All of the items talked about below in our blog are on the list at the bottom of the page for easy ordering with a clickable link.
We already had quite a few of these items before this trip but a few of them we had to get and we are so glad we did. Of course I did order months ahead of time because I'm a crazy planner.
Keep in mind anything that you may need to order will take a minimum of a few days. Please make sure you allow yourself a few weeks to receive it; allowing time to actually pack it for your trip.
The number one thing that made our trip so much more relaxing was this blow up back seat mattress and footstool combo. This was the best set up possible for sleeping overnight on the train and not spending extra money on a room suite.. Economy tickets with a luxurious twist.
Whether you are traveling with kids or not this totally makes you relax in coach. The only rules are that it can not stick into the isle way or another passengers area. So if you have two seats, you are totally in for the space allotment needed to use this. If you and your significant other are traveling this will make for a relaxing cuddly little nook.
This particular mattress is divided into 3 sections that can be blown up. Which makes it ideal because the unblown section folds under. In other words if you were to buy a twin mattress it would not fit.
This mattress also has one end that has a positional wedge(depending on air).
(Seen in Picture Below)
You will need to buy a convertor because this particular model comes with a car attachment to plug in and you need a regular household plug attachment for the train.
For the children and their comfort this really helped me ensure that they would not wake up out of sorts with neck pain or feel the need to sleep on me. It kept them cuddled up together.
My foot rest was extended by the use of our rolling cooler which also gave me a physical guardrail so I knew they would not roll off of the side.
The mattress takes up about 1.5 chairs in width and it was just enough that I could squeeze in next to it and still have a reclining chair.
I'll say it again..The best bought item for our trip by far.
Now here are some items that we had and a few we did have to purchase.
The smaller children both have headsets that connect to a DVD player that is usually hooked up in our van. The headset have their own ports and then a connector to connect them both to the same laptop/DVD player. While you can watch your phone, laptop, DVD player on the train, it has to have headphones.
All of the adults also brought their own headsets. However I can honestly say I did not use mine until the ride home in the car. I wanted to talk to my Husband when I could and other than that I was just enjoying being on vacation with my family.
The sheet set in this picture is for camping and it is a connected for a sleeping bag. A great bring along to use because it can get chilly but also it brings you a little bit of home comfort.
We also each had our own fleece blanket that could roll up small.
My Husband and older Daughter did not have an air mattress but they did each have a footrest on the train and we brought along extra blowup footstools incase they wanted more comfort. They also both had a neck pillow and I had a little inflated pillow that came with the mattress.
Our rolling cooler that we love.
Ok first of all its on wheels..score.
Secondly it holds everything we needed on our vacation. For the two long trips we could pack fresher food than they offered for breakfast or lunch. Then while we were at our destination we could use it to pack lunches for the day or water while we were out exploring. I believe it holds about 40 cans so that gives you an idea on space. It has a hard plastic liner to keep your food from getting smashed and also for easy clean out. The top kind of expands past the zipper and has a pocket which allows for a little extra room. We used it for grapes :).
Food Storage. Yes more food prep. We really do try to eat healthier and with that comes homemade cookies instead of Oreos or Chips Ahoy. However in a bag they always get smashed. So let me show you something awesome...
These canisters are so great. They fit in a backpack and will keep your food from turning to crumbs. Basically a reusable Pringle can. At our second VRBO house we made cookies again and refilled them for the trip home.
With a lot of bags came a way to mark which ones were ours. So besides the color coded name tags on each piece of luggage..these smiley face keychains we placed on each bag.
It was pretty easy to see our bags on the luggage rack or doing a quick count to make sure we had all of them.
Ok this item is for the children. Luckily both of our kids are almost potty trained but this also means that they would be using toilets..public toilets..yucky. 🤢 So the portable toilet seat and toilet seat covers for under and on top of it were a must. It folds down pretty small so I could carry it under my armpit or in a backpack discretely. With using the toilet seat covers both under and on top I didn't feel gross picking it up after. I did still wet wipe it each time however.
If you don't have children I would still recommend the toilet seat covers because the toilets are gross..all of them.
The train station, the train, the bus, the union stations...they are gross everywhere.
The last item was the stroller. We did use it for the outings during the day which obviously was a great thing to have but it was really the star of the show a few times... when we were moving our luggage.
This stroller would be considered a wagon. It is for two children; it does have two seatbelts incase you have wigglers. It has a food/cup tray in the middle, a sunshade/bug screen. It also has a cupholder for the top and a big basket for the bottom along with side pockets for water bottles. It can fold down pretty thin when the tires are removed.
This piece of equipment was the best for hauling all of our bags..well most of them and left myself handsfree so I could walk with both of the younger children. It saved my Husbands back multiple times.
The trip was an adventure for sure and these items I talked about above made everything a little bit easier.
Do yourself a favor and think about your trip..
What could make traveling easier for you? Wilson Wonders
All Items are available to order by clicking each picture below.
1) Blow up mattress
and convertor plug.
2)Kids Headset
3) Sleeper sheet set
4)DVD player
5) Cozy Blankies
6)Coleman Cooler
7) Cookie/Chip containers
8) Luggage Markers
9)Portable Toilet Seat
10)Toilet Seat Covers
11)The Stroller
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