s.fowler

Given our recent discussions I find myself forced to confess that on my recent trip to Hungary and Macedonia I FORGOT MY WASH CLOTH!!! This is truth... and it was an awkward 2 weeks... couldn't find one in the grocery store in Skopje and ended up buying a big sponge.... [drawing a veil over the rest of the story...]

Kimberley

Would you believe I forgot to pack my green card?! (For those of you unfamiliar with the rules - it can be a little sticky to get back into the country without it....)

BOB THE NAVIGATOR

Enough money!! Enough said.

elvira

Hemlock, so I could have gotten rid of two Loons that were driving me nuts.

lola

My husband.

Marion

Sorry, no confession re last trip. But our first one!! Now over 10 yrs. ago -- we left our raincoats on the Limo-bus & we were headed for London. Happy Ending, we had great weather with only one short late day shower (had picked up plastic ponchos which we carry even today). <BR> <BR>I do have a question, though. Elvira, you have mentioned the traveling Loons before. Now I know a loon is a form of bird & one makes loon soup by boiling 3 Loons and 1 rock for 6 hours, then throwing out the Loons & eating the rock --But, if you can without revealing too personal info, can you explain what/who the traveling Loons are? etc? <BR> <BR>Hope I'm not the only curious one out here. <BR> ([email protected]) <BR> Date: 11/12/1999, 2:53 pm ET <BR> <BR> Message: Hemlock, so I could <BR> have gotten rid of two Loons <BR> that were driving me nuts.

jane doe

TRUE STORY......My husband and I went on a fantasic and romantic trip through Switzerland and Italy....I forgot my birth control!!!! Needless to say, we had to make stop and the local pharmacy, I was totally embarrassed because I didn't know how to explain the item that I needed to purchase in French (we were in Switzerland then). We still laugh about this today!

elvira

The Traveling Loons are a group of loose women - no, I mean a loose GROUP of women - who travel together to foreign parts (and, after all, parts is parts). We started as the FabFour (Rusty, OldHand, Elvira and Ahgeez - that's my sister - I thought that was her name for years because Dad always started every conversation with her "AHGEEZ, what are you DOING?"), traveling to England, Northern Ireland, Malta, Spain and France. Then we added two more goils, and on to Greece and Morocco. That's when we became the Traveling Loons, as we received many comments "whaddya a bunch a LOONS?", and as a concession to the bird variety that whoops just like we do when something strikes us funny (the bird, though, has never shot beer out its nose). <BR>Elvira is in charge of all travel arrangements; I arrange all the flights, find hotels/apartments/b&bs/houses and rent them, plan the itinerary, buy all passes, train tickets, etc., rent the cars...thank heavens I'm an obsessive-compulsive, anal-retentive, paranoid schizophrenic control freak. <BR>Rusty supplies the laughs (she always has stories to tell) and is our official French interpreter (my French is comme ci, comme ca - hers is excellent). <BR>OldHand drives a stick, takes really good pictures, and is married to our travel agent (Harv does what I tell him - and finds good bargains I might have missed). <BR>Ahgeez drives a stick, can REALLy hold her liquor, and fights with me. <BR>Newgoil1 is always 'girl in room' when we play MadLibs, takes moving photos (as in, taking photos from a MOVING vehicle), and tolerates OldHand's slings and arrows. <BR>Newgoil2 drives stick, is game for anything, and attracts really cute men (like whole soccer teams). <BR> <BR>We added 5 more to our trip this year, and the group dynamics changed. 9 girls were fine - with the 'whatever' required attitude. Two girls decided nothing was as good as what they could get in the U.S. By day four, I was thinking that a stroll by the Seine with a hip check into the river wouldn't be a bad idea "no no monsier l'inspecteur, je ne sais rien" (Sergeant Schultz a la francais). <BR>So, bargeing next year will be only six - that canal would be just TOO tempting for an unexpected late night drown - I mean swim. <BR>

Bob Brown

I'm with Bob the Nav. I had too little too late on the money deal. But, we survived. In terms of material items, I think an umbrella is better for Paris and I didn't have one. <BR>What do you do with rain pants and jacket inside? Even though you are quite dry; they are quite wet. <BR>I know, this is Europe, but on a trip to Canada I forgot my auto insurance policy or a yellow card as the surrogate. But no problem. <BR>

