Things to bring

[Clutch 64]

Yearly reminder on things to bring with you.

• An umbrella
• Cell phone charger
• Your medications
• Your vaccine card (if not using the applet)
• Masks
• 2 pairs of shoes (let one pair air out between days 🤣)
• small water bottle
• ear plugs (personal preference based on volume levels these days)
• hoodie and/or pants (if you are prone to getting cold in air conditioning) [can't tell you how many ladies in their light Summer dresses folding their arms over tightly to try and keep warm in the grocery store]

No spelling or grammar errors this time, I hope!  🥴

[TnAdct1 35]

Adding to the list:

• Food
• Change of clothes
• Soap
• Wild Bill mug

[Ikano 17]

Also adding

• Wallet (with monies)
• Some sort of picture ID

Personally some other things I'm packing:

• 'bathroom slippers' not afraid to get wet (for use in the hotel room)
• Game charger(/s)
• Watch/FitBit

I also using a bag (that I 'officially' started using last year) with general bathroom stuff...ie: toothbrush, toothpaste, etc. Includes travel size shampoo/soap cuz one fear I have is I get some weird skin reaction from the hotel provided soap/shampoo. (Hasn't happened to me yet but I've reacted to new stuff at home before)

 

[TomDent 16]

DEODORANT 😁

[Clutch 64]

• Last year's Metro card

I saw an article a while back which said hotels are dropping the free lotion, shampoo, etc., so I would not count on them being there. If you call the desk for them they may charge a premium. Those little tooth care bags my dentist provides come in handy.

Usually bring an extra day's clothes in case of spill or something.

[windseeker 80]

On 7/19/2022 at 6:49 PM, TomDent said:

DEODORANT 😁

You beat me to it lol

[Clutch 64]

On 7/18/2022 at 10:14 PM, TnAdct1 said:

Adding to the list:

• Food
• Change of clothes
• Soap
• Wild Bill mug

There is (or at least was) a grocery store near the convention center. Rather than pack food for the trip, we just stop in there and take things back to the hotel. The rooms usually have a refrigerator so we are golden.

[windseeker 80]

1 hour ago, Clutch said:

There is (or at least was) a grocery store near the convention center. Rather than pack food for the trip, we just stop in there and take things back to the hotel. The rooms usually have a refrigerator so we are golden.

There are two large grocery stores nearby (Giant and Safeway) and some smaller convinience stores.

[Revan 38]

20 hours ago, windseeker said:

There are two large grocery stores nearby (Giant and Safeway) and some smaller convinience stores.

As of last year you could enter the phone number 202-867-5309 to get the club card discount at Safeway. It may work for Giant as well, because using the local area code plus the Jenny phone number works for a number of stores in my area.

As for things to bring, a couple I haven't seen mentioned:

- hand sanitizer (you never know)

- utensils (for those of us who buy food from Safeway, etc.)

A couple that are more for me:

- canvas shopping bags (it is less wasteful, DC charges for plastic bags, and it's really easy to go through a bag check when you just have to hold it open)

- tea (Cold brew bags that I can drop in my water bottle and let sit in there for a while. I don't drink coffee, and I need something for a caffeine hit.)

- pen & paper (I like to make notes at the various panels I attend, and just in case I need to leave my brother a message.)

- earphones (To my knowledge, SEPTA and Amtrak both have quiet cars, and I'm sure not everyone would appreciate my music choices, Philistines that they might be.)

- a book (I need something to do while I'm on the train or waiting in line, and I like to read. The question is which one: should I continue my current book (I, Claudius) or the RPG I picked up for s***ts and giggles? (The Spawn of Fashan - old school grognards will know about that one.)

- cold-eze (Ever since I started taking cold-eze and immune boosters, I having gotten even a whiff of con plague. Especially relevant nowadays.)

 

Edited July 23, 2022 by Revan

[Ikano 17]

5 hours ago, Revan said:

- cold-eze (Ever since I started taking cold-eze and immune boosters, I having gotten even a whiff of con plague. Especially relevant nowadays.)

That reminds me I need to pack my nasal spray. I mean....I was suggested/prescribed it because I recently developed minor allergies but I read some studies that do say it blocks Covid particles to a certain degree....My co-workers don't believe it but I'm the only one who hasn't been out because of it yet *knocks on wood*

[Daniel Perales 95]

I got most of my stuff packed already (clothes, chargers, power cords, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrush, deodorant). Just need to take my electric shaver the morning I'm leaving.

I'm also taking my laptop and a few Blu-Rays to watch in the hotel room during my "down-time". I used to take my Playstation, but I'm leaving it behind this time since some of my usual friends are not going to Otakon this year.

 

 

[Clutch 64]

I almost thought about taking a Raspberry Pi, but did not want to pack the keyboard. Staples had a folding keyboard on clearance, but it was still priced pretty high. Who remembers WebTV?

