Prep for a light-speed trip

My daughter and I are going on a speedy trip , and want your expertise on what I can or can't take with me.

The trip will (hopefully) go like this.

Take the train from from our city @ 5:30 am . Reach other city at 10:30 am. Take a taxi to a university and go thru a maze of offices and personalities, hoping for a preliminary approval of admission.

Offices close about 4 pm. Take a taxi back to railway station. There is a trip @ 4:30pm . but to be on the safe side, a reservation is made on the 8:30 pm trip back home. We arrive about 1:30 am . Start the car going home (about 30 minutes drive).

I will be going light. My bag will be a messenger bag in the range of 1000 cubic inches. It blends in better than a backpack. Plus with moving around offices, and possibly meeting some officials, I don't want to be carrying a huge duffel bag.

Mainly it would be my daughter meeting them , while I wait outside, but there is nothing for sure. Also, not sure if one day will be enough. Someone maybe "in a meeting" and we are forced to come back next day. So, we check in a hotel and visit them again next day. It is a slim chane but can happen.

So, if it were you , what would you take in the bag and on your person??

I will carry only one bag, and no checked luggage. That means no SAKS or multitools. Maybe I will take a small EMT shears.

In my bag, I am thinking to put :
- A few granola bars, and a small bottle of water
- Medical pouch
- Few bandaids and alcohol wipes
- Wet wipes
- Mints, gum and perfume .. and hygiene stuff
- A pair of socks
- Flashlight or two
- Mobile phone charger
- A spare mobile phone
- A5 paper pad and a few pens
- Copies of contact numbers

The wallet will be lightened, removing non-necessary cards
Keyrings will stay home. I will take a "travel keyring" with one car key (for the car I will leave in the railway station) and a small flashlight. That's it.

I may add a neck lanyard with one flashlight and carabiner.
The lanyard itself may provide cordage if needed.

Any ideas to improve my load while keeping it light ?

Travel size toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss and deodarant are included in hygene stuff?

Medical pouch AND bandaids and wipes, or WITH ONLY bandaids and wipes? Meds?

Extra batteries?

Change of underwear and undershirt? Maybe a rain poncho and an extra no-wrinkle shirt?

A bandana? (They have 1,001 uses.)

Large bottle of water instead of small and microPUR tablets?

Hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and bug spray?

House key, photon and whistle on keyring?

Cash?

Hate to be a downer but I watched a story on the news last week about a truck that crashed into a passenger train. What would you want to have with and on you?

Thanks

Yes, hygeine stuff include tooth brush , deodorant ..etc.

Medical pouch is only for my medicines. I take that pouch from bag to bag and always with me. I can rename it to ( my personal pharmacy) LOL.

FAK is limited to alcohol wipes and bandaids for minor cuts. Not much use (I think ) for larger gauze pads ..etc. in a very urban setup.

In my corner of the world, I wouldn't worry about rain in the summer. Too much sun though ! But we are well covered with long loose clothes.

Extra batteries ? For the same weight, maybe I will add a few more disposable (keyring size) flashlights. Because I have no use for batteries other than flashlights. Mobile phones are rechargeable. I may have forgotten something though.

House key, not necessary
Family is at home and at least mom and DD2 will be awake, maybe others as well.

hmmmm

I wonder if a city map will be of any use in this case ? A map is flat and doesn't weigh much, but the bag isn't that big either.

You've got a good assortment. I carry very similar when flying commercial and dealing with missed connections, etc. I would definitely include some sort of cutting tool, preferably a multitool. If that might be seen as socially threatening in your environment, I would go with a SAK Classic. How about maps of your destination?

When a backpack doesn't work, I will load up everything in a briefcase. Mine has as much capacity as a fairly large backpack, and I can throw in an extra shirt and jacket. It makes me look scholarly, which is quite an achievement.

Just some ideas that my be so obvious as not worth mentioning:

1. Extra cash, small bills in several places.
2. Your cell phone and hers, both fully charged.
3. A couple of cheap disposable dollar store ponchos even if there is no chance of rain.
Not quite on topic but also:
4. A small notebook--keep track of the names of the people DD interviews with (if possible, get a business card). Immediately after returning home, have her write and snail mail a short note thanking them for their time and expressing her desire for admission.

Socks, underwear and shirt for each of you...gps to find things. Book.
Sunblock, tiny compass.

