The Traveler's Ultimate Dilemma

I honestly don’t feel that I have traveled a lot in my lifetime. I love to go to new places and experience new things. Even though I have not traveled a lot, I have been to a few noteworthy places (and some less noteworthy locations).

 

• Baltimore, Maryland: ’92 Olympic Trials spectator - Gymnastics
• England & Scotland: Cross Cultural Trip in 2002
• Washington DC: Twice - once as an eighth grader and once for work
• New York, New York: To visit the Financial District for my Bachelor’s degree
• Chicago, Illinois: On a whim with an ex
• Orlando, Florida: Visiting with friends though I didn’t go to Disney
• Lakeland, West Palm Beach, Tampa, Jacksonville, Orange Park, and Naples all in Florida: To visit friends
• The Bahamas: On a cruise
• Atlanta, Georgia: To visit my niece
• El Paso, Texas: To visit my ex at Fort Bliss before he deployed
• Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Indiana: On a road trip
• Different cities in Ohio and Indiana: I count these on a smaller scale because it’s still the tri-state area
• Niagra Falls: I’m not sure which side, however, because I was so little (probably 3 or 4)

 

All this to say that, soon, I will be embarking on another excursion and the same quandary still occurs as with most all of these other trips: The Bag. The non-touristy, hip, chic, carry-all bag that doesn’t hurt my shoulder to carry around for hours yet serves my multitude of purposes bag. The traveler’s ultimate dilemma.

 

Over the years, I have employed several different bags, but most of them were to just get the job done. And most of the bags I have purchased were cheap. I mean, the reality of the situation is that I am a frugal individual and have always been on a pretty tight budget.

 

After trekking through all terrains in England and Scotland for a couple of weeks, my shoulders were so sore and tired. Even after a short shopping spree, my shoulder and back are generally sore and achy from my purse alone. So I really would like to find a versatile bag with multi-functionality.

 

But where to begin?

 

Well, lucky for me my friend Shannon had already conducted a search of her own with a plethora of suggestions from her readers (which outnumber my readers by far). So I perused her archives and found a suggestion by one of her readers that I fell in love with, the MEC Right Hand Pod Sling Pack. I figure this will be a good bag for those days where we go shopping. It can hold my identification items, money, camera, and a hoodie just in case. And, since I was there, I ordered the MEC Flux Sling Pack as well for trips to the beach and my carry-on. I may not need both for this trip, but I think they will both be useful in the long run. A sound investment, I say.