Visiting Montana For Less

Last month I was invited to a lunch with the Montana Visitor’s Bureau where I got to hang out with some really cool ladies from Missoula, Glacier National Park, Bozeman and more. I had toyed around with the idea of visiting Montana, but it’s one of those destinations that has just gotten pushed down the list of places to go, even though I live in Portland and the drive is shorter than the one to Reno, Vegas and Los Angeles, all of which I’ve made in the past – some more than once.

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Maybe Montana has not been on your radar as an awesome vacation destination either, but it can be. You don’t have to be into skiing or other winter sports to find something to do there, though they have some really amazing places to ski. One resort has over 100 ski runs, so if you are into that, there’s no shortage of runs for all levels of skiers.

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If you’re looking for a more urban trip, Missoula has a little bit of everything. The downtown area is historic and has more than 120 boutique shops – perfect for those who like to find unique items on their trips either for themselves or as gifts – and is very walkable. I love that, since you don’t have to spend money on cabs or gas if you don’t want to. For a more conventional shopping experience, head to South Gate Mall, the largest mall in Montana, or South Crossing for all your favorite brand name stores.

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Get outside and see what Missoula has to offer. Three rivers converge in the city, where many water activities take place, including paddle boarding and river surfing. On specific days of the week, you can take free paddle board lessons or take paddle board yoga classes with your dog. Now, I don’t even know how well I would do yoga alone, but if I had a water-loving dog, this would definitely be something to try.

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Montana is very dog-friendly, which means you can wander the city with your furry friends and be welcomed most places. Enjoy a meal with them at your side at many restaurants without outdoor seating. Bison burgers are a definite must-try when you’re out sampling the local cuisine. If you like to kick back with a cold one or glass of wine, Montana has a blossoming brewery and winery scene. There are eight breweries and wineries that serve up delicious microbrews and wine that is both made with grapes grown locally and those that are shipped in from other states.

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Caras Park is where you will find a ton of different festivals. The covered pavilion houses one of the country’s coolest carousels. It is one of the fastest and was hand carved by Missoula residents. If you want to get some exercise, the park also offers some lovely walking/running trails. Fall may be the off-season for visiting Montana, but it’s also when you will see the leaves turning and can indulge in some major leaf-peeping, giving you the opportunity for taking some gorgeous photos of the changing season.

Between farmers markets, the emerging food truck community, art galleries and affordable hotels and vacation rentals there is something for everyone in Missoula and other Montana cities. You will find a lot of ways to keep your whole family entertained and keep your wallet from totally emptying out.

{Stay tuned for more in-depth posts on vacationing in Montana.} If you've ever visited Montana, what would you suggest for new visitors?

Websites + Apps for a Better Holiday Travel Season

So, we all know that holidays can be totally stressful, especially when you ad traveling to the mix. As much as I love to travel, when the airport is just a crush of people and you are looking at a security line so long you can't even see the front it just doesn't seem all that enticing. Usually I enjoy the trip to the airport – yes, I know that makes me a crazy weirdo – because I love the excitement of being there, knowing I'm going to be jetting off to a cool place, eating at places I only get to visit a few times a year or shopping/browsing the unique stores and watching the planes take off and land before it's my turn. When the holidays come around, it seems like everyone is on edge and there's hardly anyone having a good time waiting to get on the plane. 

If you want your holiday trips to be less stressful, or you just want to make your general travel more fun, I've rounded up some great apps and sites that will make you wish you'd known about them sooner. 

Get Away from Everyone

Can't fathom spending your whole stay with family? Get a vacation rental where you can retreat after you've had enough of the hundred people at the family host's house. I always love using Airbnb, but now you can also find rentals to fit your budget with Tripping, which compiles all the available rentals from sites like HomeAway, FlipKey and Roomorama, and Dwellable Vacation Rentals, which has over 250,000 listings in the U.S., Mexico, Europe and the Caribbean.

Make New Friends

If you aren't visiting family or friends, but want to make some and/or immerse yourself in a new culture, check out both BeWelcome and MealSharing. BeWelcome pairs you up with a host at your destination that will play tour guide for you, show you how they live and will also allow you to stay in their house. This is the perfect way to make international (and domestic) friends and fantastic for those that might like to travel solo, but don't want to "travel solo". 

MealSharing is an awesome site that matches travelers up with meal hosts. Maybe you'd like to have dinner with new friends or you'd like to invite others to your home when you aren't traveling. And, this year they are promoting their second annual ThanksSharing event, where they encourage others to spend Thanksgiving with others. Maybe you're traveling somewhere over the holiday and can't make your own feast. Why not find someone else you can celebrate with?

Do Something Completely Different

Want to see something other than the same boring tourist attractions? (I'm not knocking tourist sites, because I love them, but maybe you've already done them.) Let others give you cool new suggestions with the HeyLets app. The app is especially geared toward families with kids who enjoy doing something a bit different. Add your family's travel style to the app to get personalized tips on what to see and do. App users can add their own inspired activities to make the app even better and help other families travel better, too.

Where the Heck are the mashed potatoes?

Whether you're traveling to see family or they're coming to you, invite your family to join Cabin, where you can skip the multi-texts and phone calls while trying to organize everyone for the big day (or a vacation). With Cabin, you can send messages to all or individuals to make sure everyone knows when and where to show up, what to bring and more. is Aunt Cindy not there with her famous green bean casserole yet? Cabin tracks where everyone is, so you can find out if she's on her way or just around the corner without having to call her every five minutes asking if she's lost or not. Imagine how easy this will make planning other family gatherings, too. 

