If your family is like mine, you’re regularly traveling with several handheld electronic devices. For us, typically, that’s 3 smart phones, 1 cell phone, 1 iPod Touch, 1 Kindle, at least 2 cameras, 1 GoPro and sometimes 1 Nintendo DS. (Don’t judge.) Inevitably something needs charging along the way, when we’re in a plane or car — usually it’s a phone or an iPod Touch. While we, of course, always travel with our car charges and wall chargers, I love the idea behind a portable unit that can be used in instances when a) we can’t find a coveted wall outlet at an airport or b) we’re on a long plane ride.

Enter the Enercell High-Capacity Universal Portable Power Bank. This handy item, combined with the Duracell Instant Charger we already own, keeps us charged when we’re on the go. It’s a handy little product that is great for those instances when you need emergency power. (And I’d call an iPod Touch going dark on a six-hour transpacific flight an emergency; I’m looking forward to bringing our Enercell with us on our long plane trip to the Big Island this spring!)

The Enercell — smaller than a deck of cards — gets its power when you swing the USB plug out to connect with a USB port (say, in your laptop; we also have a USB port that plugs into a wall outlet). You’ll know its done charging when you press a little button and all four LEDs turn green.

When you need to charge your handheld device, simply connect to it from the Enercell Portable Power Bank using the included USB cable (and micro USB adapter if necessary). If it’s an Apple product you need to charge, a USB cable is included for that, as well (or use the one that came with your iPhone or iPod Touch. Voila! Your device is charging and/or ready to use.

Marketing materials say the Enercell Portable Power Bank can provide up to 8 hours of “extra talk time.” I haven’t quite put my devices to the test, but I do know that when I plugged in my Droid phone (when its power had been depleted to 10 percent), the Enercell Portable Power Bank charged it full of power in just over one hour (and the Enercell was depleted of juice, so I had to charge that up again).

I have a small, zippered cosmetic case in which I store the Enercell and the two cables (and mini USB adapter) for travel. Otherwise, those cables would go missing in a heartbeat! For future versions made by Enercell, I’d recommend selling a small pouch to store the product and cables — then again, an additional piece would jack up the price a bit. I suppose I don’t mind supplying my own travel case.

The Enercell Portable Power Bank retails for $49.99 and is sold at Radio Shack.

I received a complimentary product for purposes of review.

Ah, the joys of finding a versatile, multi-season piece of clothing for wear at home, on the plane and throughout my travels! This wrap dress from GGO Clothing is made of 88% organic bamboo and 12% Lycra — it’s a wonderfully soft fabric that remains wrinkle-free when rolled up for a suitcase, is naturally antibacterial and wicks away moisture better than cotton. This dress is quality made — the fabric feels like a blend between cashmere and silk, and not flimsy at all. In fact, I was surprised at how heavy the dress felt in my hands before I put it on. However, once I slipped on the knee-length dress, I never felt weighted down — but surprisingly sexy!

Of course my feeling a little “ooh la la!” could be due to the fact that the V neckline is quite plunging (more so on me than the way it appears on the model pictured above). I’m not sure I’d feel comfortable wearing it without a camisole or strappy tank underneath it. (Perhaps at a Mexican all-inclusive resort after a couple of margaritas…)

Indeed, here in Colorado in the dead of winter, it made perfect sense to pair my navy dress with a black tank top, black leggings and boots for a friend’s cocktail party the other night. It will look equally good, I think, dressed up a bit more with grey tights and flats when I pack it to wear to dinner in Beaver Creek this weekend. In the warm-weather months: bare legs and strappy sandals, all the way.

The cut, style and fabric of the dress does make it form fitting, but it’s a figure-flattering silhouette. I’m not nearly as thin as the model wearing the dress in the photo at left, so the sash didn’t cinch my waist as much as it does on her (i.e. I didn’t have as much sash hanging down after I knotted it in the front). Still, I think it’s a dress that will be worn regularly in my upcoming travel year — with a sweater and leggings if I get chilly on the plane, and worn alone if I step off a plane into a tropical clime. This dress comes in seven colors and retails for $135.

GGO Clothing has a huge collection of casual ready-to-wear items for women, all manufactured with similar, eco-friendly fabrics. Catching my eye are the Drift Cardigan ($90), Eco-Thermal Hoodie ($70) and the hot Topanga Drawstring Lounger ($75). GGO Clothing also makes yoga practice apparel and men’s clothing.

