First Travel Gear Purchases

Yesterday I bought my first travel gear for this year's teaching excursion. First, I bought an HP Mini "Netbook" from Best Buy with 160 GB of storage, wireless card, etc. It is only about 10 inches by 6 inches and weighs less than 3 pounds. I played around with it for a while last night and found it very fast with nice graphics and sound. It has a built in webcam and microphone for easy Skyping (more about that later). I bought it in a package deal including a Belkin cover and a Microsoft wireless mouse--total cost $334. I like the idea of having an ultra small laptop on the plane and trains, as well as in Kyiv and Jerusalem.

Next I bought an Osprey urban pack from REI in Salt Lake City--it has retractable shoulder and waist straps, handles on all sides, plenty of compartments, and appears to be very durable and strong. Cost was $99.