Keep All Your Travel Plans in One Place

Not all great apps are about connecting with others. One of my favorites is TripIt. I use it online and as an app on my phone to keep all my reservations, confirmation numbers, important addresses and itineraries at my fingertips. If you are like me and hate to print out a ton of unnecessary paper, TripIt is the ideal travel app. Only print out the things you need to and everything else can live solely on the app for you to call up on your phone or computer when needed. it has saved us several times when we've needed an address for a cab driver or to get to on public transportation or to find the phone number to call and get directions or change a reservation.

Have you ever used any of the above apps/sites or do you have a favorite app or website that helps you travel or live better?

Review: Travelon Anti-Theft React Tote

Having a great personal-size carry-on bag is important. I like to have one that I can also use as a weekender or can doubles as a work bag as well. Travelon has made a point to design bags that adapt to the different ways people travel. I have several of their carry-on bags and now have two versions of the React Tote. I love the first and the new one has only been improved by the changes, making this a bag you'll want to take everywhere with you. I had the privilege of using the React Tote on my last trip and was greatly impressed.

As with all Travelon bags, the handles are nicely padded, so you don't want to carry around a bag on your shoulder that digs in and makes you angry. Nobody wants to be unnecessarily stressed out and irritated while traveling, right? The straps are also short enough that you can carry it by hand if you like. When you aren't using this tote to travel or carry back and forth to meetings, you can use it as a workout bag or something equally handy. The polyester fabric is stain and water resistant, too. You can just wipe it down if it gets dirty.

If you like to have everything in its place when you travel, then the React Tote is for you. It fits up to a 15-inch laptop in its own padded compartment, with plenty of room for other important things on that side of the bag, like magazines, games, paperwork or adapters. The other main compartment of the React Tote is roomy as well, and includes a mesh pocket, for items you like to be able to see without having to dig around inside. I always use these for headphones or snacks, making them easily accessible. As you can see from the photos, there is quite a lot of room inside both main compartments, because the bottom of the bag is wide and gives it a nice footprint.

Both compartments have double zippers which can be locked by way of carabiners, leaving your bag safe from pickpockets. I like that there is one on each end of the bag, so you can choose to lock them both on either side - whichever is more convenient for you when you carry it - or one on each side to switch it up. Travelon really takes your security seriously, but doesn't want it to be inconvenient for you, just to thieves. It has the signature slash-proof lining and shoulder straps, too. 

Like to keep things like your tickets, phone, pens and passport within easy reach? So do I. The front zippered compartment of this tote is really perfect for small items that you want to keep close at hand, but also safe from others. This compartment locks as well with a carabiner, and also has pockets for all your necessities. A large slip pocket for things like your iPad or travel paperwork, a zippered mesh pocket for makeup, change or other little things that may get lost elsewhere, two smaller pockets for your phone/camera (in my case, my flip camcorder) and your passport and credit cards. The passport pocket and card slots are RFID-blocking, so no one can steal your personal info - because wouldn't that be annoying to deal with on vacation?

This is also where I kept items I like to have with me at all times - my sunglasses and a scarf for keeping warm on the plane. And Travelon knows that visibility is not always great when on a darkened plane or trying to find something in the car, so they've added their sweet little flashlight, helping you see things in the bag without annoying other people. It may not seem like a large enough light, but when paired with the lighter, slightly reflective fabric inside, it's just what you need. I've had tote bags where you pretty much have to pull everything out of it to find that one thing you need. Not with the React Tote.

The zippered compartment has it's own smaller zipper pocket on the front. I kept my boarding passes and a map of the airport in it, but it would be ideal for keeping all the stuff in your pockets in it when passing through security. Maybe you'd like to stash your camera in it, so you can quickly grab and snap photos. It's a good size, but not too deep, so you can't get anything out of it, and not too shallow that you can't get your hand inside it.

One of the things that irks me about many carry-on bags that have shoulder straps and no wheels is that they don't have a way to attach it to your wheeled carry-on. I mean, really? It isn't asking much to be able to not have to carry your tote. Not only does Travelon bags feature these slip pockets on the back to slide onto the handle of your main bag, but they have made this even better with two things: There's an elastic strap inside that helps to keep the bag snug to any size handle. If you have a thicker pull-out handle, you may not want to use it, as it can be a bit of a struggle to get it to come off again (but at least it won't fall on the floor!). The bottom of the pocket has a zipper, so when you aren't using it as a second bag, you could use it as a grab pocket for items you want to use easily. It's a great place to shove your scarf or the book you're reading, or both.

We always have a bottle of water with us. I love the normal mesh bottle holder pockets that most of the other bags have, but sometimes they get in the way. Travelon solved this by putting the pocket inside the bag, but still with easy access to it, because it's incorporated in between two compartments, which also helps to keep it cooler longer. It's just perfect for a regular sized water bottle, so it doesn't get lost in there and make it hard to get out.

The tote slides easily under the airplane seat, without having to put it on its side, like some other bags, so you'll still have room for your feet. It also fit nicely to my side when carrying down the aisle, and I didn't almost hit anyone in the head. That made me happy, and probably all those people on the plane I didn't accidentally abuse.Plus, the awesome construction of this bag will keep it traveling with you for many years to come.

More information

Size: 15" x 13" x 5.75" | Strap Drop Length:  10.25" 

Colors it comes in: black | light aqua (shown) | berry | stone

How much is it?: $110.00

Where you can buy it: Travelon website

Other specs: 900 D. Polyester 

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Disclaimer: I was provided with the Anti-Theft React Tote for the purposes of this review, but all opinions are 100% mine.