While holidaying in the US in August, I noticed, after a week or so, that the stuff I carried with me everyday, while being a tourist and doing touristy things, had stabilised, i.e. I'd stopped carrying the things that I wasn't using and weren't necessary and only carried what I used/needed. So this is what I ended up carrying pretty much every day.
Hat and sunglasses. It was summer, so, although I don't usually wear sunglasses much back home, I got used to it by the time we were doing day trips to New York City. The hat just makes walking around and catching buses in the sun that much more comfortable. I bought the hat at one of the hundreds of Lids stores I found. And the sunglasses cost me $5 from a street stand in NYC, and I still wear them.
A Storm of Swords. Although I'm not a big book reader, the Song of Ice and Fire series has me hooked, so having a book to read while flying around the country, catching Amtrak trains, during the road trip and on nights or mornings when everyone else was still asleep was a great way to pass the time.
Money clip + wallet. I bought myself a new wallet from Nordstrom on Michigan Ave in Chicago. I was just carrying a money clip before that, but carrying my ID, travel card and cash at the same time became a little annoying. So I wanted a money clip (because I find carrying cash like that to be most useful, especially in the US), but also a slot/pocket to carry my ID and travel card, so I found something close enough to what I needed (although slightly bulkier than what I wanted) and I've been using it ever since.
Fisher Space Pen. After the first week, I found myself without a pen on a few occasions (signing bills, paperwork at hotels/airports/airplanes), so when I was in New York City one day, I bought a Fisher Space Pen from the New York Public Library, and it was probably one of the most useful EDC purchases I made. Unfortunately, although I managed to keep it with me all throughout the US, I lost it after being home in Melbourne for just three days.
Sony Cybershot. My girlfriend bought this camera for my birthday a couple of years ago. It's suffered through a lot of use and sits in my backpack every day. It's a great little camera.
Xikar Cigar Cutter. Between James, Shaun and I, we enjoyed a few cigars. I thought it was only fitting to have a cigar cutter on-hand, just in case we walked past a tobacconist and saw something we liked.
