We hit the road to have great experiences and meet new people. Part of the fun comes from saving those memories for future reminiscing and sharing. However, some collections — like Lucille Ball’s rock collection in the 1954 film “The Long, Long Trailer” — are ill-advised for RV life.
Here are five RV-friendly souvenirs that preserve your travel memories and don’t take up much space:
Passport to Your National Parks®
photos courtesy eparks.com
(http://www.nps.gov/history/heritageareas/INFO/passport.htm)
These nicely bound books have chapters that are organized by region, with short write-ups on the local history and park destinations within each area. They include maps of the National Park system and have spaces for commemorative stamps that you can buy in sets, if you choose. However, the best part of these little books are the cancellation stamp pages. Each National Park has a free stamping station with location- and date-specific rubber stamps that allow you to mark your visit to each destination just as with a real passport.
Digitally save your memories in the interactive PinDrop App
2. Pin Drop (http://pindropapp.com )
Download this easy-to-use app on your smartphone or use the Web-based version to virtually “pin” the map with your favorite destinations. Write a short description of your visit and upload a picture of yourself there. You can create and color-code different categories like “Places I Want to Visit”, “Best Campgrounds” or “Fun Roadside Stops.” Never again forget the name or location of those fabulously off-the-beaten-path spots. When you are ready to go back to those favorite places, download the GPX or KML files, send them to your GPS or Google Earth™ mapping service and head out.
Commemorative Pins are small but beautiful souvenirs.
3. Commemorative Pins
Disney® may have created a huge sub-culture of pin traders, but they are not the only place to get great collectible pins. Most tourist destinations and places of interest offer fun, colorful and creative pins in their gift shops. Display your collection on a lanyard, in special pin-collection albums or on your favorite baseball cap.
4. Walking-Stick Medallions
Whether or not you are the “outdoorsy” type, walking sticks are a great way to collect and recollect. Most state and national parks and many tourist destinations now offer curved metal medallions with nail holes that can be easily attached to a tall wooden walking stick. These medallions are often beautifully designed and well crafted representations of the places you visit and love. Just think how fun it will be to cover your walking stick with the memories that you make while using it!
Walking Stick Medallion
photo courtesy eparks.com
5. T-shirt Quilts
If you are at all handy with a needle and thread, you can take all of those T-shirts you have collected and turn them into a comfy memory quilt. This will not only consolidate a bunch of space-taking souvenirs into something useful, it will also be a fun hobby to occupy yourself during your turns in the co-pilot seat. Cut a 12”x12” square from each T-shirt, and lay them out in a pattern you like. Then pin them all together and start stitching. You can buy quilt backing and blanket binding at any fabric store.
Chris Guld of GeeksonTour.com created this t-shirt quilt from her collection.
photo by Jeff Fay
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