While I nearly always carry a backpack or some sort of larger daybag that can accommodate my laptop, I’ve been remembering to also bring with me a small shoulder bag to use for evening outings.

The Avery bag from Overland Equipment can hold pretty much everything you could possibly need for a night (or day) out. I’m thinking about those times when you are traveling, you’re headed out to dinner, but don’t need to lug around your laptop, large camera, guidebook and water bottle.

Instead, it’s easy enough to grab your ID, wallet, cell phone, iPod and earphones and tuck those necessities into this small shoulder bag.

The front pocket closes with a couple of strong magnets. There’s a key attachment (always my favorite feature in a bag) and separate pockets for all your items including snacks.

The main interior compartment has a zippered, netted pocket so you can secure items and actually see what’s in there. It has an adjustable leather strap that is long enough so that it fits over your shoulder (it won’t sit closer to your hip like some purses).

2 slight issues I found with this bag are that the interior is the same color as the outside – in my case, the blue/purple color. This makes it hard to find items against this dark backdrop.

The other problem is that unless you have it quite full, the bottom doesn’t sit very flat. There’s no hard liner on the bottom so you have to adjust your items to ensure it sits upright.

The Amelia is available at Overland Equipment for $70.

If you’re in need of a wallet that goes in your Avery bag, pick up the matching Amelia. You can use this as a clutch on its own or as a wallet that fits perfectly into the Avery.

The Amelia has slots and pockets for all the usuals – cash, credit cards, change, receipts and, I suppose, it’s possible that you could even keep your cell phone in it.

It zippers shut so you’ll have no worries about losing your items.

Both the Amelia and the Avery are made of nylon and come with some lovely decorative stitching which class them both up.

The Avery is available at Overland Equipment for $40.

Travel Well,

Beth

Related links:
Dansko Vegan Flannel Clogs
Dovetail Body Bands for Women

I got a call a couple of weeks ago from a woman (I’ll call her Jane) who runs a tour company. She was looking for companies to connect with because the economy had not been good to her. She was doing the right thing – finding ways to help get the word out about what her company offers by connecting with others in similar fields.

When we determined that this was not a good fit, she went on to, I believe, try to get me to commiserate on how bad things had gotten for tour companies in the last year or two. She had recently decided to partner with a larger travel firm in order to minimize her risk. “One bad tour can ruin you,” Jane said. Apparently a cancelled tour to Egypt due to the recent uprisings had taken a toll on her company. There was another incident in Africa that she mentioned – something about a tour bus getting into trouble with locals. She implied that having this larger travel firm back her up was the only thing that saved the situation in Africa.

I didn’t tell her that we had just had our best month ever (January, 2012) with a record number of people registering for tours. Or that February was shaping up to surpass January.

Despite the all-good-news from WanderTours and Wanderlust and Lipstick, that conversation has hung over me for the last 2 weeks. Uncharacteristically, my mind has been racing with concerns about insurgencies, closed airports and accidents.

If you know anything about me, this mind-racing with what-if-situations is not me at all. I’ve traveled for 25 years without incident (OK, there was that one time in Cambodia in 1992). I’ve always believed that if you’re prepared for a journey and listen to your gut instincts, most situations are manageable. This philosophy (my husband calls it the no-fear gene) has served me well as an individual traveler and as a tour operator.

Hearing this woman’s concerns and noticing the effect it has had on me, made me realize that this is the way that many people approach life (not just travel). Mention to someone that I ride a motorcycle and the first thing they talk about is a disaster story about their friend on a bike. Bring up my travels to a particular place (India, Mexico, you name it) and someone will share a tragic story about that destination.

I’m sure these people would argue differently, but I think their comments have less to do with a concern about my safety than it has to do with their own fears about riding a motorcycle or traveling to said country. Why do they bring it up? Well, there’s more energy and interest in the bad news – good news is boring! Just spend 10 minutes watching a TV newscast or commercials – you’ll see we’re bombarded with negative messaging.

(As I think about this, I realize there are few destinations that elicit purely positive responses. Hawaii comes to mind. But even there people will remind you it’s expensive. Hmmm, where else? Think, Beth, think…)

In the Buddhist tradition, it’s believed that fear is based on your attachment to an outcome. Those thoughts that say, ”What if this doesn’t go the way I planned?” Well, guess what? Things rarely go the way we planned. But the beauty is in accepting what does happen and then making the best of that situation.

I don’t doubt that one bad experience (as in Egypt) can be devastating to a small company. And it’s likely that the partnership that Jane made with the larger travel firm was the best business decision she could have made.

But I also think we create our own realities (past, present and future) and that to live with a mind filled with fear, serves only to create more anxiety and ultimately attracts situations that perpetuate that fear.

No, you can’t control when and where an uprising will happen, but you can make lemonade out of it (Jane’s partnership might have been that lemonade). But spreading that fear, just causes others to get pulled in to your drama.

I’m very fortunate to live in a city where we have a high concentration of adventure travel companies. I regularly get together with other tour operators and brainstorm on how to make our businesses better. Though it’s an unspoken rule, we focus on the positive. We share information, contacts, experiences, and provide feedback. While we don’t sugarcoat the state of our businesses, we never tumble into the negative future of what-ifs.

These are the people I aspire to surround myself with. Those who see the world of possibilities rather than looking for the fine print and the what-if’s. Without a doubt you have to make sure all the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed. Have a backup plan. But being fearful about what might go wrong is a surefire way to stifle your travel, your life and your work.

Travel Well,

Beth

Photo credit:
Woman by spaceodissey
Reclining Buddha by joestump

Don’t forget about this month’s contest. You can easily enter to win Dovetail Body Bands for women – a pretty darned good way to keep your items safe while you travel.

So what might you win?

These 2 security items are body bands that are part of the Dovetail Travel in Peace collection. They include a waistband that wraps around your hips (left) as well as the wing in which you insert your arms through the loops and the pocket sits against your back and over your bra.

Both are great options for times when you want to keep your valuables safe and won’t need to access them at places like border stops or in a bank. Each will hold your passport, credit cards and money.

While the body bands look small right out of the package, each of these stretch enough so that a passport can easily fit inside.

So… wanna win your own?

Throughout February, you can enter to win your very own set of Dovetail Body Bands. Three lucky winners will be chosen on March 1, 2012.

And, you have TWO CHANCES TO ENTER!

1) Sign up for the Wanderlust and Lipstick newsletter. This goes out just once a month and your information is never shared.

2) Sign up for the RSS email feed (see the “subscribe me” box at right) to receive an email each time I post to this blog (usually no more than 3x per week).

Subscribe to both and you’ve got 2 chances to enter this month.

Oh, and be a good egg… forward this along to someone whom you think might like to enter and win their very own set of Dovetail Body Bands.

Approximate Value: $48/set

This contest closes at 11:59 pm PST on February 29, 2012 and the lucky winners will be chosen on March 1. We can only ship to North American addresses (sorry!).

The winner will have 3 days to respond before another winner is chosen.

Good luck!

Travel Well,

Beth