TRAVEL GEAR: Summer 2010

Here are some items we find very useful while traveling.  Some will be more useful for disabled travelers, other items are good for everybody.  Links go to Amazon pages to help support Tim and the site.  Thank you for your support...

Doing laundry is one of those chores we hate to do while traveling but having to shell out for detergent, fabric softener, and dryer sheets is just one more hassle and expense we don't need.  These sheets are great for alleviating that.  One sheet in the wash serves as detergent and fabric softener.  Leave it in for the dryer and it becomes a dryer sheet.  They are also very easy to pack.  We take 2 or 3 in a Ziploc bag and use along the way.

OK, I'm ready to name the Kodak Zi8 the best pocket sized HD video camera on the market.  We've now lived with this camera and the Flip Ultra HD for close to a year now.  The Flip is a great camera but makes very large files and the format, MP4, does not play well with Windows.  The Flip editing software is not user friendly either.  The Kodak makes HD files about a third smaller than the Flip.  It also has a jack for an external mic.  You an buy extra memory cards and add capacity to your camera...the Flip is limited to the 2 gigs that are already installed.  The files work seamlessly in the Window Live Movie Maker editing software. It's also slimmer.   I love this camera for its size, quality of video, ease of use and editing, and capacity.  You can see the results on our most recent videos such as our trip to Morro Bay.

When you travel to a destination that does not have great accessibility, a power chair can be a liability.  Transport chairs don't cut it for user comfort on long trips.  This manual has been a Godsend to us.  Rugged construction, large pushable wheels, and a very comfortable, folding cushion make this a great travel chair at a great price of under $350.  Another neat feature is that the armrests are designed to fit a dining table.

Great for your GPS or cell phone but we use it to hold the video camera to get those driver point-of-view shots you see in our videos.

-Darryl