Thanks to GGO Clothing for providing my wrap dress!

Sometimes I dream of uprooting my family and moving to another country for a year (okay, maybe six months), so it’s no surprise I enjoyed reading Jennifer Wilson’s account of her family’s multi-month stay in a small Croatian village in Running Away to Home: Our Family’s Journey to Croatia in Search of Who We Are, Where We Came From, and What Really Matters. The book’s title and topic is similar to Halfway to Each Other: How a Year in Italy Brought One Family Home, which I read (and liked) last year. Indeed, Running Away to Home similarly made me laugh out loud and weep; both books detail a family’s trials and tribulations of moving to a foreign country for a family sabbatical, in an effort to reconnect without the distractions of computers and carpools and commitments that come with typical family life in the United States.

I think Running Away to Home (St Martin’s Press) spoke to me a bit more than Halfway to Each Other (Guideposts) because I related to the author’s desire to learn more about her ancestors. She moved her family (husband Jim, Zadie age 4 and Sam age 7) to tiny Mrkopalj, Croatia, for a year to see firsthand how her great-grandparents lived in the small mountain village. Similarly, this summer I did my own family tree research, discovering that my mother’s family is from Germany, not Holland as previously thought, and that my father’s family is Galician. How cool would it be to experience your ancestral village — to see the dusty streets, countryside and even the home sites where great grandparents once lived? Jennifer actually had the gumption to do it!

The Wilson family's home in Mrkopalj for four months was a room on the third floor of a bar owner's house.

I fully appreciated Jennifer’s candor in describing the difficulties she and her family encountered after moving from Des Moines, Iowa, to tiny Mrkopalj, a village of 800 residents that had been seemingly frozen in time. I marveled at them agreeing to stick it out when, on arrival, the housing they were expecting had fallen through and the foursome had to live on the top floor of their landlord’s house. In one room. With Jennifer and Jim on a futon. For several months. (Yikes!)

The author is someone I can totally relate to — in fact I followed Jennifer on Twitter (@TravelinFamily) before I even knew she was a book author. She’s self-deprecating and really funny and, as I mentioned above, totally honest in telling tales about life in Croatia. Her husband and children adjust much more easily to daily life in Mrkopalj, where parental supervision is minimal (the young children loved it) and drinking the local liquor takes place all day long (Jim bonded with the menfolk well before Jennifer found her tribe).

Sheep on a spit, a common meal in Mrkopalj. That's Jennifer's husband Jim on the left, bar-owner/landlord Robert on the far right.

There are tales of hiking in mountains, day trips to the beach (with the kids’ new Croatian-speaking playmates in tow), taking in local festivals and indulging not only in alcohol (when in Rome!) but also copious amounts of grilled pork and meat. Daily life for the Wilsons slowed to a crawl in an world that is devoid of shopping malls, soccer practice, Starbucks and school (Jim homeschooled the kids while Jennifer wrote on her laptop). It’s hard not to be envious of the Wilson family and their simple lives, despite being foreigners in a place that is polar opposite of Middle America.

You can guess from the book’s tagline that Jenifer Wilson’s family was changed by the experience, not only because they did indeed reconnect with one another (no surprise since they lived in small quarters without the distractions of modern life), but because Jennifer was able to actually track down living blood relatives. I stayed up late into the evening reading quickly as Jennifer and Jim (Yenny and Jeem to the locals) connected the dots and traveled to meet Jennifer’s grandmother’s first cousin. Their meeting: emotional and raw.

Searching for family information in old church records.

Many parts of the book are simultaneously engaging and emotional, but equally present are sections enhanced by Jennifer’s fabulous sense of humor. Some of the funniest parts of the book occur when Jennifer is dealing with Robert, the local bar owner and the Wilsons’ landlord. Occasionally hapless, sometimes annoying and typically drunk, Robert eventually works his way into Jennifer’s heart — after all, if he hadn’t put the Wilsons up in the attic-like dorm room in his house, they would have been homeless in Croatia. (Of course, it’s his fault to begin with that the original agreed-upon lodging — multiple rooms on the second floor — were under construction and never quite finished in a timely manner.)

