One of the moderators of the forums I'm involved with sent me a 4 piece practice chanter in exchange for a website advertising banner I created for him.

It's pretty cool and handy to take with you on trips, which is exactly what I did for our first family vacation to Ixtapa Mexico.  I had my sheet music, MP3 player and my nifty little Pak-a-Way chanter all tucked away in my carry on bag.

So we get through SeaTac airport with my 3 1/2 year old daughter, and 6 month old son and all our bags and what not in tow.  Getting through security was a breeze and the flight down was uneventful, in fact mildly pleasant considering how it could have been with two kids.

We arrived at the little airport just south of Ixtapa and made it through customs, then a harrowing taxi ride to the resort, finally got settled in and I went to unpack my piping stuff and NO CHANTER!

My music was there, MP3 player, but no chanter!  Then I realized on the trip down to Seattle I had to stomp on the breaks and my bag slid off the passenger seat and hit the floor.  My chanter must be sitting there at the Park-n-Fly.... sigh.  I was really looking forward to getting some practice time in while relaxing in the sun.  It wasn't a total loss though, I read my sheet music and tapped out the tunes and worked on my timing instead.

When we got back home, sure enough there was my little Pak-A-Way chanter sitting on the floor of the car.