How Do You Geek On The Go?

We're getting ready to visit Holly's family in Pennsylvania and will be leaving this Friday. Already I've begun planning which of my toys I'll bring along. Haven't brought the Xbox 360 in a long time, but it's coming along for this trip. And of course my DS, Vita and PSTV will come along too.

Wow, that's a lot of systems when you type it out like that.

When I was a kid I always brought a bag full of my own toys when our family went places, and I've just continued to bring my own entertainment with me (usually more than is normal) on trips ever since.

I'm curious if anyone else brings some entertainment items along with them on trips. How many books do you bring? Is one digital device enough? What can you not bear to leave behind?

I used to bring entertainment with me. Nowadays, my portable entertainment consists of a deck of cards, a paperback, my iPad, my phone, and headphones. And that *still* seems like a lot of stuff to keep track of...

Hmm.
Well my Kindle never leaves my side, and my phone is always with me these days, which means I have internet, access to my usual podcasts etc.

I usually take a laptop with me when I go away. I remember years ago, when the kids were just baby and toddler, we went and stayed a number of days interstate with my wife's grandparents. A few days into the trip I was really starting to feel lost somehow. I wasn't in my normal environment doing my normal things. I couldn't put my finger on exactly what was wrong. Anyway, I got out the laptop and started writing Star Trek fan fiction. Suddenly I was me again. (This was back before I took my writing serious as a pseudo-career).

I've never taken a console away, although my brother took his playstation to a hotel in Melbourne a few years back for the kids (and him probably) to play on.

I don't actually travel much, but we're currently saving for a cruise in November (my first time out of Australia). WiFi on the ship is prohebitively expensive, which means I'll be totally cut off from the world - which could be a good thing - but also might make me feel very disconnected. I'll be vlogging the whole time but won't be able to upload anything until I get back (which means I might as well take my time with post-production) I'm REALLY looking forward to the adventure, but now that I think about it, I'll probably need a big geek fix when I get home lol.

I usually take my Vita and 3DS with me. The last time I was in a Motel I joked about taking my TV and ps4 with me

My Kindle and MP3 player go with me almost wherever I go, even if I'm just walking to the supermarket. I bring my laptop whenever I travel to another city or country. On airplanes, I try to bring a hard copy book so I have something to read during takeoff and landing (in case they don't let me use my Kindle).

I don't have any consoles with me these days. They're all back at my folks' home in the States. I've entertained the idea of bringing my N64 or GameCube back to China with me, but I'm afraid having them will make me even less productive than I already am (even without the option of getting new games). Also, I'd have to get some kind of adapter to keep them from getting fried when I plugged them in.

When I was a kid, I had a Game Boy that I would bring on long car trips to Iowa. Now that I think of it, though, I don't have many memories of playing it in the car. Maybe it made me carsick? I know reading did. Or maybe my brother played it more than me.

( Say, how hard is it to get an old Game Boy these days? I wouldn't have to worry about plugging that in and frying it...)

AdamCollings wrote:WiFi on the ship is prohebitively expensive, which means I'll be totally cut off from the world - which could be a good thing - but also might make me feel very disconnected.

Yeah, when I'm on trips like that (long drives, camping, etc) I usually spend an evening dumping a ton of content onto portable media. Podcasts, games on my laptop/handheld/phone, etc.

Where is your cruise going to?

Rickster wrote:I usually take my Vita and 3DS with me. The last time I was in a Motel I joked about taking my TV and ps4 with me

Holly and I try to get away without the kids once a year, and when we stay at a hotel I almost always bring a TV these days. I brought a console one year only to discover the hotel room TV was rigged to not except connections...

Never...again...

Paeter wrote: when we stay at a hotel I almost always bring a TV these days. I brought a console one year only to discover the hotel room TV was rigged to not except connections...

I bow to the extremity of your geekhood.

Paeter wrote:Where is your cruise going to?

It's going to New Caladonia (French Pactific colony) We'll be visiting three islands: Noumea, Mare and Isle of Pines.
Still can't quite believe we're doing it.
It'll be a great educational experience for the kids, seeing another country, and it'll be great research for me, as I'm writing a series of books set on a cruise ship (but in space).

Smartphone, iPad, and Kindle.

Typically, I limit my use of tech when on vacation with the family. The kids will use devices on the drive and on a bad weather day but otherwise, we are doing active things that would ruin electronics.

jorowi wrote: The kids will use devices on the drive and on a bad weather day but otherwise, we are doing active things that would ruin electronics.

Or should that be "active things that electronics would ruin"?

Good for you, guys!

And my vote on long family vacations is both "the drive" AND "bad weather". One of my favorite things as a kid on vacation was to be quietly reading or playing in the car while we drove through the rain.