On that note, while reading the book I was so curious to see a photo of Robert — and images of the other villagers, young and old, who befriended the Wilsons. I wish I could have seen the Wilsons driving the compact Eastern European car, drinking in the bar, playing games at the festivals, pouring over church records, meeting their distant cousin…. Alas, the author chose not to illustrate her 317-page memoir with personal photographs. She told me she didn’t want to influence the images that her readers conjured up in their minds of life in Mrkopalj. Still, I think photography would have only enhanced the storytelling. (I did later find photos from their stay in Croatia on Jennifer Wilson’s website — click over to the Croatia photos. You can also watch Robert sing and play guitar on the Running Away to Home YouTube video channel.)

Day trip to the beach! That's Sam in the middle, Zadie at right, and Croatian friend Roberta at left.

Indeed, I highly recommend Running Away to Home for any novice (or expert) genealogists or parents considering long-term travel with young children. For other opinions of this book, read my friend Mara Gorman’s “Croatia or bust” post on Mother of All Trips, as well as the accompanying Q&A with Jennifer Wilson, and Vera Marie Badertscher’s review on A Traveler’s Library.

And a bonus for anyone who has stuck with me through this lengthy book discussion: I mistakenly received two review copies of Running Away to Home. I’ll mail my extra copy to whomever wants it and first comments below (and has a U.S. mailing address)! Otherwise you can purchase the book at online retailers like Amazon.com.

Photos courtesy Jennifer Wilson.

Longtime Mrkopalj resident Baka Ana and her garden.

Winter’s arrived in the Colorado Rockies, and this is the time of year my family’s weekend adventures typically feature skiing, sledding or otherwise playing outdoors in chilly weather — whether it’s in our backyard or at a nearby ski resort. Always in my winter bag: base layers to keep me toasty warm underneath snowpants and fleece. My new favorites are this darling pant and top from Columbi a Sportswear, featuring multi-color stripes and Omni-Heat and Omni-Wick technology.

This duo earns high marks for its feminine flair; I’m not typically one to wear anything pink, but I just can’t resist the perky thin stripes (alternating pink, blue and yellow). I appreciate the pretty pattern sticking out from underneath a half-zip pullover. But most importantly, this material is comfortable. The 86% polyester and 14% elastane combo is super stretchy soft; both pieces fit like a glove from the moment I pulled them out of their boxes.

The top’s sleeves are generously long, so they won’t ride up as I’m moving around outside. I like how the waist dips in a bit for a snug fit underneath other layers. It’s also long enough to tuck into pants, but not too long that it adds any extra bulk. The neckline is high, but not so high it feels too tight.

The pants have a wide waistband that doesn’t fold down. These, too, are the perfect length and fit snugly around the calf for best tucking into boots.

The Omni-Heat reflective dots found on the interior of the top and tights help reflect my own body heat to keep me warm outside. Columbia’s patented Omni-Wick treatment is applied to areas that need to wick moisture most (I’m assuming one such area is around the armpits). An antimicrobial treatment is also applied to the fabric to help keep it smelling fresh.

Purchase these pieces via the Columbia Sportswear website  for $60 each.

Thanks, Columbia Sportswear, for supplying these pieces.

It’s no secret that one of my favorite pastimes is scouting out cool luggage. As travelers, nice quality luggage should be a top priority whether we travel weekly, daily or monthly and it always makes for a great gift. Since the holidays are upon us, today we are teaming with Luggage Online who is offering our readers the chance to win an amazing piece of luggage: the High Sierra Elevate 22-inch ($110).

Before we tell you how to enter for your chance to win, we’d like to point out some of the features of this good-looking piece of luggage. To start, it’s constructed of High Sierra’s Grid-Weave Duralite, Mini-Weave Duralite and Duraweave. It has a recessed, telescoping lightweight aluminum handle system with locking mechanism, padded top and side carry handles and a must-have tow-strap for attaching an extra bag.

Inline skate-style wheels, are inset in protective corner-mounted housings which makes for easy airport maneuvering. We love pockets and luckily the High Sierra Elevate has  plenty including a lower front pocket for holding magazines and other small items while the upper front pocket can easily contain airline tickets or travel necessities. The main compartment expands two inches and has a book-style opening, a large mesh pocket with an interior clothing hold-down straps. Keep in mind you always have the option of purchasing luggage sets for all of your travel needs.

