Don't Forget This New Travel Essential

I'm writing this post because we won't be traveling again for some time, and I want to remember something.

The first thing we did this summer when we crossed the border into Canada was to stop by a grocery store to buy supplies. It's our tradition to get a jar of peanut butter. Peanut butter toast sure takes the edge off in the morning before we leave for the day. It's the breakfast before breakfast and/or a great late night snack. Just don't expect to bring the jar back into the USA. 

This time we bought the generic brand, No Name, which is ironic because that is their name. 

It is good peanut butter, but it is also kind of strange. No matter how unevenly you spread it on your toast, in a minute or two it will have flowed on its own to the edges of the bread to create a beautiful, even layer. 

I'll look for another jar on next years' trip. But No Name peanut butter is not why I'm writing this. This is why I'm writing this:

We created a Google document with an itinerary for our Canada vacation. Here's part of the entry for our third day.

Day 3: St. Andrews - July 11 Tues

A.    Whale Watching – Fundy Tide Runners 10 am to noon – show up at 9:15 am

We went to sleep on the second night to the sounds of thunder, and the rain and fog had not subsided in the morning. We do not have cell phone service in Canada, so we drove to town to see if the whale watching tour was still on. We were told it was a go at 8:55. Then the weather changed and our tour was called off. We were moving on the next morning, so we couldn't reschedule. They gave us a full refund, but it was still a huge disappointment.

Most of the businesses in St. Andrews were not open, so we killed some time in the Canadian version of Dollar General. That's where I bought the 12' extension cord. Why? Well, the rain didn't look like it was stopping anytime soon, and there were only so many stores and restaurants in St. Andrews. We would be going "home" earlier than expected, and we'd be spending a lot of time inside this Camping Luxury Dome.

The place was really cool. There's a full kitchen, a 3/4 bathroom, a loft with a bed for Char, a bedroom for us, hanging hammock chairs, and a hot tub and a grill on the wraparound deck. 

What it didn't have was Wi-Fi or a TV. The doom's location was too secluded for reception for either. It also didn't have an outlet anywhere near the main room's couch. That's why I bought the extension cord.

(You can see the rain running down on the plastic window.) I pulled that round table between the white chairs in front of the couch. I set my MacBook Pro on the table, and ran the extension cord to the Mac's power cord. It wasn't long before Char was tucked into a blanket on the couch enjoying The Lego Movie. We played board games in-between movies, and eventually the rain stopped, and we were able to use the hot tub. Char watched a Scooby Doo movie after dinner.

In Moncton, Char's bedroom outlet wasn't easily accessible, so we ran the extension cord from outside of her room, under her door, and onto the bed so she could use and charge her phone at the same time. 

In Halifax, I was plugging in the cord for the same purpose when I said to Daphne, "I can't believe how handy it is to have one of these on vacation." Daphne agreed.

So, yeah, this is not a great story, but I don't think I will travel without an extension cord again. I can see using it at the airport when only one outlet is available, or in an AirB&B where you can't get the fan where you want it. Even if you didn't use the cord, it wouldn't take up much room. Mine is still in my backpack. I had forgotten about it until this morning.

See, that's why I'm writing this post. I don't want to forget about this handy cord.