There are, of course, a hundred-thousand blog posts listing the usually-heart-wrenching reasons family is important. And eventhough a closeness to family and friends can be difficult to maintain while traveling, advances in technology make it so much easier as long at least one party is willing to put in the work.

The most important thing about family is this: THEY BRING YOU THINGS.

My dad’s sister and her husband live in Trinidad (and/or Tobago). My dad and grandparents are headed down there from Colorado in two more days. The driving force appears to be my grandparents’ reluctantly adventurous spirits desiring to visit their daughter in another of her exotic ex-pat homes. (Despite many winning reviews from the entire Aunt Janet clan, the grandparents were never convinced to enjoy all the finer things of Baku, Azerbaijan.)

Trinidad (and/or Tobago) has long been a part of my Americas plan – as long as my auntie has lived there, anyway – and so it was with great pleasure that I arranged to meet them in the Land of Mangoes and Speedbumps.

But my second driving force, which at times threatens to overtake the first, is that my dad, like so many mules, is carting me a half-suitcase of stuff. Toothbrush-head cases, mesh bags, return address labels, credit cards, and – bless his heart – no less than 11 bras.