Basic Travel Tips Part Two: Traveler's Guide to BYOB

First off, BYOB stands for Bring Your Own Blanket.

Second off, I am probably neither the first nor the last traveler to posit that the 24 hours before and first 12 hours of a trip are among the two most important time frames when it comes to a trip. These 36 hours set the mood for a trip, quite probably predict the smoothness of, and may very well be the most hectic interesting wackiest part of the trip outright. Of course, as people who I have traveled with will tell you, when you stay up until three in the morning doing nothing but talking, conversation quickly goes from philosophical to goofy to downright weird.

Moving right along, this is a magical time for younger travelers, filled with excitement and anticipation for what adventures are to come. The same can be said for anyone for that matter, if of course this isn't the dreaded College Road Trip that could potentially have things go from bad to worse in the blink of an eye. Trust me when I say: been there, done that, bought the pen and key chain, do not ever want to have that happen again.  But if you're here, this more than likely isn't what you're planning for, and with great planning even a college visit trip can be enjoyable.

Back to excitement!

Encourage your own excitement and that of the people around you. It will just make the time that most dread some of the best, before you even hit the road! Talk about what you're excited about, express any apprehension about things that you may have, and allow others to soothe said qualms.

Next, unless you're only going away for the weekend or a night, I'm going to assume that you've followed your packing list to a T and that you're ready to toss in your last minute toiletries and load up the car. Here's my next piece of valuable advice that I really should take myself: Invest in travel toiletries and a bag to put them in. When I say bag, I mean a real shower bag with plastic pouches to individually stow items and the like. It's a lifesaver. Also, when I talk about travel toiletries, I'm not talking about tiny bottles that barely hold enough conditioner for one hair washing. I'm talking about fully sized ones that you put in that bag and leave in there. I don't mean run out and buy one more of everything you own, but a bottle of shampoo, conditioner, face wash, a tube of toothpaste that you replace when you should, a bar of soap (or three if you're going away for a long while) and an extra shaving device if you are so inclined. This way, when you're running around on the day of travel and tossing things like mousse or shaving cream in your bag, you're not worried about sopping wet shampoo bottles getting everything damp in transit. Which brings me to my next point:

Unless you are going by air and have to put your shower bag in your suitcase, pack the car the day before. This can save you all sorts of hassle up to, and including, wondering if that one thing is in the car or not. As you pack, remember to check off things from your list, and keep said list handy the day of travel so you don't panic.Packing the car the day before means less hassle and more time for coffee, breakfast, and road time if it's a road trip. This, of course, can mean not having to wake up as earl for air travel, or even getting to catch an earlier flight.

This, of course, brings me to the title of this post: bring your own blanket! I do not care who you are, how you are traveling, or how old you are, bring one! If you're anything like me or even my mom, it's easy to get cold while making a journey somewhere, but it's difficult to get warm again. Having your own (clean) blanket can help combat this. It also can help you bring a piece of home with you if you're traveling far away. Me having my Delta blanket with me while I was in Germany was nice because it was soft, fluffy, and kept me from being homesick. Of course my sock monkey Fonzo (see my blog about flying overseas for more on him) helped too; this ties into letting a younger traveler bring their plushie with them. It combats homesickness! Believe me when I say that when I went to Boise to shadow I had to have my dad send me Fonzo to help me feel more relaxed while being far away. A plushie and a blanket can go a long way. A blanket will offer all these things (comfort, function, home) and then some, even if you're not a child/teen/young traveler.

Moving along, one of my last tips is know your schedule. I don't just mean dinner reservations and flight times, I mean know when you're leaving, when you're getting up, when you're supposed to get there, when your check in time is at a hotel, when your transportation is going to be there to pick you up if you aren't driving. It's all very important, and can be the difference between a good trip and a bad trip. I have an anecdote for this as well; when we went to Baltimore for my very first college visit, I had to make sure that I knew what we were doing, when we were doing it, and who would we need to talk to if we couldn't make it happen. Even parking! We had to get to the garage at a certain time so we could get and not have to pay since we were in the Early Bird Group to avoid the summer heat.

Lastly, breakfast is key. If you are following these tips, this shouldn't be difficult, but even then if you're not a big breakfast eater, it may still be hard. There is not enough that can be said about how important breakfast is in every day life, but it's even more important when traveling. It keeps you awake, keeps you focused on your day, and even can make you have more road time because you don't have to stop two hours down the road for food.

