Grubbycup's Top Ten Travel Tips

Veteran traveler and Cannabis expert Grubbycup shares some tips for safe, happy and efficient travel, just in time for summer.

I attend several events and shows a year, and have for several years - traditionally on a pretty tight budget. Here are some tips that I have learned over the years, that seem to help me when traveling, but use at your own risk.

1) Try to have or make friends in the areas to which you travel
This is not always possible, but I cannot emphasize enough how much easier being on the road is when there are friendly folks around who you can call if plans go awry. Getting picked up at the airport by a buddy with a pre-rolled joint is a lot nicer (and usually a lot cheaper) than renting a car or taking a taxi to your hotel room.

2) Do not over-pack
Airlines charge a premium for additional luggage, often at rates more expensive than finding a place to do laundry at the destination. I travel with about a week's-worth of clothes, and plan out times when I can wash them. At the cost of a checked bag, you can often do many loads of laundry over the course of the trip, and the airline has less opportunity to lose your luggage.

3) Take a snack or two
Some trail mix (after all, that is its original purpose), jerky, chocolate in winter months, etc. can help to tide you over when finding access to food is inconvenient or cost-prohibitive, such as on long flights or during extended layovers in airports. While you cannot travel with much liquid, there are dry drink powders that can be carried and used with bottled water.

4) Do not carry weed
Make other arrangements, but do not take your Cannabis with you on the plane. I know, a lot of folks do, and a lot of folks get away with it, but getting though the whole process is usually annoying enough as it is, so do not give anyone a reason to make it less pleasant. Having friends at the destination (see #1) can make this simpler to do. If you must take something, consider edibles, as they tend to be more discreet and the longer lasting effects can come in useful when trying to nap on the plane.

5) Also, do not carry anything else that the TSA prohibits
Traveling with contraband really is not worth the risk, and generally holds up travel processes. Besides, you do not want to be at the airport debating whether or not it is worth the trouble, only to throw the item in the trash and walk away from it.

6) Bring a lighter, papers and crutches (filter tips)
As long as it is legal for you to do so. While I do not advocate taking weed, you should have something on hand to smoke with for when you do obtain some pot. Often times, friends will remember to get a little something to you, so it is good form to end that conversation with, "Thank you so very much" and not, "Um, do you have anything I can smoke it in?" Since I blow a little glass on the side, I usually travel with a few small new pipes, so I can use them and leave them with friends along the way and I never have to travel with a dirty pipe.

7) Dress for the flight, not the destination
I travel in sweat pants, a T-shirt and a hoodie, whenever possible. For one thing, sitting in the same small seat for hours on end is an uncomfortable proposition to start with, so loose-fitting, comfy clothes can help to take the edge off of the discomfort. Additionally, any keys, wallet or other pocket stuff you may be carrying can be slipped into the hoodie, taken off at the TSA checkpoint and put into a bin, eliminating having to hassle with them in line. Besides, even if you enter the plane crisp and sharply dressed, too many hours pass just sitting on the plane and even a perky person's edges tend to wilt a bit.

8) When passing through TSA, figure out how many bins you need before you get to the station
For example, I always grab two bins. I put through my carry-on bag, my personal bag, one bin with my shoes, hat, hoodie (with all my pocket stuff in it) and one bin for my laptop. Be polite to the TSA folks; like many folks in uniform wielding power, they can screw up your whole day on a whim.

While I do not advocate the practice, for myself, if they pat my tummy more than once I just lift my shirt. I am not sure why it seems to unnerve them more than actually touching me (which I find way creepier), but I act helpful and have not gotten in trouble for it yet.

9) Choose your hotels wisely
My personal preference when I cannot swing a couch to surf is for the cheap to mid-range chain hotels. You want to select one that is above 'scary', obviously, but you tend to get more accommodation at the reasonably priced places. For example, at hotel chain 'L' that I frequent in Denver, you pay less for the room and it comes with free TV, free Wi-Fi and free donuts in the morning. Someone did me a favor one trip and put me in chain 'S', where the room was not only more expensive, but there was a charge for any TV and Wi-Fi use and the only food available was overpriced room service or the snooty cafe.

10) Have fun and enjoy yourself
No matter what goes wrong, or what happens, it is your life and you are living it, so make it a good one. Something goes wrong somewhere on almost every trip - just make it part of the adventure. One of the wonders of the modern world is how easy it is to travel vast distances to meet people from distant lands and foreign parts, even just within the United States. We are all people with things to do, people to see and lives to lead.

[Thumbnail photo credit: Japan Airlines' Boeing 777-200 (JA8984), taking off from Osaka International Airport by J o.]

[Header photo credit: Dirk Ingo Franke via WikiMedia Commons]