25 Things I've Learned About Traveling

I have officially been bitten by the travel bug! I have been home from my last trip for 3 weeks and I am itching to plan my next one! I didn’t start traveling much until I started my business. We took vacations as a family off and on growing up, and often drove to visit our relatives but we were never really the adventurous type. I am so grateful to have a job where traveling can be involved! Between workshops, shoots, and “just for fun” trips I have traveled 6 times in the last year. This may not seem like much to some people, but to me it feels like a lot! I have loved every second of it! Granted, there have been some highly stressful days mixed in there, and not-so-fun experiences, but even in those times I still love that I am out trying and experiencing and seeing new things!

Traveling while I was growing up was always exciting but stressful! Packing, planning, and the actual travel was all very overwhelming to me. Don’t even get me started on airport security. Now I am happy to say that I’m not often stressed during any of those steps! My mom and I have found a rhythm with travel and it’s quickly become one of my very favorite things. With all that being said, today I thought I would share 25 things I’ve learned about traveling in the past year!

No plans are the best plans. You may be thinking, huh? But I’m serious! My absolute favorite trips have been the ones where we kept plans to a minimum. When we went to Charleston in the fall I had two days at Creative @ Heart planned, and the rest of the trip we just played it by ear. We quickly realized that it is easier to plan once you are already in the city. Restaurants that you find in person are often better than the ones you saw on Instagram. You never know what kind of things you will stumble upon if you stop trying to stick to a timeline. This also reduces the stress level of the trip by a WIDE margin. Did it take you longer to get somewhere? No problem! Need an iced tea? Let’s find one! Forgot your toothbrush? Hey, let’s run by Walgreens! Having no plans keeps you cool as a cucumber!
Be flexible! If you are determined to have plans, try to take it easy if things change. In a new environment it’s impossible to predict every possibility, so take a deep breath and take it in stride!
Hotels.com is the bomb.com. Save yourself the hassle of looking at hotel websites and just go straight to Hotels.com! On our drive to Charleston we weren’t sure if we would want to stop and spend the night somewhere so we decided to make the decision when we started getting tired. Somewhere in West Virginia, we decided we were going to spend the night in North Carolina and I hopped on the app and booked us a hotel…only to realize I booked it for the wrong night. A quick call to customer service and they had my date switched in no time! Not to mention your 10th night is always free!
Backpacks are the way to go! Having your hands free is the BEST. After always traveling with a purse, I bought a backpack with me to Florida and felt like I should be doing cartwheels in the airport. It was awesome.
It’s worth flying Delta purely for the cookies. Have you had them?? I’m not kidding when I say I hoard them. Savor every bite and do not settle for the pretzels they try to give you!
Do everything in your power to not have a carry on suitcase (especially if you are traveling alone!!). Why pay the fee when you can have a carry on suitcase? I’ll tell ya why! They are annoying!! They are tiring to drag around all day, obnoxious to get up into an overhead bin, and..and…did I mention they are annoying? I stand by this even more if you are traveling alone. Have you ever tried fitting into a tiny airport bathroom stall with a suitcase? Don’t look at me like that, I know you have!
There is no reason to stand up right when they say “now boarding…”. You aren’t going to take off any sooner! I’m just saying! I always giggle slightly when they start boarding first class and everyone stands up. That line moves so slow!! Why waste the energy?
Comfy shoes…fo realz. When everyone in the world reminds you to pack comfy shoes you should probably trust them.
Sometimes it’s worth it to pay for convenience (i.e. Why I don’t take red-eyes). I used to think that the cheapest option was always the best and I’ve found that (at least for me) this isn’t always the case. I used to love the idea of a red eye, they are often cheaper, you sleep on the flight and get an extra day added to your trip right? Wrong. I am not particularly fun to be around after I have been on a red eye. Finding your terminal during your 2am layover in an airport you’ve never been to is not my cup of tea. I do sleep easily on planes, but in my experience you spend more time “traveling” then you do zonked out on the plane. Not to mention the nutrition I get through my feeding tube runs during the night which you can’t bring through airport security. So now you have me, awake all night, with no nutrition…this is not worth it to me. I also used to consider myself a master at finding cheap hotels. Then I would get to hotel and it would be (1.) not particularly clean or good smelling, (2.) suuuupper far away from the area I wanted to be in and (3.) not have a continental breakfast.
