Two useful items for travelers

1.  A folding cooler from REI.

2.  Men’s swim trunks in navy from Target.

The REI cooler folds flat to go inside a suitcase or can be used as a carry-on bag (with purse, book, snacks, and camera inside, in my case). 

At the destination it works great for keeping a lunch from the farmer’s market cool (with a couple of cold bottles of water) during the drive to the picnic spot.  But it leaks if you put lots of ice in it.  When we’re traveling and really need ice, I just set the cooler on a plastic bag or two to catch the drips. 

At home, I throw the cooler into the car whenever I’m off to shop at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, or Super H here in Atlanta — all involve a 20 – 30 minute drive.  The cooler keeps those frozen dumplings frozen.

Early this summer I arrived at the beach to find I’d forgotten to pack a swim suit.  As any woman can tell you, buying a new swim suit is like undergoing a root canal.  It’s painful and expensive.  So instead of shelling out $60+ for a skimpy suit that didn’t really fit and showed every bit of middle-age flab, I bought men’s swim trunks ($9.99) and an exercise top ($5.99 on clearance).  They sufficed for swimming in the Gulf on that trip.

For our California trip, the swim trunks worked as regular shorts on hot days (baggy, with pockets — can you tell I’m not worried about fashion?), as workout clothing for the rare sprint on a hotel treadmill, and as bathing suit bottoms (now paired with a tankini top from my old swim suits) at hotel pools.  It seems that on any trip you need a pair of shorts and a bathing suit, just in case.  These men’s trunks fit the bill.