Someone asked for links to some of the essentials I mentioned in my last post.

My first essential was a TSA Trusted Traveler card. Not something you purchase, but here is a link to the TSA Trusted Travel information page. I will note that a lot of people have TSA Pre-Check for domestic travel but not Global Entry for returning to the U.S. from international travel. Global Entry is only $15 more for a five-year program. That’s $3 a year for the opportunity to skip hours in line at both Immigrations and Customs. You may not be able to do your interview in the city where you live. As I’m writing this, the only enrollment center in Indiana is in South Bend — don’t ask me why. But my personal belief is that it’s very much worth the trip. Maybe I’ll write more about my Global Entry experiences some other time.

My second essential were waterproof shoes. Mine are Salomon GTX women’s hiking shoes. For those of you like me with wide feet, these don’t come in wides but they fit my wide feet comfortably. The salesperson at REI recommended them, and he was right!

My comfortable socks were Bombas. These are super expensive socks, but sometimes you get what you pay for. And, with Bombas, they donate a pair for each pair you buy. I have to remember that to make me feel less guilty about what I’m spending on socks. I’m sure my doctor would tell me to take care of my feet!

My big life saver was my microfiber towel. That, too, came from REI. I had the smallest one. One super nice feature that I didn’t catch until the last day of the trip is that the towel has a little clip on one corner. Rather than fishing it out of my bag all day, I could have attached it to the handle and spent less time fishing. I’ll do that next time.

One more thing that I mentioned was my under seat carry-on. Mine is a Travelon, but I’ve had it so long I don’t think they make this model anymore. I’ve attached a picture of mine to the top of this post. It’s very similar to this model that’s being sold currently, and seems to get very good reviews. The big difference is one of the things I love most about my bag. Mine has two side pockets, separated from the main compartment by thick clear plastic, where I keep my toiletries. The plastic is nice so that if anything spills, it stays away from my clothes. The side access is nice for ease of access at airport security. Still, the best part is that I know I will be able to carry it on, even on the fullest of full flights, so if I had to replace mine, I would consider that other Travelon. One more great thing about my Travelon bag is that it has a lifetime warranty. I don’t even remember how it failed about ten years ago, but I took it to a local luggage store (now out of business), and they sent it in, and Travelon replaced it. Yay.

So those are the things that got me through my DisneyWorld trip. Now it’s time to plan my next trip: NYC.