Bluesmart trackable carry-on Here we are smack in the middle of summer. It's a high time for traveling as well as beach and pool trips. With that always comes the worry of what to take with you, how to store it and most of all how to keep it safe. In today's environment, trips to the beach do not just mean lugging sunscreen, beach towels, and food. No, today we take our cell phones and possibly tablets or e-readers. Not only is keeping our electronics dry and free of sand a concern, but we need to make sure they don't get stolen.

If you follow me on Twitter, you are probably bored with my tweets directed at United Airlines. If you don't, as a brief synopsis, they lost one of our checked bags back on July 4th and still have no idea where it is. As a result, I have vowed to never check bags again (I have been trying to stop for years, but Dave prefers to check them). I wish I had done some research prior to our last trip on the latest gadgets available for travel, but silly me I did not, until now! As app developers and someone who likes to quote Apple and say "there's an app for that", I wish I had thought to look into this in advance!  So, to save you some time and maybe some sanity down the road, here is a list of a few items I came across that I wish I had seen a few weeks ago.

1. AquaVault. This great little gadget can be attached to a beach chair, golf cart, bike, stroller, etc to safely store your belongings. This would've been great for our last trip to the beach. We always wade into the ocean in groups, leaving someone behind to keep an eye on our things. Our main concern is phones or electronics. This little security box retails for $44.95 and can store your phone, keys, sunglasses, wallet, etc.  AquaVault states the cargo box is designed to fit on 95 percent of beach furniture. Some hotels such as the Ritz-Carlton and Hilton partner with AquaVault to make the boxes available to guests.

2. Kyss Bags. Perhaps you require more than a cargo safe box to store things at the beach. No worries, Kyss Bags has you covered. These lockable beach bags come with anchor cables to secure your bag to beach chairs, trees, tables, desks etc.  I know it isn't a "tech gadget" but it gets the job done!

3. Trakdot. Man oh man do  I wish I had this on our last trip, This little device gets placed in your checked luggage and by way of its corresponding app available on iOS and Andriod you can monitor your bag's location.  So, while United tells me the baggage tag probably got ripped off my luggage, I could find it myself with this little device!

4. Bluesmart. Bluesmart is a "smart, connected carry-on". It works with a companion app available for iOS and Andriod. It boasts a Bluetooth TSA approved lock, scale, location tracker, built in battery charger and more. These gems are available for pre-order for $349. Bluesmart has sold over 9000 units so far!

Well, there you have a few items that could provide you with a piece of mind on your next trip to the beach or on your next flight. Do you have any travel go to items you use to assist with travel, keep your belongings safe and trackable? if so, I would love your recommendations. I never want to go thru a lost baggage claim again! Perhaps you are a traveler who has had issues like I have and have a great app idea to make travel easier for everyone, don't delay talk to a developer today!