This is one of my favorite photos I've taken to date. It was shot Christmas day while traveling from my parents house back to Brooklyn and after staring at it for the zillionth time, I started to think about all the things we do to entertain ourselves in transit.
I tend to over pack, but not clothes and necessities. I over pack my travel bag. Always and even for short subway trips. I know if I just bring a book I'll want to do something else, so I end up with a bag full of knitting, reading, my camera (of course), video games, notebook and pens, etc. It's ridiculous.
Especially since I usually just fall asleep or stare out the window.
So, how do you prepare yourself to travel? Is a good book enough to keep you busy or are you an entertainment pack rat like me?
I tend to over pack, but not clothes and necessities. I over pack my travel bag. Always and even for short subway trips. I know if I just bring a book I'll want to do something else, so I end up with a bag full of knitting, reading, my camera (of course), video games, notebook and pens, etc. It's ridiculous.
Especially since I usually just fall asleep or stare out the window.
So, how do you prepare yourself to travel? Is a good book enough to keep you busy or are you an entertainment pack rat like me?
Nope. I do that too. Like just recently when we flew down to Southern California, just for myself I packed two books (cause I knew I would finish the first one pretty quick), my gameboy with all my games, my camera, DVD player and my iPod. Know what I did both planes rides the entire time (besides nearly hyperventilating)? I just listened to my iPod. I could have packed a much smaller bag!
I love this photo. It's one of my current top 10 of anyone's work, not just yours. It's perfect.
I used to take everything not nailed down when I traveled. That usually included a couple of books, because you never know what you'll want to read, music in some form, magazines because a book might be too much (huh?), all manner of drawing supplies, camera, crossword puzzle(s)... it goes on. Now I've gone the opposite direction and barely take anything. Maybe a book, often a camera. I realized that, for me, if I had too many options, I ended up doing none of it. Butterfly mind... I have to limit myself or I'll spend too much time deciding, or end up starting and changing to something else. Also, I no longer need a pack mule to drag everything along.
For me, it depends on the method of transportation. For airplanes, I need aggressive entertainment that will distract me from what's happening. I need a movie or very loud music AND a glossy, bright magazine.
For trains - music is enough.
When I was living in NYC, I used to read books on the subway but come to think of it, now I only read books at home. Hmmm...