Practical Guide to the Perfect Vacation

In almost all my trips, I've discovered that the most important lesson is to know your schedule well enough to figure out what to wear or bring for each day of travel. Ironically, perfect vacations should never be structured. The trouble arises when you cannot decide what to bring, because you don't know what you will do on a particular day. I like to be creative, but such luxury can sometimes be a disadvantage. If you're looking forward to a stressfree travel, here are ideas you could use:

If not your memory, your list. Some people are not used to writing down things they need. You simply cannot take lists for granted, especially if your memory is less than perfect. It would be a lot like looking around the kitchen to see what's missing before going to the grocery store. Do you remember if you needed eggs and a jar of Goober? A list when packing stuff would make for easy trips. Every time you put necessities in your suitcase, cross it out to know that you've packed it in. And before you zip that travel bag of yours, double check!

Did I say double check? I'll say it again! Double check to make sure you've got everything. It is really nice to have your kids take part in packing stuff, but don't go without double checking what they did. This could really end up in disaster! When we went camping at Lake Texoma on the fourth of July, we had the boys pack the stuff since the adults in the house were taking care of something else. We took our boat and camping gear and set up camp before the sun came down. When it got dark, we took out the lamps but the batteries were missing. We did not have any darn light in the most secluded area of the lake! We took the scarab boat to the other side of the lake where there was a convenience store but guess what? They didn't sell any batteries! To compensate for the tragedy, we just set up a bonfire and kept it going till bedtime.

The batteries story doesn't end there. Another tip for your vacation planning is if you are going to take a lot of pictures and are using rechargeable batteries for your cameras, be smart and charge them up before leaving the house! Or better yet, bring a portable car charger with you.

Beware of the valet! Almost all vacation disasters end up in losing valuable items or accidents. I wasn't very impressed with the valet and bellboy service of the MGM Grand. It may partly be my fault, but it is their duty to make sure the guests' belongings are brought up to the room all intact and complete. Well, it so happened that when we stayed at the MGM Grand this summer hoping for the perfect vacation, the bellboy lost a pair of my Old Navy sandals that were tucked on the top of my unzipped travel bag. I loved those sandals! I would die to get a new pair of those. Poor feet, they always have a hard time finding shoes that fit! Mr. Bellboy couldn't care less about my dilemma, of course.

If you care about your belongings and are going to a pretty hardcore nature trip, please avoid bringing them. If you want protection from the sun, wear a hat that you can afford to throw away. Why? Because if you wear a hat that you adore and went jet skiing, you might never see it again. I tried it and the trick succeeded. We went jet skiing at Panama City in Florida and the harsh winds blew my beloved hat away.

Don't be shocked, but there's really no such thing as a perfect vacation. Yet you can make the most out of stressfree travel by steering clear of fiascos. There are obvious tips such as don't drink and drive and always plan your route in case the road you are traveling requires a detour. Amazingly, people who don't drink think that they are driving okay. The truth is that even sober drivers miss something on the road and end up spending the night in a rundown motel like what happened to me and my husband in one of our trips. We were in the middle of a deserted highway in Arizona when the tires ran onto something sharp and blew out. Accidents like this happen, more often when we are not paying attention. If you're going to have a flat tire, make sure it happens in a city where your car doesn't have to be towed a hundred miles to the nearest auto center!