I get your thinking but accidents happen. When I travel I like to have at least some gauze, pressure banadage (maxi pad) and a triangular, but I'm the over(?)prep type. They don't weight much, take up little room and if that train accident last week was my train, I bet it would have come in handy. Mass casualties means wait time.



Great idea! Extra batteries and bulbs all in one convenient package.

Great idea! Maybe one of those tourist maps with major streets, landmarks and importan public builindings (hospital, police, etc.) tlaid out.

What are you kidding!?!? As you approach the speed of light, your mass will approach infinity. This means you will require a likewise infinite amount of energy just to move. On the other hand, time will also slow down for you, relative to everyone else moving at a slower speed. So you'll have plenty of time to figure out how to do any of this.

If you go faster than the speed of light, then you'll go back in time and rethink the wisdom of this light speed trip.

Da Bing

For a future trip to the US I would like to confirm that you are not allowed to carry a pocket knife on trains. Last train trip I took in the US was in '93 (NY to Washington)and I carried a Buck 110 and Victorinox Champ on my person and a Navy Colt Replica in my baggage.

Immodium . . . 'cuz you never know.

Eye drops to get rid of the look of red, irritated eyes. The old rule about first impressions comes into play. Even though you will be one in a faceless mass, it is still important.

I think the mention about wipes is good. I quick refresh while waiting in the interminable lines is good.

My $.02.

Have fun.

A good size book pack/day-pack should blend in without a problem if you end up needing more room.

BTDT piece of advice. Document everything. When they tell you what courses will be required, have them give it to you signed, dated, & a copy to the registrar's office. Same thing applies after she's accepted & her adviser states that class X can be substituted for class Y. I went through the first process with the last degree & have talked with people that got caught by the second.

Exactly, backpackjac ... also, they make nice gifts if someone helps and things go in the right direction.

( I would definitely include some sort of cutting tool )

Other than a pair of scissors or shears , I think it is too risky to do that. I am thinking to take a small multitool AFTER removing the blades.

( Immodium . . . 'cuz you never know.)

Oh, I know.
Two weeks ago I had diahrea and vomitting

I still feel nausea time to time, and I found that cinnamon flavoured gum helps. So, I am loading up with the gum to help with nausea and stress.

Regarding multitools, I just got an idea

I always wished to have a multitool with more than one blade , so that if one is dull, I have another blade to keep going with stopping and looking for a sharpener.

So, there are two identical multitools in my collection. I will remove the straight and serrated blades from one of them and put in the other. This way, I have one multitool that is exactly what I want, and the other will be travel friendly !!

Yea !

LOL! Wrong thread, Izzy!

You are going to a city, by way a a RR station, and taking a cab. Gee ... I don't know ... sounds to me like there might have been people there before. Maybe even people there when you get there. They just might have food, water and shelter.

Pack comfortable natural-fiber clothes (comfortable and fire resistant), sturdy shoes, your wallet with a little cash and a CC, a jacket (they run the AC too cold), and a smile (relax and make some friends). Pen knife (clean nails make a better impression), lighter, a 12' hank of light line ( convert the jacket into a backpack and amaze the kids with a cat's cradle), cell phone, a couple of clean bandannas might come in handy (bandage, binding, etcetera). If you think it important stuff a granola or energy bar ( saves having to eat stale and overprices travel food) and a single dose packets of aspirin (headache or heart attack) and Imodium (diarrhea) in the jacket pocket.

In the heat I sometimes slip a half-liter bottle of water, refilled from the tap, in a jacket pocket. Not that I can't find water traveling but having a bottle I save the $2.50 for a new bottle and wet my whistle anywhere. On mass transit, if they object, I pout it out and keep the bottle. I get less objection when I tell then I 'recycle the bottles'.

I usually pack a small book or magazine for entertainment and a pocket notebook and pencil for notes.

Mass transit has supplies available. Vending areas and small shops are common. Like any town, it will have a drugstore and somewhere to eat.

Most cabbies are great sources of knowledge and wisdom about their town. Ask a cabbie where you can find something, pretty much anything at all, and they will know where to get it. A friendly cabbie is an asset. Be friendly and tip generously for value given without being a pushover. Same goes for conductors and transit police. Don't try to pass yourself off as a local. Your a traveler and new. Admit that, without coming across as gullible, they saw you coming half a mile off, and anyone in authority will pretty much automatically feel obligated to look out for you.