Well, that's the skinny on the 36 hour window from 24 hours before departure and the first twelve hours of it.  Keep excitement in the air, pack the car the day before, invest in travel toiletries, bring your own blanket, know your schedule, and breakfast! Until the next segment,
Cheers!

Basic Travel Tips Part One: Packing

      So, I'm a little bit bored and decided that since I'm writing on a travel blog, maybe I should share some of the madness that goes through my mind when I'm getting ready to leave home for any overnight sort of trip, or even just an extended day trip that will take me further than about and hour and a half from home. The first thing I will tell you is that a packing list is important, but generally only for trips lasting more than one night, and even then only when you are traveling further than about an hour from home. To make these lists (or just to make sure I have everything I need), there are several questions that I ask myself, and these may be helpful to you too.

1. How am I traveling? These may seem like an oddball question, but what I mean is what mode of transport am I taking? Am I going by car, plane, bus, or train or some combination of the four? This determines how you are going to pack, in terms of the number of bags you can take, what you can take, and perhaps most important do you need to leave room in your suitcase for toiletries. 
2. Where am I going? This determines what all you will have to pack, and also what you will pack for clothing. For instance, if I'm going to spending the weekend off the grid, then I am going to need to pack absolutely everything, from shampoo and conditioner to food as well. This is what I have to do when I go to State, as the hotel food is expensive and questionable, and it's just generally easier to pack most if not all the food I will need; I also have to make sure I don't forget toiletries as I can't just go somewhere to buy things I forget. However, if I'm going somewhere like Orlando with my parents, forgetting something isn't quite as big a deal, simply because I know my mom will have a replacement. 
3. How long will I be gone? This is another what will I pack question. However, for this question it is a matter of am I going to be packing one outfit per day, or will I be packing a few essentials to mix and match to create new outfits for an extended period of time? For something like State, there are certain things I have to wear each day, and it is in April so I have to pack a pair of pants for each day as well. But if I'm going somewhere for, say, three weeks like I did last summer, I pack generally five bottoms, five tops, a dress, and five sets of pajamas (or three, depending on if it is cold or not). 
4. What will I be doing? This is simple. If you're going for business, pack a majority of professional clothes with some casual pieces mixed in. If you're going for pleasure, vacation clothes and maybe a nice piece or two just in case a fancier occasion (like, say, Christmas). In terms of shoes, if you're going for business, nice shoes are a must; if it's pleasure you seek, comfortable footwear is a must.

     And that's it! These four questions are the basis for packing my suitcase for all my adventures. Stay tuned for part two of my Basic Travels Tips series. Until then,

Cheers!

Day Nineteen and Twenty: That's a Wrap!

Sadly, my time in Deutschland is over and I am back in the ever wonderful United States of America. I know that I love Germany, but it is so good to be home. I never thought I would be so happy to hear an airport worker say "welcome home" to me as I was having my passport checked. January the 1st was excellent I must say. We had dinner at another traditional German restaurant, supper at the hotel again, and spent a good portion of the day packing and then with my great-grandmother. It was sad to say goodbye, but I was ready to be home.

Yesterday started early. I mean early. My mom was up at 0430, I was up at 0450, and my Oma was up at 0500. It was crazy busy, because my cousin's husband was coming to pick us up at 0600. It was a whirlwind morning, because when we went to sleep the day before my suitcase was still not all the way packed and locked shut. We threw in the shower bag, opened the gusset so my coat would fit, and zipped it shut and made sure it was underweight just in time for the knock on the door to come early. Needless to say we were halfway to our on-ramp when my mom and I realized our freshly toasted brotchens were still on the stove (the oven wasn't on, but our bread was in fact left behind). Of course, I managed to remember the gigantic water bottle.

