Already thinking about my obligatory trip report....how do you remember daily events, all the little stuff that makes a report interesting to read?

If you keep a digital camera with you, take shots of things as you go along each day. That may help your recollection when you get back home.

perfect....of course I'll have a camera so there ya go!
thanks so much!

I used to use a mini tape recorder and keep a daily "journal" of all those easy to forget but fun details. I would transcribe it when I got home. I now use my Iphone. One devise for phone, ipod, recorder, calendar, email and back up emergency camera. Barb

I just ad lib, and write as I remember it.

Most of the fun of writing a trip report is recalling your experiences. They WILL come back to you. Of course, if you do a lot of advance planning, you can just check those notes like we do.

First, I take a TON of photos, including of things like signs, restaurant fronts, and even the food.
Next, I carry a small 3x5 spiral notebook and I do take the time to write some notes, sometimes during a meal while waiting for food, sometimes before I go to bed at night.
I also bring a lightweight laptop, so sometimes I write there before I go to bed.
The better my notes, the better my trip report.

Yes, you should definitely abandon the idea of relaxing on your vacation and stay up all night with your head buried in a travel journal!



The details won't escape you; impressions are just that, they make a mark.

(My first official suggestion!) I tend to carry a spiral notebook with me as well. I find it a nice way to wind down after a day out or a way to pass time if/when traveling between destinations.

I also make sure to grab cards, brochures, napkins, menus, etc. Not only do they serve as an easy reminder, but they're cheap (free!) souvenirs.

Now that I gave this suggestion, I better come through with my own travel report in January!

my wife carries a very small spial notebook and takes notes during the day....before bed she writes in a journal every nite.....this comes in so handy when we get home and later when we want to remember things.....she now even collects business cards, entrance slips, etc and pastes them in the diary....its a nice keepsake...

i write the trip report using that as a guide....

we often refer back to the diaries in future years for info and for fodors posts...

I take a spiral Mead notebook. I try to write notes every day, but sometimes its a couple of days before I catch up. Restaurant cards and similar thing go in the notebook. I tried taking a recorder on one trip but it just didn't work out for me.

First of all, your characterization of the trip report as obligatory is viewed as entirely appropriate.

I do the trip report while I'm in the middle of the trip, reporting as I go. It's easy to remember things from earlier in the day. If no internet access, I rely on cards and other scraps as well as my skewed memory. It is amazing how many little things are remembered.

Don't worry too much about it. Have a great time and tell us the best and the worst of it.

Gpanda
Obligatory "viewed entirely as appropriate"
Yeah, I know....that's why I'm stressed! ;0)'

thanks for the support everyone...I'll do my very best.
All the great suggestions here have been noted carefully.

jaspertl,
I remember as a kid when we did our 2+ week long vacations with the family (in tiny RVs with not nearly enough room!) my dad would carve out a half hour each night and jot down notes and funny anecdotes from each evening, usually while the rest of us were unwinding and getting ready for bed. It made for great end-of-the-year christmas letters and really awesome photo albums with the best captions, not to mention some great family stories that we probably would have forgotten otherwise. It's a habit I've kept up since I've started my own traveling. I always carry a mini-notebook (like moleskin) in my backpack with a pen, and if i ever have a moment to sit down with a cup of tea, i jot down a few notes and wortwhile memories that i can pull from later. For longer trips I kept a blog (like my stay in India for 3.5 months, or France for a month).

jaspertl: Do you take notes throughout the day?

Throughout? No. But toward the end of the day, as a post-dinner ritual, ms_go and I do go over our trip notes for the day. We'll sometimes skip a day if we don't feel like it, but never two days in a row.

Memories fade. Trip reports live forever. We want to make sure we get it right.

ana---you figured us out....you are a brain surgeon....

It strikes me that one is not required to read those reports that one finds tedious (e.g., anything by RhkKmk). Therefore, AS's familiarity with the standard reports seems somewhat self-inflicted. I'd write more, but I'm having a bagel with chive cream cheese.

Brief notes if you take some, no novel writing while on your trip.

The mere fact that you plan to recount certain details later will help you remember them.

Have a good trip.

jaspertl: What is your favorite way to "collect" memories during your trip? That's the best way to prepare to write a great trip report.

My daughters and I like to keep a small journal with us. We don't write everything down...just a bit of poetry inspired by a sunrise...a funny incident...or a description of our favorite new food....

Also...we like to keep business cards or paper menus from our favorite restaurants or hotels or museums. Not everything...just our favorites.

My husband likes to take photos of things that strike him as fascinating...

Even keeping a receipt from a fantastic meal can remind you of your trip.

The trick is don't try to report everything... Just report what is special for you.

Save a sketch, a doodle on a napkin, or a few words that you jot down. That can job your memory when you get home. Save a postcard...

Enjoy! Just give us a highlight or two.

Trips are the only times during which I keep a journal; it's a PITA sometimes, but I've never regretted it. However, my most recent trips have been recorded in emails to my friends and family every couple of days; I just email myself a copy as well. Then I write the trip report using the emails as the base. I still use the journal as a backup, though.

Photographic memory and jotting down addresses/websites of places visited. I really kind of write straight from my memory. Happy Travels!

photographic memory! boy would that come in handy.....about a month ago I saw an Oprah interview with this woman who remembers everything....I mean everything about what happened and on what day it happened from when she was a child til now. Too much of a good thing.......

Now me, I just lost a pair of golf shoes. How nuts is that. I have no idea where they went...only thing I can figure is perhapys I left them on the hood of the car or maybe on the side of the car changing out of them...who knows...they're no where to be found.

Thanks for all the suggestions...I think I'll be taking some notes every evening, picking up business cards and menus, taking pic;s of signs (and everything else) and that should do me! I'll just have to chalk up most of it to memory...there could be trouble...

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! Wishing you health and prosperous travels.

22 days

j---look down at your feet...do you have them on?

nope....their not there

at your girl friends house?

nope...or my boyfriends...