Recently I discovered How I Met Your Mother, which means I was the second-to-last person on Earth to get obsessed with it. This show nails what it's like to be a young adult in the city. And so far my favorite episode has been "Murtaugh." In it, Ted says he has a list of things he is now too old to do, like pull an all-nighter or drink from a beer bong. The list is named after the main character in Lethal Weapon, Roger Murtaugh, who famously says, "I'm gettin' too old for this sh*t." But the item on Ted's Murtaugh List that resonated the most with me was: Crash on a friend's futon for the night instead of getting a hotel room.

Ever wonder where that lost luggage of yours ended up? If you flew through PHX, it may be at this creepy couple's house. They were arrested this week for stealing more than 1,000 bags from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. I got a call from channel 12 News in Phoenix to talk about how travelers can prevent this from happening to them. Even though it's tough to protect a bag that isn't in your possession, there are a few things you can do to make sure someone else doesn't claim your luggage.

Packing a carry-on bag for a flight has never been effortless; it’s always taken a bit of ingenuity to arrange things so you can reach what you might need. And for a long time now, we’ve had to remove any scissors or blades and bid au revoir to bottles that hold over 3 ounces. But now? Now we have to do all this and also pack our carry-ons as if they’re about to be checked: no valuables, no breakables, no necessary medications.

Since airlines began charging checked-bag fees last year, many of us have adjusted our habits to avoid checking any luggage. In my opinion, the problems this has caused—overly full overhead bins and major delays boarding—are only getting worse.

Just this morning, I said bye to my Mom, Gram and a close family friend, who all came to San Francisco for a five-night visit. The length of their visit is very significant to my point of this blog, which is simply that they overpacked. Big time. Each arrived with a large suitcase (one weighed in at 61 pounds), a carry-on duffel and a purse. Between the three of them, I'm pretty sure we could have opened a beauty supply store that would put Sally's out of business. Among their items were various hair apparatuses, Febreeze, air freshener and an electrical make-up mirror with lights.

Yes, you read that right, an electrical make-up mirror with lights.

This week's question comes from Moses in Roy, UT, home of the Hill Aerospace Museum (where admission is free!):

This is a shameless plea for help. Has anyone else ever sent their precious documents through a very unforgiving spin cycle? My husband and I got back from Peru on Sunday--after traveling for 24 straight hours. Needless to say, I wasn't thinking clearly when I decided to throw my filthy backpack into the washing machine, complete with both of our passports in one of the pockets. Note to self: Sleep, then clean.

Please join us in welcoming Kristin Luna to The Window Seat. She lives in San Francisco and is the writer of the Bloggie-award-winning travel blog Camels and Chocolate.

When I scheduled my 28-hour stopover in Helsinki, I thought I’d do a whirlwind tour of the city, snapping some quality architecture shots in true shutterbug fashion and doing little else. Au contraire, naïve one. Instead, I spent the majority of my time in Finland getting acquainted with the downtown poliisi precinct.

On my way to the ferry station to purchase my ticket to Estonia, I was crossing at the green crosswalk like the law-abiding citizen I am. Out of nowhere, a minivan cab came whipping around the way, and performed an illegal U-turn—at a red light at that—before I had time to contemplate my next move.

Are you sitting down? Because I have some sad news to tell you. Lonely Planet and I broke up. Now, now. Don't worry. I'm going to be fine...in time. It was for the best, really. We'll be happier now. I'm ready to play the field again, see what's out there.

What happened? Well, we got in a bit of a row while I was in Thailand. You see, LP mentioned in passing that we might experience "high winds" in Koh Samui in November. I live in San Francisco! High winds are nothing! I laugh in the face of high winds.

Today I'm stopping by The View from the Bay to do a round-up of the best summer travel gadgets. Savvy Window Seat readers already know about a few of the gizmos I'm going to talk about, but here are my top five (in no particular order):

Not all gadgets were created equal. Some are frivolous like the Mind Relaxer, some are awesome but expensive like the Amazon Kindle, and some are just right like X-ray-friendly laptop bags. If I had to recommend one travel gadget to frequent flyers, this is it.