KT

You knew somebody would say they forgot this item, so I'll be the one: <BR> <BR>I usually travel solo, but a few years ago I went to Italy with my best friend. She always makes fun of the fact that I obsessively-compulsively pack very methodically, using a packing list that I've perfected over the years. On the way to the airport she said, "I wonder what I forgot to pack," and I replied, "Well, you'll be okay as long as you've got your ticket, your passport, and your credit card." Silence. <BR> <BR>Not only didn't she have her passport, she didn't even know where it was or whether it was at her house or at her mother's across town. A very long and twisted tale ensued, but she did manage to find it and make the plane, thanks in part to her sister who didn't mind taking the Oakland Bay Bridge at a record speed. <BR> <BR>Flash forward to the next winter. We and three other people are on the road to Yosemite. I say, "God, I bet it will be freezing but at least we've got our insulated jackets." That same silence. Her jacket and mine, which she had graciously washed since I don't have my own washing machine, were still in her dryer. <BR> <BR>Moral: It may not be great to be an obsessive-compulsive, but at least it allows you to make fun of your best friend.

Lori

Well it wasn't our last trip, and it wasn't even Europe, but on our first trip to Hawaii ages ago my husband locked the luggage and left the keys at home in CA!! Since that time we travel with 2 sets of keys, we each carry a set. We had to break the locks (and it was about 20 years ago so locks were made a little sturdier than those today) and buy new ones in Honolulu. And NO, I have never let him forget this!!!! My theory is no matter what you forget you can probably buy it where ever you are going (or a close cousin of it anyway) so what the heck ... (maybe a washcloth in Hungary and Macedonia may be the exeption tho)

lola

On a trip on the QEII 20 years ago, the ship was pulling away from the harbor and I realized I had left all my carefully packed shoes in a bag on my bed at home!! I had only the sneakers on my feet. I rang for the steward in a panic, told him my tale, and an hour later had several pairs of size eights (I noticed some of the staff going barefoot thoughout the trip). Now that's first class service!

brandon

Hate to have to divulge this, but since none of you know me personally, it serves as a lesson, good natured bit of self-deprecation, and as a liberating confessional. Having done a good deal of overseas travel, and as a committed light traveller, careful and well organized packing is a nearly rote process for us. This summer we decided on relatively short notice to patch together a trip of extremes, travelling from Chicago to Alaska for a few days, then down to Cabo San Lucas for a week. Splurged for first class the whole way since it wasn't a whole lot extra. The focus of the trip being the Alaskan itinerary, and having lived in Arizona and California, where day trips to Mexico are just no big deal, we didn't even realize we hadn't packed our passports until we were actually on the way to the Anchorage airport to leave for Mexico. Unbelievably moronic oversight. Humiliating trying to grovel for compassionate pardon at the airport while a huge line of foot-tapping travellers queue up behind you. No go, of course, on the pardon. We were rerouted to Seattle, where we were instructed to obtain a notarized statement of citizenship at a baggage processing center and keep our fingers crossed that we'd be allowed into Mexico (and back out). Turned out that none of the various customs personnel we encountered seemed to care even an iota that we were using a poor photocopy of a terse note card basically containing our names and 2 signatures as passage documents. <BR>We were the picture of all that we sometimes point out to each other while travelling, while shaking our heads, thinking, "And these people are allowed to vote and raise children?". <BR> <BR>

Chris Magill

Went camping this past summer -- and forgot me tent. <BR> <BR>

lina

I have a theory that something is forgotten on every trip, even though I am a very careful packer and use a packing list. I'm always a little anxious until I discover what it is - usually something very replaceable like q-tips or soap - but always something. The worst oversight, though, was my sacroiliac brace which I needed for hiking in the mountains, but I did find an expensive substitute in an orthopedic shop (one on almost every corner, believe it or not) in Rome.

Sheila

I can slightly top janedoe. I forgot my pills on our honeymoon.

Sheila

And another thing (not necessarily a propos the question)..... <BR> <BR>How come I always pack exactly what I need, with what I don't want on voyage in the big bag for the hold, with exactly what I need and feel comfortable carrying in the back pack for the cabin, and my (very similar to elvira) husband, take stuff out of the hold bag in case it goes missing and adds it to the back pack, and then adds his reading material, wallet and camera...AND NEVER THINKS OF CARRYING THE DAMN THING!

kathy

A few years ago, we drove from Hartford to Boston to fly to Rome. Left our tickets in Hartford - and I was able to talk my way onto the plane!!