Flat Stanley and his cousin, Flat Joe

LOOK, he's here. I told you a few weeks back my cousin Joe was coming for a visit, here he is! I'm sooooooooo excited. I want to introduce him to you....People this is Joe, my cousin. Joe, these are all the people I've been telling you about.
Come on Joe, we'll unpack your suitcase later. We've got places to go, people to meet, and things to do. We'll make it an early night since you came so far; you'll be tired probably. Joe traveled special priority mail all the way from Summerville, South Carolina. He traveled 516 miles, wow. The car ride was 11.5 hours long.

He's telling me all about Summerville, sounds like a place I'd like to go someday. Summerville's called "Flower town in the Pines". Doesn't that sound pretty? He says it's pretty with flowers everywhere, but mostly Azaleas. People have Azaleas in their yards, but there's also planted in lots of public gardens. In fact there's an "official Azalea Park" that tourist come to visit every Spring. They have a farmers market on Sat. mornings with lots of wonderful fresh produce. Even though they're near Charleston it's a cozy town and not a busy busy hectic kind of place. They have lots of parks and plenty of recreational areas. They even have a large sports complex with lots of things to do.

When the little town was rebuilding after The Civil War, they were hit with an earthquake in 1886. But that didn't dampen the spirits of the neat people who live there. They continued to build a prosperous wonderful community to live and work in.
I'm gonna help Joe unpack and settle in now, but if you want to read more about Joe, look at his web address above. Be sure and come back soon, so you can read all about Joe's adventure here in Ohio with his cousin, Flat Stanley....that's me course!

And, don't forget you can read all about my other adventures HERE.

A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words!

We've all heard the saying "A Picture's Worth a Thousand Words", so regardless of the size or style of camera you use Don't Leave Home without It!

Is your camera fully charged? Do you have extra batteries and or a battery charger packed so you don't miss a special picture or memory because you're batteries are kaput? Do you have an usb plug if you need that for your computer, or an extra memory disc or stick?

Where are you packing your camera? Personally I like the camera in my purse or in my carry on bag even if I'm not flying. Why? You want it close at hand in case there's a photo opportunity before you reach your destination and get unpacked. Batteries add a fair amount of weight which can be a problem if you're flying. Two suggestions, use rechargeable batteries instead of lots of batteries to carry and throw away. Have one set charged and in your camera, a 2nd set charged and packed. When you remove the first set from your camera to put in the charger you still have the 2nd set ready to go. Or, if you use the throw away batteries; have one set in your camera and buy others as soon as you reach your destination instead of buying them at home and packing them. Yes, I know in most vacation resort locations you'll pay more for the batteries; but not as much as paying for a heavy bag.

I much prefer to be green and use my rechargeable style batteries.

Make sure you have your camera strap, either one for around your neck or one for your hand....and USE IT! Don't fall victim to a camera being dropped because you have a strap and don't use it, or didn't bother to put it on the camera when you purchased it.

When photographing your memories, enjoy yourself. Don't spend lots of time arranging people to get the "perfect" shot. It annoys everyone involved. Just take a picture and keep moving. I've heard people say (particularly those with a camera that needs lots of adjustments etc.) that taking photo's is time consuming, and adds stress to the vacation. Don't let it be, click and move on. Don't spent valuable time you could be exploring making sure everyone in your picture is standing in the exact location. Saving memories and sharing the fun is what you're trying to accomplish.
Read all Thursday Traveling Tips Here