I’ve been dying to download Lonely Planet‘s 1000 Ultimate Experiences app for the iPad, but at $10, I wasn’t sure it was worth it. But yesterday, I was surfing around in the iTunes store, and happened to see that it was on sale for $2.99 in honor of the international launch of the iPad. I clicked on buy immediately, still smarting from having missed Lonely Planet’s European guide apps when they were briefly free downloads. I don’t know how long it will be on sale, so if you are interested, grab it quick.

The sale was extremely timely, because our plan for this weekend is to figure out where we will go on our next vacation. The app is arranged as a deck of cards, each with a different travel idea. Sets of 10 cards are sorted into various categories, such as “Friendliest Countries”, “Greatest Historical Journeys” and “Most Surreal Landscapes”. The pictures are beautiful and the app is really full of great ideas. Apparently, there are some videos here and there in the app, but I haven’t run across any yet. One feature I really like is the share button, which allows you to email the card you are viewing as an image. I think would be great on the train if I run across an idea I like – I can just email it directly to Stephen (and cc myself if I want). After you hit send, you are immediately returned to the card you were viewing in the app.

Is the app worth $3? Definitely! Is it worth the $10 I was unwilling to pay? Well, $10 is cheaper than the corresponding book, which is currently $15.63 on Amazon. But I seem to be less willing to spend money on iPad apps. That is probably a little silly, because I can’t take too many books with me on a trip, but the amount of information I can have on my iPad is practically limitless. I have some similar Lonely Planet books, like The Travel Book, Blue List 2008, and A Year of Watching Wildlife, as well as DK’s Where to Go When. We do utilize these when deciding on a vacation destination, especially the DK book, but having them on the iPad would definitely be more convenient, especially because a couple of them are huge and heavy. I will definitely keep my eyes open for similar titles on the iPad, now that I have tried 1000 Ultimate Experiences. I haven’t tried any of the location-specific Lonely Planet iPad apps, but I will when we finally decide where to go this year. If you have any favorite travel apps for the iPhone or iPad, please comment.

It took me less than 10 minutes to make this wallpaper travel pocket.

It just takes a piece of wallpaper and a sewing machine. First, I folded over the top and bottom edges so they overlap in the middle. This is so the rough backside of the wallpaper is not exposed on the inside of the pocket. Then I sewed a straight line across the top and then the bottom, about one quarter to one half an inch away from the folded edge. I then folded in the short edges too (you only need to fold over about an inch or so) and then I sewed those edges too. If you want to sew an image to the cover, this is a good time to do it as the pockets you create will then cover up the sewing on the back side of the image. Finally, I folded over the short edges one more time, enough to make two pockets on the inside. Then I sewed along the top and bottom edges again to create the pockets. That’s it. The wallpaper makes it very sturdy and the design possibilities are endless.

Elements in the collage Kelty designed for my bag include my dog Chiqui, my rat Pepper, a peacock, and photos of our trips to Hong Kong, Peru and Costa Rica.

The bags that she uses are very sturdy, the designs seem quite solidly affixed, and Kelty’s service was very fast. At the time of this writing the messenger bags with a stock design run $55 to $65. Sometimes they are cheaper because of a sale. Bags with custom designs run $75-85. They aren’t cheap, but the price seems very reasonable for a custom design. I loved what she designed for me, and every time I carry the bag, I always get comments on it. I keep a small stack of her cards in the little zipper pocket to give to people who inquire. Kelty’s stock designs are every bit as awesome as her custom designs. If you want a really unique bag to drag around on your travels, I recommend checking out Satchel Studio.

Update 10/11/09: Please note, Kelty will soon be selling her bags through Etsy. She has a new website, Steep Street, and I have changed all the links above to reflect that. However, the new Etsy store is not live yet. I will update the links above when the store is live. In the meantime, you can contact Kelty at Steep Street if you are interested in ordering a bag.