Fiend on Vacation

I have been guilty of being neglectful of my blog, running around getting everything done so I can go on vacation in L.A. without any worries. Leaving your life for three weeks is never as easy as it should be...who knew going on vacation requires so much work!

This time, after much internal debate, I have decided on not bringing any crafts with me on vacation. The main reason is that when I travel alone, which I do often :-(, I try to go as light as possible. Even after sacrificing many, many things I want to bring with me, I am still stuck with a (big) laptop, a carry-on purse/bag, and a luggage which I checked. Lugging around these three items through the airport sucks. That is why I was more than willing to shill out the $25 for three hours to use the reLAX lounge (LAX airport, reLAX lounge, get it? heh? heh?) while I wait for my parents to arrive from their international flight. The only downside is that the lounge allows me full access to all the chocolate chip cookies and chex mix that I can want...so I think I will have to exercise some sort of self-restraint here...as to not result in some sort of junk-food-binge tragedy.

Going back to my decision to not bring any crafts (boooooo, slightly regretting now):
I had wanted to bring my knitting with me onto the plane, since it's my preferred project-on-the-go, after crocheting. Crocheting, however, usually require some scissors and needles, which are prohibited on the plane, so knitting would be the second best choice. Afterall, if you really want to keep it simple, all you need in order to knit is two knitting needles and a ball of yarn. I researched on the internet (o, the mighty internet) for airlines' policy on knitting needles...and it seemed like it was a O.K., but I did come across some knitters who posted about problems going through security with their needles.

Personally, I have never brought knitting with me onto the plane before, but I have had experience with bringing medication which was O.K.ed according to the rules/regulations, but the officers at security still gave me trouble over it. I decided I don't want the stress of catching a flight, going through security, and add issues over knitting needles to the mix. The last thing I want to do is having to either toss my knitting, or mail it to myself at the airport. So, to be on the safe side, I just decided to leave it at home...and go on this vacation sans crafts projects.

I suppose I will commit my next three weeks to enjoying some summer reads in the sun, and enjoying California. I will TRY and stay away from crafts stores...and give my inner crafty fiend a break. Who knows, maybe I will go back to NY all full of new creative ideas!

Meanwhile, I hope to fill my blog with some good summer read reviews, and maybe some of my adventures in L.A.

Before I sign off...I have a question for everyone. What is your preferred bring-along project for airplanes? Has anyone ever made the mistake of bringing something in their crafts bag that was a no-no?