Fall is travel season when you work in the law school admissions world.  And as I prepared for my first air travel of the year, I packed my empty reusable water bottle.

I usually carry this bottle full of water with me wherever I go, so I always have a drink handy without having to buy anything.  But for air travel it needs to be empty to go through the security protocol.

Thankfully, airports have started to recognize that more and more people are doing this when they travel, and at many airports (including the tiny University Park Airport), you will find these handy bottle filling stations:

It’s fantastic.  You go through security with an empty bottle.  On the other side you fill it at the water station.  Then you are set with water for your flight, without having to drop a few bucks for a bottle of spring water.

When at the hotel at the other end of my flight, I have also found a favorite place to fill my water bottle.  I do prefer filtered or spring water to straight tap water, so at the hotel, I always find my way to the fitness center.  Regardless of whether I’m planning to work out, the fitness center always has a nice water cooler where I can fill up my bottle.

Traveling doesn’t have to mean spending money on disposable water bottles!  Good for the wallet AND good for the environment!