Before I leave, I look up all the quilt shops I will be near. If I am in the US, I plan to ship the fabric home. When I travel, I do look for fabric that is either special to the area or not in my LQS. When in Alaska, I found Northern Lights fabric as well as a lot of fabric that was only available in Alaska or from Alaskan quilt shops. I had fun choosing it in person AND all the shops I visited had the one rate boxes and would ship the fabric for me. In Hawaii, I visited a fabric shop in Kona that was run by the designer of one of my favorite prints. In Hawaii, I again bought fabric that was special to the islands (as well as patterns and a kit). I had to ship my own fabric home, but we had a car so it was not hard to find the Post office -- and again I used the one rate boxes. I did the same thing in Colorado and Nevada. For me it is really more fun to buy it in the area. It is also fun to have it available when I get home -- frequently the boxes beat me home.