Year: 2021

How to Approach Travel After Receiving a COVID Vaccine

The last year has been rough.

Not just in a “quarantining-at-home-sucks” rough, but also as a travel writer I’ve had to effectively kill my business as a matter of public safety. I won’t bore you with the details, but suffice it to say that our traffic is dead, our social media reach is dead, and it is going to be a hell of a time to turn things around over the coming months and years.

I’m thankful, in many ways, that I also have a local blog for my city because after the initial shutdown many people had to stick local by default. In fact, March 2021 was our third best traffic month ever and we expect that only to rise as more and more individuals get vaccinated.

But what about this travel blog? In the last 12 months, we went on precisely one trip- a socially distant road trip to the Finger Lakes to enjoy some wine outdoors for a long weekend (with quarantines before and after our trip, of course).

Now that we are fully vaccinated, well, it is time to change that. We are starting to travel again, and in this one we are sharing a bit more on how we are approaching things.

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What is the Best Inflatable Travel Pillow for Your Money?

One of the most unforgiving experiences in travel is attempting to sleep on airplanes. For some this skill comes easy, while the rest of us are not so lucky. 

Poor leg room, minimal reclining capabilities, and zero comforts make it incredibly difficult for any sort of rest and relaxation to be had. Amplify that over 12 hours, and the experience can be a nightmare.

Airlines try to provide small comforts such as pillows and blankets, however these are in poor design that leave most people wanting more. With blankets that don’t quite cover and pillows that are missing half the required fluff, it is almost easier to go without. 

To get around this, many travelers bring external items on board to increase comfort, with the most common site found on any plane being an inflatable travel pillow. 

Finding the best inflatable neck pillow, however, may be incredibly challenging as each style has its own pros and cons associated. In this one, we review several options from years of testing!

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Standard Luggage Review – A Large Carry-on Backpack

Disclaimer: We were provided this backpack courtesy of Standard Luggage Co. for a review. All opinions are our own.

When it comes to luggage that we can travel with, we often find ourselves balancing form and function. We like our backpacks to look neat and elegant and also have the capacity to match.

For many years, our travel setup included rolling suitcases with separate backpacks for electronics and more sensitive items (generally in the structure of one large checked suitcase, one carry-on rolling suitcase, and two backpacks). But recently many companies have started to merge the two carry-on styles in the form of backpacks large enough to accommodate everything in a single piece of luggage.

Standard Luggage Co is one such company, and we were fortunate enough to put their Carry-on Travel Backpack to the test in this review!

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