I am leaving in 4 hours to visit some new and interesting places! Our first stop is Cleveland, Ohio. We are only there for one night and then picking up the rental car to drive to our timeshare in Toronto. I am very excited about this stopover though for 4 reasons:
1. One of my good friends from Disney lives in the area and we are having dinner, Cole Conway:
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| Myself and Cole in Animal Kingdom 2-16-2010 |
2. We are going to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!!!!!!!!
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| Entrance to this Mecca of Music |
3. They filmed A Christmas Story here and they have the house/museum.
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| A Christmas Story house |
4. Eat at Melt Bar and Grilled (Where Adam Richman did a challenge and the owner, Matt Fish, has been voted as one of the Most interesting men in 2010.
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| Yummy Yummy in my Tummy |
Our next stop is Buffalo, NY. Home of the original American wings! This I am going to try and convince my Uncle Gene to let us go and try. Anchor Bar is claimed to be Home of the Original Chicken Wing!!! I very much want to try this!
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| Mmmmmm Chicken |
Then we drive up through the border into Ontario, Canada! My first time ever in the country! We are staying in Toronto and visiting Niagara Falls (Canadian side) one of the days. Here is a list of some sights I want to see:
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| Casa Loma |
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| CN Tower (World's Largest Tower - Bucket List) |
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| High Park (Zoo, Playgrounds, Sports Facilities, Gardens AMAZING) |
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| Niagara Falls and Horseshoe Falls (Bucket List) |
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| Eat at Medieval Times (Bucket List) |
These are the main things I would like to see and do! When we get back from our holiday then I will post pictures and mention what we actually ended up doing. Now I did get ahead of myself so let me backtrack on the packing/planning side of the trip. So my cousin Brianna and I (as most of you know) are going on a 4 month, 27 country, European Adventure next summer. We both became members at REI and did some gear shopping, which we are both going to test out on this trip.
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| Civita Day Pack (Rick Steves' Personal Choice) |
I like these day packs because you can hold so much more than a purse (obviously) and it makes a great carry on choice for your electronics, clothes, makeup, and many other things you might need in case your checked baggage doesn't make it with you :-( This is a cheap and necessary purchase:
http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=8&id=40
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| REI Tech Tour 60 Women's Travel Pack (inside main compartment) |
REI does carry this for men as well the only difference is it's a 65 Liter not a 60. Bri and I bought these for Europe it came recommended by the man in the store and it was also the cheapest one!!! We will be using these for the first time on this trip.
http://www.rei.com/product/video/809154?12NHYwMjpedC68uzzEZBX8BLBd99uXrb#ooid=12NHYwMjpedC68uzzEZBX8BLBd99uXrb
To buy this pack go to:
http://www.rei.com/product/809154/rei-tech-tour-60-travel-pack-womens
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| Nice cover to convert into a duffle bag for checking |
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| Rick Steves' Flat Pack 3-Pack (space saver bags - roll out air) |
Brianna bought her and I a bunch of the vacuum ones which worked great when I left for 6 months to work at Walt Disney World in Florida. But since our travels to Europe and other areas won't always have a hosed vacuum at our disposal I bought us these roll out ones. Which are working great so far!
http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=122&id=160
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| Rick Steves' Classic Toiletries Kit |
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| Kit Closed |
This Organizer holds a lot actually. I have a full size shaving cream, shampoo and conditioner, mini body wash, face wash, toner, revitalizer, razor, perfume and ibuprofen. So it does hold quite a bit.
http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=150&id=402
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| Everything in it's right place |
With my bag all packed I'm ready to go! A few things extra I bought worth mentioning:
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| Marmot Rain Jacket |
I bought this nice jacket at REI as well. Not much insulation mainly just a slicker.
http://www.rei.com/product/804387/marmot-precip-rain-jacket-womens
An important part of any trip is planning for the unexpected; so I like to pack a travel umbrella along with the jacket and keep the umbrella, at all times, in my day pack. When traveling always wear your heaviest clothing so you don't have excess weight in your checked baggage. Wear your heaviest shoes, sweater, coat whatever it may be. Also make sure to check the weather ahead of time so you can be better prepared. Trust me when our luggage didn't show up, until the 4th day in Germany, and I was stuck in my pj's the entire time in the rain and cold...I wished I had known then what I know now.
http://www.weather.com/
These purchases help out as well:
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| Compact binoculars |
http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=126&id=367
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| Money Pouch (Neck or waist) |
http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=124&id=157
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| European Universal Adapter |
http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=126&id=423
And lastly a TSA approved lock for your backpack or luggage (especially if you are traveling by train)
http://travelstore.ricksteves.com/catalog/index.cfm?fuseaction=product&theParentId=124&id=328
I hope this gave you some idea as to what to pack for a short trip. Mine is from today May 27th thru June 4th. Then it's off to Las Vegas...that will be a different packing post! Cheers :-)
