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An independent travel journal · Madison, Wisconsin Reader-supported · How this site is funded
Sam Travel Chick logo Sam Travel ChickNotes on leaving well

Field-tested systems for getting away — layovers, seats, packing, and short trips that actually work.

Published from
Madison, WI

Section

Kits & systems

Repeatable frameworks for the mechanical side of travel: what to pack, which seat to choose, how to land late and alone, and how to come home without losing the trip.

Kits

Window or Aisle

The great cabin debate is not about personality. It is about flight length, body clocks, hydration, and who controls the exit. A decision system, not an opinion.

May 28, 20269 min read

Kits

Packing as a System

Packing is not a chore to survive before each trip. It is a system to build once — and then merely run. The full architecture, from the 1-2-3 ratio to the never-unpacked core.

May 15, 20269 min read

Kits

Re-Entry

Itineraries plan every hour of a journey and zero minutes of the return. A protocol for landing back into your own life without losing what the trip gave you.

July 9, 20268 min read

Kits

Arriving After Dark

Late landings are sometimes the only landings on offer. How to script the airport-to-bed sequence so an unfamiliar city at midnight is a procedure, not an adventure.

May 21, 20269 min read