ungodly early hour to get the last flight
out of Nassau in the Bahamas before the
predicted hurricane arrived. The pass-
ports were in the hotel safe in my room
and in the dark I failed to grab mine. As
it developed, the U.S. Customs and Im-
migration officers had already fled the
island so no one asked for my passport.
The hotel returned the passport to my
home.
• Lesson learned: Always travel
with a copy of the main passport page
and put the copy in a separate place. If
you have an extra passport photo all the
better. This way a U.S. Embassy will be
able to issue an emergency passport if
yours goes missing.
On two separate occasions I left my
purse behind and it was filled with vi-
tal travel items: passport, tickets, credit
cards and cash. The first time it hap-
pened was in the Miami Airport while
waiting for the plane home. I ran into
friends so I gathered up my belongings
and joined them at their gate at the other
end of the airport. Once there I realized I
did not have my purse. I rushed back and
there it was sitting on a table surrounded
by other waiting passengers.
The second time was in Washing-
ton, D.C. I had been sitting on a bench
with my purse and briefcase near the
Washington Monument, killing time
waiting for a meeting. I decided to take
a walk and left my purse behind. As I
walked down Pennsylvania Avenue I
realized what I had done and ran back
to the bench and there was my purse.
Clearly, I was very lucky.
• Lesson learned: I now travel with
a small cross body purse and a security
wallet around my neck containing
my ID, credit cards and tickets.
I have not lost a camera but
cameras are one of the top lost
items. Beyond the monetary
value of the camera, the loss of
potentially irreplaceable pho-
tos can be the worse outcome.
Put your name and phone
number on the camera. Ev-
ery night download the photos
so if the camera is lost you will still
have photos from previous days. Put a
strap on your camera and carry it around
your neck or in a backpack to keep it
close.
Sue Giallella of Grand Island who
has traveled near and far with her chil-
dren and granddaughters said she has
never lost any important items but does
have a system that has, so far, been fail-
safe. “We keep our documents, pass-
ports, tickets and copies of confirma-
tions in a zippered wallet type holder
provided by our travel agent,” she ex-
plained. “To avoid confusion I remove
any documents once we use them. We
take full advantage of room safes and
our phones and valuables are carried in
cross body bags.”
tel safe? Then put a shoe in the safe so
you will be sure to check the safe.
• Make lists and check the list.
She agrees with the advice of Kan-
dis Fuller of Amherst who enjoys trav-
eling with her young daughter. “Make
copies of everything: tickets, directions,
hotel confirmations and passports.” Don’t panic if you lose something
important. Check again and think when
you last saw the item. If you are lucky
the missing item will still be where you
left it.
Here are other tips to avoid losing
things while traveling: If you are going to leave something
on a plane the place to do it is Amster-
dam’s airport where KLM Airlines em-
ploys Sherlock, a uniform wearing bea-
gle, to find owners of forgotten items left
on planes by tracking their scent!
• Have a designated spot for the
items you always travel with.
• Have secure places to store sensi-
tive items.
• Always put things back where you
got them.
• Check thoroughly every time you
leave somewhere. Count your bags and
cases and recount at every step.
• Leave an obvious reminder where
you will notice it. Are you using the ho-
The energetic beagle can be seen
bounding through the airport with
phones and headphones tucked in his
pouch and even carrying stuffed toys
back to their rightful owners.
Of course, Sherlock has become a
star at the airport with grateful custom-
ers posing for selfies with him and staff
showering him with attention. I would
even be tempted to leave something be-
hind to experience Sherlock working his
magic. But, no, that would definitely
not be right.
Deborah Williams is a veteran
travel writer who lives in Hol-
land, NY. Her work has ap-
peared in national and inter-
national travel publications
and she is the recipient of
the Society of American Trav-
el Writers Lowell Thomas Gold
Travel Writing Award. Learn
more at www.deborahwilliams.com
January 2019 WNY Family 33