Budget Travel: Cheap motels and cooking equipment

I've been writing about staying in some fairly cheap motels... some good and some bad. One of the things that budget conscious travelers do is to cook dinner while on the road. It sure saves money and can be a healthy alternative to fast food.

If our chosen motel didn't have a kitchenette, we cooked using a Coleman Fold and Go Insta Start Stove. It runs off a small bottle of propane and folds up. The stove provides two burners. Of course you have to cook outside your room but a tailgate or plastic bin will do for support. With two burners you can cook all sorts of meals. And it folds up for easy packing.

The last night of the trip we decided to use up the groceries from the cooler. This produced a marvelous one pan meal of cubed ham, peppers, potatoes, mushrooms and fresh herbs with grated cheese on top.  

Dinner is ready to eat! You can purchase this compact travel stove from Amazon.com.

For Portland area walking, touring and day hiking: Montrail shoes?

I had to replace my New Balance day hikers, the ones that had served me faithfully for years. I found a brand, style, last and size that fit well and so when they wore out I just ordered the same shoe from Internet sites. But all good things must come to an end. The New Balance shoe had been discontinued long ago and just was no longer available, even from those sale sites.

So I checked with my friend and walking expert, Wendy, who reviews walking gear for About.com and she suggested I head over to Fit Right to get measured

and to see what they had. Since they advertised that they serve walkers, I was encouraged.

One of the first things I found out at Fit Right was that they didn't sell day hikers but they did sell trail running shoes. After convincing me that I needed to make a change and step into the modern world, the sales associate brought out a brand I had never heard of... Montrail. Some of the designs were downright garish but one grey shoe, dubbed a hybrid, with turquoise and pink highlights fit so well, I decided to try it. So I am off hiking simple trails and walking gravel paths at the dog park in my new Montrail Fluid Foam ultra trendy trail running shoes. 

So far walking in them feels like floating along. If that continues, I will be a convert. If you'd like to check out some Montrail shoes, you can find them on Amazon.com. They have Montrail for men and women.

Photography copyright: Elizabeth Rose Photography

Traveling with Vera Bradley Bags - My Recommendations

When I wrote about my decision to purchase a Vera Bradley Weekender bag for road trips, I didn't realize how popular that article would be. I guess there are many Vera Bradley fans out there! So, as a follow up, here is how things worked out.

We took a road trip through southern New Mexico. When we packed the car, handling the Vera Bradley bag was very easy. The handles are sturdy and, as I suspected, the pattern of the material did not show the road dust. I thought the fully packed bag was light enough for me to handle but felt a larger bag would be too heavy for me to carry.

My traditional suitcase with wheels is rather heavy empty, so carrying a Vera Bradley actually was lighter. The bag opens up to a full rectangle and so it is easy to pack.

When we arrived at the hotel in Las Cruces, the beautiful El Encanto de las Cruces, I took my bag and a few hanging clothes to the room. I didn't miss my wheeled suitcase at all!

Imagine my surprise when I placed the bag on the bed and found that the bed and room decor matched the Vera Bradley pattern... SunsetSafari. Now that was a coincidence.

More Vera Bradley on the Horizon
This little experiment went so well that I ordered the matching garment bag from Vera Bradley. Gotta cover up those clothes on a hangar with something stylish, right?

Check out the Vera Bradley Bags on Amazon.com

Traveling in hot climates: Wear a special cooler - great gifts!

With my walking group, we've traveled all over the US during some pretty hot months. When we discovered neck coolers we were in 7th heaven! Now there are even more high-tech versions. But the important thing is to avoid heat stroke and dehydration. A good neck cooler will help cool you down while you travel, walk or hike. Neck coolers available from Amazon.com