[Aresef 113]

On 7/19/2022 at 8:05 PM, Clutch said:

• Last year's Metro card

I saw an article a while back which said hotels are dropping the free lotion, shampoo, etc., so I would not count on them being there. If you call the desk for them they may charge a premium. Those little tooth care bags my dentist provides come in handy.

Usually bring an extra day's clothes in case of spill or something.

You can also put your SmarTrip on your Apple Watch or iPhone now: https://www.wmata.com/fares/MobilePay/ApplePay.cfm

I stayed in a Westin for Tekko and they had the usual accoutrements in the room and, after our luggage failed to follow us from Baltimore (we got it the next day), they had toothbrushes and toothpaste available for us at the front. I couldn't really avail myself of that because of an allergy but I appreciated the thought.

[windseeker 80]

Disinfectant if you;re staying at the Marriot Marquis, turns out Trump will be giving a speech there today and the America First Agenda Summit is being held there 🤢

[EdKitten 66]

Such a handy thread!  Just some tid-bits:

 

Binder clips -- for hotel curtains that don't close all the way -- just clip the edges of the curtains together.

Nail clippers or nail file -- in case a nail tears a little, so it doesn't scrape or catch onto clothes, cosplay, etc.

Little packs of tissues.

Gift cards you can buy at stores (personally, I like VISA), in case you want to use a credit card at the con, but don't want to use your regular credit card which has your ID on it.

Extra plastic bags -- especially handy for hotel rooms and/or carrying con merch.

 

[dragonnext 0]

On 7/23/2022 at 11:14 PM, Revan said:

As of last year you could enter the phone number 202-867-5309 to get the club card discount at Safeway. It may work for Giant as well, because using the local area code plus the Jenny phone number works for a number of stores in my area.

As for things to bring, a couple I haven't seen mentioned:

- hand sanitizer (you never know)

- utensils (for those of us who buy food from Safeway, etc.)

A couple that are more for me:

- canvas shopping bags (it is less wasteful, DC charges for plastic bags, and it's really easy to go through a bag check when you just have to hold it open)

- tea (Cold brew bags that I can drop in my water bottle and let sit in there for a while. I don't drink coffee, and I need something for a caffeine hit.)

- pen & paper (I like to make notes at the various panels I attend, and just in case I need to leave my brother a message.)

- earphones (To my knowledge, SEPTA and Amtrak both have quiet cars, and I'm sure not everyone would appreciate my music choices, Philistines that they might be.)

- a book (I need something to do while I'm on the train or waiting in line, and I like to read. The question is which one: should I continue my current book (I, Claudius) or the RPG I picked up for s***ts and giggles? (The Spawn of Fashan - old school grognards will know about that one.)

- cold-eze (Ever since I started taking cold-eze and immune boosters, I having gotten even a whiff of con plague. Especially relevant nowadays.)

 

Thanks for the information!

[dragonnext 0]

On 7/23/2022 at 11:14 PM, Revan said:

As of last year you could enter the phone number 202-867-5309 to get the club card discount at Safeway. It may work for Giant as well, because using the local area code plus the Jenny phone number works for a number of stores in my area.

As for things to bring, a couple I haven't seen mentioned:

- hand sanitizer (you never know)

- utensils (for those of us who buy food from Safeway, etc.)

A couple that are more for me:

- canvas shopping bags (it is less wasteful, DC charges for plastic bags, and it's really easy to go through a bag check when you just have to hold it open)

- tea (Cold brew bags that I can drop in my water bottle and let sit in there for a while. I don't drink coffee, and I need something for a caffeine hit.)

- pen & paper (I like to make notes at the various panels I attend, and just in case I need to leave my brother a message.)

- earphones (To my knowledge, SEPTA and Amtrak both have quiet cars, and I'm sure not everyone would appreciate my music choices, Philistines that they might be.)

- a book (I need something to do while I'm on the train or waiting in line, and I like to read. The question is which one: should I continue my current book (I, Claudius) or the RPG I picked up for s***ts and giggles? (The Spawn of Fashan - old school grognards will know about that one.)

- cold-eze (Ever since I started taking cold-eze and immune boosters, I having gotten even a whiff of con plague. Especially relevant nowadays.)

Thank you for the yearly reminder on things to bring with you. It's always helpful to have a checklist to ensure we're well-prepared for whatever lies ahead. Speaking of preparation, if you're in Forest Hills, Queens, and in need of dental implants, I came across this informative website: https://www.vipdentalny.com/dental-implants-in-forest-hills-queens/. It's a valuable resource for those seeking dental care. Anyway, back to the topic at hand, these reminders are essential for both newbies and experienced travelers, making sure we don't overlook anything crucial. Your dedication to keeping us organized is greatly appreciated!

I forgot to add that this information helped me a lot.

Edited September 8, 2023 by dragonnext