To top it off, the reviews I found online are fantastic! In fact, our ColoradoGal reviewed this for Practical Traveler and gave it a glowing review especially for it’s light weight of only 6.8 lbs. She says, “I sure appreciate its light weight when hefting it into planes’ overhead bins or onto airport-security counters.” That’s something we can all relate to.

If this sounds great to you and you’d like a chance to win the High Sierra Elevate for yourself or to give as a gift this holiday season, here’s not to enter:

• Leave a comment below telling us where you would use your brand-new High Sierra Elevate
• You may enter (leave a comment) once daily until 6 p.m. (Central Time) Tuesday, December 13, 2011.
• The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
• We’ll do our best to weed out repeat entries from the same household (duplicate IP addresses in one day), but we’re not superhuman. Please, as an individual, just comment once daily — don’t try to dupe the system.
• Immediate family members of The Vacation Gals are not eligible to enter.
• You must be 18 and have a U.S. mailing address to enter.
• We will enter the total number of comments into random.org to generate the winning comment number. Winner’s name and winning comment number will be announced at the bottom of this post December 14, 2011.
• If winner does not respond to two emails announcing his/her win within a week, another comment number will be chosen.
• Void where prohibited by law. No purchase necessary.

Congratulations to our winner: L. Burrows who says: I will decide at the last minute to go on a business trip with my often-traveling husband – and have a grand bag to pack my nightie in!

Well, it happened. After years of complaining about my Blackberry (and questioning my loyalty to a non-sentient device), I finally made the switch. Hello, iPhone, I’m pleased to join your legions of fans. Now that I’ve finally joined the 21st century, I’m also getting up to speed regarding the best browsers and apps for iPhones and Androids. I interviewed Mahi De Silva, Opera Software’s Consumer Mobile expert, about the top 10 best apps for holiday travel for iPhones and other mobile devices, as well as the benefits of using Opera as a mobile browser.

You’ve collected your 10 favorite apps for holiday travel. What makes these particularly useful for holiday travel?

This is a well-rounded list that addresses travelers’ greatest needs during the holidays: keeping roaming costs down while staying informed, housed and entertained during the trip. For browsing, Opera is faster and cheaper (important with both expensive roaming costs and the end of unlimited data plans) for finding information. The list should complement the apps users already rely on.

Opera’s Top 10 Apps for Holiday Travel

1. Opera Mini Browser. Opera Mini browsers compress data to use just ten percent bandwidth of other mobile browsers options – reducing image data size, unnecessary formatting, text encoding and more. What this means – a faster mobile experience and a lower monthly bill! Cost: Free

2.  Gowalla. Gowalla is a local travel guide complete with recommendations from experts and suggestions from friends on what to do and where to go in 60 different cities. Cost: Free

3.  Foodspotting. This one lets you find & rate dishes instead of just restaurants. Find dish recommendations from foodspotters, friends & experts. Cost: Free

4.  Sit or Squat. Need to go to the bathroom, and you can’t wait? Enough said, use the Sit or Squat app. Cost: Free

5. Gas Buddy. Gas Buddy shows you the least expensive gas station wherever you are and is particularly great if you don’t know the area (US and Canada only) Cost: Free

6.  Pulse. Use Pulse to read the news you want from traditional sources, your favorite blogs and social networks. Cost: Free

7.  Flight View. When you’re traveling, it’s important to know the status of your flight. Delayed? How long? Flight View lets you check arrivals, departures, parking, weather and more. Cost: Pricing varies from free to $3.99 based on your mobile phone

8.  Hotel Tonight. Already at your destination and need a hotel in a pinch? With Hotel Tonight book hotels the same day for up to 70% off in most major cities and airports. Cost: Free

9.  Accuweather. To find out what the weather is now or what it’s going to be like at your travel destination from where are now, try the Accuweather app. Cost: Free

10.  Spotify. Get access to millions of songs for free with Spotify. You can also share the songs you are listening to and love easily through your social network. Cost: Free

Do you have any travel-related apps that you really like that are generally helpful, not just in terms of easing the stress of holiday travel?

Instead of paying exorbitant fees for navigation equipment with a rental car, I use MapQuest on my iPhone, which has turn-by-turn audio — and it’s free! In the U.S. I use OpenTable to find and make reservations at nice restaurants, Yelp and UrbanSpoon to find recommendations for inexpensive eats. I also use ForeFlight and TripTracker for flight information and notifications of changes to my flights. HopStop for subway directions in NYC and London, Expensify to help with expense reports and Unit Conversion for converting anything including currency, distance, time and units of measure.

