Home Warrior and I are back from an amazing week in Puerto Rico! We had a fabulous time, enjoying architecture, food, and natural wonders.  I will write all about it and share some of the best pictures we took later this week.

One thing that was re-confirmed to me this week: Even though I write daily about travel, and packing light is one of my cornerstones, I am married to a compulsive overpacker.  It’s kind of ironic because friends who travel with me feel anxious about what they bring and spend hours packing and re-packing, yet my husband, who LIVES with me, steadfastly refuses to streamline his suitcases.

Case in point: on this particular trip, Home Warrior brought a soccer ball (we might want to play with it on the beach!), a fan (you know it helps me sleep!), and two umbrellas, in addition to three iPhone chargers. As we unpacked in our lovely hotel room, I rolled my eyes at the ridiculous amount of stuff coming out of his bags. However, almost all of the items I would have considered extraneous, or would not even have thought about bringing, actually came in handy.

First, the fan. Normally I would never even considered bringing a fan. It takes up so much room in a suitcase! But the fact that we had it made it possible for us to leave the balcony door open almost constantly. The AC automatically turns off when that door is open (which makes sense) but having the fan going made the room pleasant without it.

Second, the two umbrellas. One would think that, should we need to be out in the rain, we could share an umbrella, right? I mean, we are married, so we can handle being that close to each other. However, the streets and sidewalks in Old San Juan are very narrow, and there actually was not room for us to walk side by side on a lot of streets. So the fact that we had two umbrellas was surprisingly helpful.

Finally, bonus round. On the flight home, I was in the middle of a fascinating book by Steve Berry when I realized that my Kindle battery was about to die. I mentioned it to the Home Warrior, complaining a bit, and he said, “Well, I found this charger in the bedroom and brought it just in case. Is it for your Kindle?” And pulled my Kindle charger out of his bag. I was super excited, and looked forward to charging my Kindle in the JFK airport. Then he said, “And I brought the car charger adapter just in case,” and pulled it out of the bag too. So I was able to charge my Kindle on the plane, and finish my book. What a guy.

The moral of the story? Honestly, I will probably never bring a fan on a trip. Ever. But if you’ve got room for something you think you might need, and you don’t mind carrying it, then by all means bring it along. It may just be exactly what you need to have.