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Friday, June 29, 2007
Take a vacation from technology
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It was an August day in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, so hot the pigeons didn’t even bother to fly when you walked through them.
An American tourist staggered along ahead of me, almost lost in a haze of heat and slow-moving pigeons. His fancy digital camera and lenses were in a bulging backpack. His cellular phone was clipped to his belt. Earphones were connected to his MP3 player.
He wasn’t having a stroll - it was more like a death march.
I love gadgets, but vacation is a good time to get away from them, or at least most of them. Today we’ll talk about ways to enjoy a vacation without feeling like a pack animal.
Photography
I have a professional digital camera and enough lenses to start a pawnshop. But on vacation I take a digital camera small enough to fit in a pocket; and cheap enough to be replaced without taking out a loan should it be lost or broken. My vacation camera costs about $100, and it does a good job.
There are plenty of cameras in this category with models from Canon (PowerShot A460, about $115); Fujifilm (FinePix A610, about $115); and Kodak (EasyShare C613, about $130).
You’ll be fine with any brand-name digital that offers 5 megapixels or more and an optical zoom (as opposed to an electronic zoom) lens.
If you’re taking your cellphone along on vacation, you may think using its camera can save even more space in your luggage. But most folks won’t be happy with the pictures. It’s bad enough that your friends feel obliged to look at your vacation photos - don’t make them strain their eyes to do it.
Computers
If you can survive the separation anxiety, leave your computer at home. Most large hotels have a business center with computers connected to the Internet. Even cruise ships include a computer room (as well as fairly outrageous prices for using them). Internet cafes are another option, though they are more common overseas than in America. Just avoid using a computer like that to make financial transactions.
If you have data you’ll need, load it on a thumbnail-sized USB flash drive. You’ll pay about $25 for the Kingston Data Traveler 1-gigabyte model. A flash drive with 4 gigabytes of memory will run you just $70 or so. There’s an added bonus here. You can use a hotel computer to transfer digital photos to the flash drive, freeing up camera memory.
Getting around
I’m a terrible navigator. So I depend heavily on mapping services such as MapQuest and those offered by Google and Yahoo.
I still use these services while on vacation but - instead of lugging a computer around - I make paper printouts of obvious routes before leaving home.
My printouts usually include the route from the airport to the hotel. Then I print out directions from the hotel to restaurants and tourist attractions. If an unexpected trip comes up, the hotel staff can furnish directions.
MP3 players
These players are tiny these days, and they can help relieve boredom on airline flights or in hotel rooms. So taking one along isn’t a travel sin.
Powering it up
I’m a big believer in rechargeable batteries. But they aren’t welcome on my vacations. The batteries are tiny, the charger is not. If you leave the charger at home, you’re at risk of running out of juice for your camera just when a bear eats a small dog at one of our fine national parks. Do yourself a favor and use regular batteries instead.
That means you need to select cameras and electronic gear that can use conventional AA- and AAA-sized batteries instead of some weird special purpose rechargeable. Load up with easy-to-find alkaline batteries while on vacation and use rechargeables at home.
If you gather everything on my list - camera, USB drive, paper printouts, MP3 player and a few batteries - you’ll find that you can put all your vacation electronics in a pocket or your purse.
Travel light this year and save yourself from the death march through Cabo.
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