Unfortunately, it seems to me that the vast majority of folks clogging the nations airports, highways, and vacation destinations have absolutely no frickin' clue when it comes to even the most basic do's and don't's of travelling. As someone who's travelled, moved, packed, unpacked, trekked and roadtripped an ungodly number of miles across this great nation; I figured I'd toss a refresher out there. Most vacations last a week or less; probably because none of us have the time for a much longer vacation, and when we do it's usually coupled with a relocation, retirement, or job change. In these instances there's so much other stuff going on, that no one would really consider them a vacation. Hence, they shall be ignored for the purposes of this...screed. So will special needs travellers; mostly because I do't really have any valueable advice other than what you might find elsewhere.

1. Pack light. A decent carry-on bag can be a real time saver when traversing long distances. If you've got connections or transfers, you don't have to worry about some bonehead handler tossing your bag onto the tram headed for Indonesia while you're headed to gate A24 for a flight to SeaTac. Something with wheels is always nice, and they also make convertibles with backpack straps tucked away behind a zipper. These are a real convenience when a wheel breaks or gets stuck. This happened to me once, and I had to drag/lug my carryon through O'Hare. What a pain.
When packing for a road trip or family vacation, packing light becomes nearly impossible. However, there are some workarounds. Stick to the one bag per person rule, and try to leave as many non-essentials at home as reasonably possible. Idiots from all over flock to the beach every summer in an endless stream of minivans with bicycles, luggage carriers, kiddie pools, and kayaks strapped to their bumpers, roofs, and trailers. Hello, these things can be rented at a fraction of the pain in the ass it must be to haul them hundreds of miles. Another way to save space is avoid bringing items that you can afford once you arrive. I've seen people pack coolers of groceries instead of just buying them at a local chain store. Unless you're going to a remote location, it's pointless to try and save money by bringing your 35 gallon cooler.

2. Accomadations. For week-long vacations, avoid getting a hotel room. Usually, a rental property can be found for a fraction of the cost of a hotel room; and come with more amenities. These places usually rent by the week, but can be had for weekends, especially if you or one of your companions is a member of one of those timeshare-points-dealies. Further, sharing a rental property with a few friends chops the cost up in peices, and still leaves one with plenty of personal space. These rental homes come in all price ranges and all levels of comfort; so don't be afraid to check places like VRBO.com or vacationrentals.com for listings in your destination area.
For shorter term vacations like three or four day weekends, it might be easier to find a hotel depending on specials, time of years, etc; but I've been in a few situations where it was still cheaper to rent for a week even though I actually was only going to be there for a few days.

3. Things to do. Before you leave, make sure you don't have some kind of distorted perception of what your destination is like. Vegas is not all glitter. It's actually only glitter for a block on either side of Las Vegas Boulevard. Washington, DC isn't all museums and monuments either; it's also homeless people on the mall. I'm just saying, if you're going somewhere because of the novelty; you're going to be pretty disappointed by day three, espeically if it's raining. Look up lesser known spots in the area, find hole-in-the-wall hangouts, scout the web for places of interest to you. Maybe there's a bar that your favorite writer hung out in; or a plant nearby that manufactures your favorite automobile. If worst comes to worst, you can always just go for a walk or ride the subway. Personally, I could never travel to a place without taking at least one day to simply wander. Never underestimate the adventures you can have by getting lost.

4. Companions. Some people are Planners - they have a predetermined itinerary and a tight schedule of the week's events. My old man is like this. He even goes to bed early, and help you Jesus if everyone else is out rabble-rousing all night and comes home late. Other people travel by the seat of their pants - even getting to the destination is a disorganized process. I've travelled several times with one friend, and I've never been anywhere on time with him. He stretched a four hour drive into an eight hour death march through tourist hell. It took us an hour just to get out of town; and we hit every outlet, niche restraunt, and old friend's house within an hour of our route. Either travel with people who match your style, or make arrangements that alleviate these differences. For example, I never share accomodations with my dad and I always make seperate travel arrangements than my buddy. This way I can travel with them without experiencing the overwhelming urge to punch them in the throat.

5. The return trip. Always leave a spare day between your return and your first day of work. Return trips are sad, depressing events. You're just coming back from the best vacation ever; you've got a bronze tan, some hilarious stories, and a seriously low tension level. Soon, you'll be back at work putting up with the relatively insipid morass of your chuckleheaded coworkers. At this point you usually start drinking heavily on the plane, in the airport, and/or in the car. You arrive home horribly depressed; you need a recovery day. I'm telling you, a free day will help you recalibrate and it'll take the edge off of the transition.

So hopefully I contibuted to the body of travel knowledge out there. If not, I'd wager that at least some of you got a kick out of the 'insipid morass of your chuckleheaded coworkers' phrase. Look for follow-up posts in this category on specific locations in the future.