We made it to Frankfurt in amazing time, giving us a whole extra hour to get through security and to our gate. Now, German security is much different from American security now. The Germans do not have the new machines where it goes whoosh and they either have to pat down the masses that show up on your body or you're free to go. Oh no. Not at all. The Germans have a metal detector and agents carrying wands. My mom and Oma beeped and had to be wanded and patted down and it was just uncomfortable to watch; I can't imagine how it was for them. To my great surprise, I didn't beep at all and was waved through to collect my carry-on bags. This was, of course, after having gone through

1. Bag drop with Delta where we were asked security questions
2. Boarding Pass Control
3. Passport Control

And then, after we were through main security, we had to go through another checkpoint at our gate. We had to show our boarding passes and passports again. It was strange because the gates are all cut off from the main area where you can buy things to eat and drink and souvenirs. To get out and back in (even just to take a bathroom break) you had to show your boarding pass and passport. Serious business I say.

By the time we got to our gate, we only had to wait about a half an hour for boarding to begin. We waited and waited and finally were in our seats with our bags stowed in the appropriate places. We were among the first in our zone to board, so obviously we had to wait a while before we pushed back. However, I did not realize that we were actually delayed by about four minutes thanks to a few passengers being late to the gate. I don't fault them however, because of the fact that I watched so many people get pulled away for further searching at security.

This flight took 10 hours(ish). Again it's weird trying to keep track of time when there's so little to do. I watched three and a half movies and that still only got me to where we were four hours out. I took another hour and a half nap, then stayed awake the rest of the time listening to music. I have to say, my favorite parts of the flight were landing, and flying over Greenland. The sky was so clear over Greenland that it seemed as though you could reach out and down and touch the ice and snow covered mountains. Of course this is irrational as we were 36k feet in the air. Here's how clear the sky was: we were able to see a boat in the water on the coast from our windows.

Here's a little something that nobody except me paid attention to: we were flying due south into a 200 mph head wind. Then, we turned in the sky to the southeast and had a tailwind of 200 mph. This completely changed the arc on the map, so my mom didn't believe me when I said we flew over the Great Lakes. We were supposed to come straight(ish) down from Michigan to Ohio to Georgia. I know I'm leaving out states but those were the big ones I remember. We ended up coming over Kentucky and Tennessee before turning to the south again to get us to Georgia and start making our approach. I don't think I've ever been so happy to hear a pilot say, "We are beginning our final approach into Atlanta. Please remain seated with your seat belt fastened for the remainder of our flight". I was a happy girl.

Something interesting about our flight: we had a fantastic pilot. There was a cold front moving over Atlanta when we were making our descent and he warned us that it would be a bit bumpy. But, we only bumped around a bit between 12k and 11k feet and all was well. I was not excited to be landing because I was scared, but because I was excited to get through passport control, baggage claim, customs, and to see my dad. I missed him a lot. I told my mom on our last day in Heidelberg, "I love it here and don't really want to leave, but I miss my dad". It made my day yesterday to come through customs and out into the arrivals gate and see him there. Random: I felt like Harry Potter trying to get all of his things to Platform 9 3/4 on the trolley luggage cart because I was wheeling four suitcases and two carry-on bags. That cart did not handle short, sudden stops to say the least.

Anyway, I got the first hug from dad (hooray!) and let him take over pushing the cart, as it was hea-vy. We made our way to the car, and I must say I don't think I've ever been so happy to see my mom's car, like, ever. We got out of the airport, out of Atlanta, and into another city. Don't ask me to remember the name, because all I know is it had a barbecue restaurant and I had ribs and I was so happy for American food. We then finished our five and a half hour drive (thanks traffic, that swell of you to add an hour) and got home. My cat Bellatrix met us at the door. That was a bittersweet moment because my dog Luna passed while we were in Germany. However, I was happy to be home no matter what.

This was an awesome experience, one I want to have again one day, Of course, next time I'll be able to pitch in and help pay for an American hotel. I want to do more international travel. My passport has two stamps in it, and I want more. There's so many places I'd like to visit! I want to visit the UK for sure, and hopefully Salzburg in Austria the next time I go to Germany. So many places to see! What's more, before my current passport expires, I will have the letters MD permanently affixed to my name. It's odd to think about, but it makes me super excited. This means that I might be able to do some more traveling post grad before I have to renew this thing.

Not sure if I'm going to keep up with this blog outside of travel, but perhaps I'll talk about the adventures I have. I know I'm going to have some unrelated to travel as I prepare for high school graduation. Maybe I'll make a campus visit to my top choices to see if any of them pull ahead in the rankings behind Hopkins, but that remains to be seen. Until next time,
Cheers!