sorry to miss the LR Friday, was out in Keystone, Co, skiing. lunch that day was chili and water.
lately when travelling by air i bring a ukelele. I have an alvarez with grateful dead graphics, good quality, fun.
when traveling by car i bring a gretsch resonator gtr. made in china but pretty darn nice. gig bags for both.
i have a martin backpacker from the late '90's that i use when camping or boating, reasonably compact, gig bag.
a few years ago i went down to negril jamaica, took a cheap chinese-made epiphone les paul special, and a little Blackrock Fly 3 watt amp.
my friend brought along a similar beater bass and the bass version of the blackrock. we had fun jammin'
there, and i had the opportunity to sit in with a blues/R&B group at a beach venue called Drifters for an hour set. gator gig bag for the epi LP, no hassles from the airline.
haven't travelled with anything expensive lately. would want a case more bullet-proof for that.