Reality of Travel

So you think you're ready to set off on an adventure?

Did you bring enough supplies for the amount of time you will be away? Did you plan enough places to see or things to do? Do you have a realistic idea of what you are getting yourself into? What if you run out of energy? These are questions you should ask yourself before setting out on your trip. We would hate for you to have to cut your time away short! Trust us, this has happened on our vacations and we came back less happy than we should have from a get-a-way trip...Learn from our mistakes and check a few things off of your preparation list!

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Did you bring enough supplies?

You are going to forget something...it's inevitable! In our travel experience there were times when we just wanted to leave quickly or we procrastinated packing for the trip so of course we forgot some important items. Again, this blog is to help you learn what not to do from our travel mistakes. If you like to prepare for your trips in advance - hats off to you! - but, even if you think you have carefully analyzed all the details, you will leave something behind. In some instances this may be a godsend, or it could be the death of you. Just so you don't feel too down about leaving things behind here is a list of supplies that we ALWAYS forget no matter the adventure:

• Seating - When we travel we usually camp most nights because it saves us money. Still, we never remember to bring our chairs. Depending on what you will be doing on your own travels, if you want to picnic at a park for example, bring a blanket so you can sit in the grass. Little items like this make your travel experience better (and you feel like a functioning adult!).​
• Maps - This may seem silly because now-a-days we all have a map - it's on our phones, right!? Well we like to ignore the maps, but in order to find our way we stop at visitor/information centers along the way. These people really know their stuff! Even if you have researched your travel plans, the locals know hidden treasures your maps won't tell you. For example: where the road construction is, if a company recently moved across town, where the cheapest/free camping spots are, what is a must-do in the town and so much more.

• Utensils for cooking or eating on the go - TONGS! Why is it that we always forget to pack our tongs?! I can't tell you why, but it happens. Because we always leave these behind we have so many sets of tongs and other silverware at home...it looks like we horde utensils now. Now we try to keep these items stored in our cars so that we at least have something!​
• Deodorant - Imagine if you forgot your deodorant or perfume, would you have a panic attack? When we have been on the road for a few days and have had no time to shower, we freak out too, but nothing has made a bigger impact on us than learning about Wet Wipes and Baby Powder. Yes, it took us 22 years of life to figure out that these products are the greatest inventions created by man-kind. Because of our new discovery we have almost done completely away with deodorant. Yes, you will still have to remember to pack these, but remember that these can be used for more than covering up your smells!​

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You will be tired...but that's the fun in traveling!

We always dream about doing so many activities when traveling that we wear ourselves out. It never fails, by the end of our travels we are dreading to drive or walk another inch and start wishing we were back home. We try to stop this train of thought immediately because we know the instant we are home we are going to wish we were back on the road again! Travel is very addictive - once you've caught the bug you will crave more. If you ever catch yourself thinking these same thoughts, just remember that those thoughts and feelings are a normal part of travel, but try to push through (you can sleep and stay put when you are dead!).

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Bring a travel journal.

Out of all the baggage we bring, we like to make room for our notebooks, drawing pads, and travel journals. And they are so much fun! On your travels you will experience so much through your five senses that it can be overwhelming at times. In order to remember, for example, how you felt during a single moment or what you forgot on your last trip, a travel journal is a must have. In our travel journal we try to write down day-to-day activities or plans we had, whether the plans fell through or if they were a hit, what food was our favorite dish of the day, how the native communities or people treated us, what we saw by drawing a sketch, and so on. These are things you won't remember when someone asks you how your trip was. It's like learning a language, if you don't speak it everyday you will forget it all. In this case, if you don't write it down you won't recall what all happened!

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People are everywhere...

So many bloggers now-a-days only take pictures to crop or Photoshop out the other people around them. We don't like advertising this way and want to show you what it is really like. Here is an example of a trip Lyndee made during college:

​"I had the opportunity to travel to Italy for two weeks (check it out these tips in our favorite cities) to study design and architecture. The biggest shock my group had, coming from a small town in Wyoming and dreaming about these locations we had only read about or seen pictures of, was how many people were around us at all hours of the day. One instance I can remember was when we were at the Trevi Fountain. Let me tell ya...online pictures are very miss leading.
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"The girls in my group wanted to recreate The Lizzy McGuire Movie scene where she throws the coin in the fountain (of course!), but we had a heck of a time taking a picture where no one else was in our photos (the final picture looks like we are sitting on some random stone and that's it!). We even brought a bottle of wine so we could listen to the water and calm down from the busy day we had had - no such luck. It was such a hotspot that the Italian Army had armed guards standing around the perimeter because there had been a bomb threat earlier that day (of course we found out about this later...)." Please, readers...prepare yourselves for this outcome when you travel. After all, the most historic, oldest, most beautiful locations are overrun by other visitors like you.

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Just have fun!

This is probably the most important tip we can give you - selfish people can ruin your fun with one statement. It has happened to us on more trips than we can count, unfortunately...The best piece of advice we can give you readers on how to react to these people is: just ignore them. If someone wants to waste their time and energy to yell at you, then let them - you don't need to waste anything on them!
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We sure hope this article has helped you rationalize your travel expectations and that your journey is care-free and relaxing :)