Continental breakfast FOR THE WIN.
Pack less. I go over this with myself every single time and every single time I overpack. When traveling less really is more. I now prefer to pack fewer, more versatile pieces. (My dad is probably laughing at me as he is proof reading this post because he endlessly mocks me for overpacking! Hi Dad! I promise I’m learning!)
You will fill your suitcase so use a smaller suitcase. I used to pack entirely in a carry-on and somehow in Florida I hit exactly 50lbs in a massive suitcase. Reign it in Katie, reign it in.
You don’t read as much as you think you do. You just don’t. One book is plenty! If you finish it and need another one get one at the airport, download it on your phone, or stop at a drugstore! You don’t need to pack a whole library!
Little Bibles are great. Along the same lines, I used to always bring my study Bible. That baby is huge and weighs a ton! I felt stressed about not bringing it though because the study notes are so helpful and I have a lot underlined. But here is the thing, it’s not the study notes or what I have underlined that matters. It’s the actual word of God. Study notes are great but you don’t need them all the time! Especially not when you are trying to keep a suitcase under 50lbs. I now have a smaller Bible that is lightweight and I have really enjoyed traveling with it. If I mark something in it I now put the date next to it. When I look through it now it is a reminder of what the Lord was teaching me on each trip! You also could just stick with an Iphone app if this works for you…I have a distraction issue if I get on my phone so small Bible it is!
Keep track of your phone charger. Just do it or you will end up spending $30 on one in an airport even though you bought the exact same one at Target last month for $9.
Research traffic before you go. This also should come into play when deciding on a hotel. Turns out in Seattle 13 miles = One hour and twenty-four minutes.
Traditions are cheesy but fun.
It’s okay to spend more money on something than you would at home. Aside from the phone charger that I am still bitter about, I have found that sometimes it’s okay to buy overpriced things. I have some little things from Denver, Traverse City, Etc that were more than I would spend on it at home but SO worth the memories.
But it’s not okay to spent too much money on something you don’t actually want. The way I draw the line here is by asking myself “would I buy this if I found it in Grand Rapids”. It’s easy to feel “in the moment” and justify something, but if you don’t see yourself getting lots of use/wear out of it at home put it down and walk away.
Don’t feel bad staying in the hotel. The biggest thing I’ve realized that I didn’t expect is to not overdo it on trips just because you are there. It’s easy to stay out late, wake up early, and push yourself past your limits because you’re “only there for a week!!”, but it’s not worth it in the long run. If I stay up late I may have fun for the night, but I’ll be whopped the next morning and not enjoy that day as much. My mom and I have spent lots of night eating dinner in our hotel room, watching fixer upper, and going to bed early and that is OKAY! Some may call us lame, but I would argue that it is a good thing sometimes! While I was in Disney last month I wasn’t feeling well one afternoon and had to go back to the hotel. At Disney. Was it a bummer? Yes. (a big, huge, whopping big bummer). But was it worth it to be able to feel better the next day? Yes.
Stop being a hipster and just go to Starbucks. I am all for trying new coffee shops, but I’ve realized that when I’m traveling I just want good ol’ reliable coffee. I will try new foods, experiences, etc, but I just want to trust my coffee. Oh Starbucks, you never let me down
Being alone is okay sometimes, peaceful even. I have flown by myself twice in the last year and the first time was mega stressful (mostly because it was a last minute change of plans) but last month I really enjoyed it! It was kind of peaceful being alone. I could read, work, and just enjoy the quiet! I thought I wouldn’t like it but I was wrong!
It’s okay to visit the same place multiple times. People always say “but haven’t you already been there?” To which I would say “YEAH, BUT DISNEY IS AWESOME!!”. If you find a place you like, go back! Enjoy it again! Going to new places is great to, but don’t let that hold you back from visiting your favorites again!
Be present where you are. AKA put down your phone. This is something I am still working on. With my love of photography I often want to capture everything all the time, and sometimes it’s okay to put the camera down, step away from the phone, and just be in the moment.
There’s no place like home. And no bed like your own bed.