Home Warrior and I had a chance to see each other, much less go on a fun trip. But we managed it! Some good friends of ours got married in Playa del Carmen this year, and we managed to get there for the festivities (and a little fun time before). At seven months pregnant there were definitely challenges, but it was a great trip nonetheless.

Make Executive Platinum. Well, not being able to fly for five months made this one nearly impossible. Maybe next year!

Get the Companion Pass. While I wasn’t able to make this happen in 2012, I am pretty certain that it will happen early in 2012. I don’t want to jinx myself though, so I’m going to hold off on talking about it too much for now.

Looking forward: Travel resolutions for 2013.

1. Visit family. Same as previous years, I want to go see our family all over Texas and in Chicago, plus we have family in New York now.
2. Companion Pass. Get it and USE it. This is the year!!!
3. Get Gold status with Hilton. I’ve been Silver for years without being able to cross that threshold. I am currently doing the Gold Challenge, so should have it soon!
4. Master travel with baby. Or at least learn to travel with baby without losing my mind.
5. Visit Wine Country. For a blissful year and a half, I was able to get to Napa every couple of months. The last time was three and a half years ago and I want to go back!!!
6. Visit one new place in the US. Hopefully the Companion Pass will help us out here! If not, well, we’ll make it happen another way.

My two main resolutions aside from the travel ones are to start getting ready to leave ten minutes before I think I need to (trying to deal with being chronically late to stuff) and do another triathlon.

(Pictured: Photo booth props from Etsy shop The Manic Moose.)

Readers, what are your resolutions this year? How did you do on last year’s?

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One year ago….

• TSA crossed the line….again.
• I fell in love with navy and discovered the awesoness of gel soles.
• On my journey to more miles, one strategy worked (a miles credit card) and one backfired (trying for a travel voucher).
• Movie streaming apps on my phone changed my life. No joke.
• The Top Five Travel Necessities: Things I Wear is still very true, and something I consult for packing all the time.

Two years ago…..

• I answered readers’ question about traveling to rainy destinations and plus-size travel outfits.
• The TSA announced some updates to its liquids carry-on rules.
• I got super excited about flats, boots, and travel wallets.
• Andi Fisher from Misadventures with Andi wrote a great post about healthy eating on the road.
• Readers voted, and decided the correct term is “rollaboard” instead of “rollerboard”.

Three years ago…..

• The Home Warrior and I had a fantastic trip to Napa.
• I wrote about the importance of sleep on the road.

There are a few things you take on every single trip, and most of them are grooming and toiletry items. I am a big advocate of having two sets of toiletries. One you keep at home, one you keep in your suitcase. This way you never have that “Dangit!” moment while driving to the airport when you realize you forgot your shampoo/deodorant/toothbrush and will have to go searching for a replacement. (Pictured: the Revolon Perfect Heat curling iron that I only have one of but really should buy a second! Available at Amazon.)

However, there are a few things that I don’t have two of. I do not have two sets of makeup, two curling irons, or two pairs of glasses. These are things that I just have to remember to pack every single time. It can be tricky, because I use these items every day, and usually have to use them right before I go to the airport. There have been times when I have forgotten one of these things, and it certainly makes a trip more complicated.

Also, people who don’t travel as often may find it’s not worth it to have two sets of everything. Enter advice from Reader S. She sent me an email with the following recommendation:

I have a suggestion that you may want to try and see if it works for you for packing.  I travel a lot myself and was always forgetting certain toiletries or items as I’m packing.  I have gotten into the habit of packing things as I get ready for the trip. I’ll have my suitcase out, take a shower and when I’m done I put what I have used in the suitcase….brush my hair, put it in the suitcase….put on deodorant, put it in the suitcase….put on eyeshadow, put it in the suitcase…..  I find that it helps me being exactly what I need to get ready and not a lot of extras.  

I think it’s a great idea! It might take a few minutes longer getting ready in the morning, but you know you won’t forget anything!

Readers, do you have two of everything? Or do you have to remember to pack certain grooming items?

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