The Opera Mini is extremely popular for smartphones. What makes it superior for mobile tech?

Opera Mini for iPhone and Android devices is great for a few reasons: speed, cost savings and ease of use. First, since Opera Mini compresses data up to 90 percent, it’s lightning fast since only a fraction of the data which other browsers would use is actually used by Opera Mini. This also means that Opera is up to 90 percent cheaper since users only pay 10 percent of the data other mobile browsers would typically use. This feature becomes especially useful while traveling to cut down on extravagant roaming data charges.

What’s more, Opera Mini has a feature called Opera Link, a simple way to make browser information such as your bookmarks and speed dial consistent and available from any device with Opera — be they computer, mobile device, or tablet.  Opera Mini also has easy to use “Share” features, enabling quick sharing of content with social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

What iPhone or Android app do you wish existed or are most looking forward to?

An app that would tell you what a reasonable cab fare for a trip in a foreign city would be great.

It’s true that Opera Mini is the web’s most popular mobile browser. The iPhone browser is a close second, but sheesh — Blackberry’s browser is practically not even a contender. To best control my own mobile data usage while traveling, I’m going to switch to Opera Mini. Thanks, Mahi, for helping with my steep learning curve. Guess I’ll go load in some of those top 10 best travel apps, too.

It’s pretty amazing to think how travel changed the day wheels were installed on luggage. No longer did passengers have to lug heavy bags through every process of flying. Walking swiftly through airports became a breeze and we frequently have the choice of keeping our luggage with us the entire trip.

Do you ever wonder how the whole wheels on luggage came about? It should be no surprise that the idea – and follow through – came from a pilot. The idea launched a popular luggage brand that you’ve likely heard of: Travelpro.

According to the Travelpro website:  ”The story behind Travelpro began in 1987, when a Northwest Airline 747 pilot invented The Original Rollaboard wheeled luggage, an innovation that dramatically transformed the ease of modern-day travel. From garment bags and suitcases to executive/computer briefs, rolling duffels, totes and backpacks, Travelpro has long been a brand of choice for more than 500,000 flight crews and frequent travelers worldwide.”

Travelpro was the very first piece of luggage I bought when I started my career as a flight attendant. That rollerboard weathered many airport terminals, crew hotel vans, planes and every type of weather imaginable.

You may wonder what makes Travelpro the flight crew choice and there is one reason, it offers solid products.

Travelpro recently sent me a 20-inch Crew 8 to review and it’s been fun reuniting with the brand. I had forgotten just how much I love Travelpro. Here’s what I’m enjoying about the Travelpro Crew 8 20-inch:

1. Ideal for hikes through airports. When I first took my Crew 8 20-inch on a trip, I was delighted to be reminded how easy Travelpros are  to maneuver. Weaving in and out of people and on and off of moving walkways are a breeze due to the removable, sealed, waterproof ball-bearing inline skate wheels. I wish there was a mileage gauge on my luggage to show how many miles I walk during my time in airports.

2. Perfect size. The 20-inch is ideal for short trips such as one overnight. Many of my work trips are three or four days long, so this size isn’t practical for those. However, when I’m called out for a two-day trip, the 20-inch is perfect.

3. Improved handle. I don’t know what the exact change was, but I can tell there’s been an improvement to the handle since my first Travelpro. It seems sturdier. But that’s not all, the telescoping handle has two stops at 38″ and 43″ which is ideal since not everyone is the same height.

4. Tip resident. This is a great feature: there is a 4-Point stability system prevents tipping even when luggage is expanded. This is especially convenient during security screening when you’re trying to gather your belongings and put on your shoes.

5. Pockets, pockets! This is a must-have for my luggage. The zippered large pocket on the front has plenty of room for small accessories such as pens and keys and even my laptop, books or my flight attendant manual. On the inside there are also several pockets including a large mesh side pocket which can hold a variety of items, such as a curling iron or even paperwork.

If you travel frequently and are looking for new luggage, I suggest you checkout the Travelpro section. It’s certainly not the cheapest on the shelf, but when it comes to luggage you get what you pay for and besides, you can’t go wrong with Travelpro.