I've seen a simple polite smile and openness used as leverage so well that the pimps and hustlers were genuinely helpful.

My EDC FAK (ie everyday carry first aid kit) is a small plastic band aid box. Maybe 3x3x1 inch. After a few months I realized what gets used the most is not the bandaids but the Pepcid and chewable Pepto. Now i put in a couple Tylenol and a couple Immodiums, couple Benadryls for allergy sufferers which can be as debilitating as any major wound. Plus ya know, couple bandaids.

It's a day trip in the city. Other than being out of your natural surroundings, what you carry on you shouldn't be all that different than what you carry on you every day for work.

As what others have mentioned toss in a book. Maybe a small radio or smartphone app that lets you listen to your stations back home. Hat. Some jerky or powerbars since you know you'll gone the whole day. But campuses are pretty good about having hot food available healthy or otherwise. extra cash.

Art
I have already taken a dozen or more such trips by bus or car ..etc. Problem is not the physical travel . It is the circumstances around this trip. Even the outcome of the trip (posititve or negative) opens a can of worms in our family life.

Add to that, the trip comes in a time when we have an URGENT project at work where we have to work evenings and weekends. Also, my other car has broken down and my son couldn't use it to help with some chores and tasks.

And, you wouldn't beleive me when I add : ants have raided our house, and the garage door is not working. Swear to God I am telling the truth.

Briefly speaking, the trip comes in a time when my head is spinninng and I can hardly figure out 1+1 =

So, even the simplistic suggestion (take more cash in small bills ) is a welcome reminder.

BTW
We have just returned from the trip
And I found out the best tool to take with you anywhere is your BRAIN. Don't leave it behind. A big smile goes a long way too.

The outcome of our trip was negative, but we are working on things. It is not TEOTWAWKI yet.

Gadget wise, we didn't use any "tool". I used the bag's water bottle holder, and used one or two pieces of gum. There were plenty of cash in small bills in my front pocket, and plenty in the bag and wallet. We didn't need to spend a night in a hotel although an important person wasn't there and we thought of returning next day , but we had no gurantee he would be there next day, so we folded the trip.

I took with me a small bladeless MT (I removed the blades).
It was not used anyeway. Medical pouch and FAK were not needed either.

Our original return trip was at 8:40 pm. We went back to the railway station at about 1:45 pm and asked for an earlier trip back home and were pleasantly surprised that the train was just leaving in 5 minutes.

I took lots and lots of small bills.
The daughter took the techie stuff (smartphone ..etc)

Food and beverages were available as you describe, but DD is not a big eater anyway, and I don't eat much when I am on the move (at home is another story LOL). We spent the time running stairs/elevators chasing this or that and getting lost between offices.

Outcome was negative, but we should always be ready for whatever comes, and try to make the best of it. Finally I managed to eat something in the train in our trip back home.

Small note about gadgets and stuff
My bag was navy blue. One of the spare pens leaked inside it. The stain in the bottom corner was not noticeable until I put the bag in my lap and saw a blue stain on my clothes.

Not a big deal compared to the negative outcome of the trip, however, it is worth it to be alert. If we had to meet with some folks in higher position, I would be embarrased with the stains on my clothes. I didn't take any spares to keep bag load to a minimum !!!!

bummer things didn't work out on the DD front. Good use of of the thought process though. These expeditions are good food for thought.

Tomorrow I am going on a day trip to the far end of the state, Kartchner Caverns with my DS, dad and godfather. We will be on heavily traveled man freeways and as good a cell coverage as you can expect. Still, we will have a loaded ice chest provisions, extra gallons of water, sleeping gear and lots of other PSK items.

Hope for the best, train for the worst.

... depends on the city ...

I'm partial to the "Phased plasma rifle in a 40 watt range".

Hey, just what you see on the racks, pal.

-Blast

What Ahnold wants, Ahnold gets. Now break out the plasma rifles smartly.

A tip for light speed travelers: You can take a 4 foot long board, move it at well above the speed of light, and it will drop into a two foot hole. Once it drops into the hole and stops, you have somewhat of a mess however. It is important to remember this if you are the one traveling at the speed of light. Watch out for potholes - they are smaller than they look!