Ah, just found out about a “Puppy Linux 4.0” distribution which can be loaded onto a flash drive. Came out a few months ago. A great way to run any machine anywhere. Claims 100MB usage but “robust” with all the usual necessities plus the capacity to add one’s own special needs. Another suggestion for both the original poster and the you, Ouderkirk, if you want to travel “light.”
Ubuntu has support issues? They have a forum dedicated to support that is active (though touchy-feely). Investing a little time there has answered all my questions and taught me something too. I will give Solaris X a run too. Thanks for that information.
I played with Puppy for a while on an old computer that was ready to be junked. I found it the easiest to use of the distros - it immediately found my wireless router and went to work. And since it was small, the old machine had no problems handling it (it couldn't deal with Ubuntu, for example). I'm a fan.