Road trip essentials

I spent a good amount of time today talking about road trips, and I'm about to go on one, and I did the shopping for it today, so here, have a timely post. Maybe read my packing post first.

When I was moving back to Chicago, my friend Nicole made me a survival kit full of things I might need on the road. She'd Googled suggestions for the essentials and found some pretty good stuff, including a cardboard R2-D2 that she sipped into the front pocket because "you need a good navigator." (Yes, Nicole is awesome.) My list differs slightly than hers, but the girl was on to something.

-A water bottle. Something refillable, preferably something with a filter. Rather than cluttering up the car and environment with plastic bottles, get something you can refill. And considering some places have water that doesn't taste great, the filter helps.

-Snacks, of course. I'm a big fan of Twizzlers, because they won't cause a mess, they're easy to hold while driving, and they take a little longer to finish- one bag can last a whole trip. I advise against chocolate, because it's going to be a disaster if/when the car gets warmer.

-A first aid kit. You can get something little, but Band-Aids and Neosporin are good ideas.

-The aspirin/ibuprofen/pain reliever of your choice.

-ALLERGY MEDS!!! I lived for twelve years in LA without allergies. I get to Chicago and I'm confused as to why my face hurts and my eyes are swollen. Not everywhere has the same allergens, and you don't know how you'll react to them. Make sure they're non-drowsy.

-AAA and a roadside emergency kit. I'm gonna confess, my dad taught me how to patch a tire, and I had to do it once, and then so much time passed that it all just fell out of my head. Still, roadside kits have come in handy when my air pressure got low, or that time the plastic around the tire of my old car fell off while driving and I had to cut/chop it off before it melted to my tire. (True story!) And for what you don't know, there's AAA.

-Wet wipes and/or hand sanitizer.

-Change. If it's a long trip you're almost guaranteed to stop at a rest stop vending machine at some point, but there's no guarantee they'll take bills and they almost definitely won't take credit cards.

-A plastic bag, because you will probably need to throw something away before you stop to buy something.

-Chargers! This might go without saying, but there really are people who aren't glued to their phones and don't have this stuff already. Besides the cord, you can pick up a USB charger at any Target, Walgreens, gas station or whatever, and you can get one with multiple ports for like $5.

That's the basics! I recommend not stocking up too heavily on snacks and water, as it gives you an excuse to stop more and take breaks when you get tired or bored. Remember that if you're in the US or somewhere that drives on the right, your left arm is going to be exposed to the sun all day. Also, keep in mind that if you're depending on GPS to get you somewhere, it's not only a battery drain (especially Waze), but that unless you car is equipped with wifi or you have a hotspot, you're going to be using data.

Happy driving! And if you've got anything you find absolutely necessary to have on you, go ahead and drop it in the comments.

The case for good shoes

No, seriously.

I have a long and storied history with foot and ankle injuries. I've had 29 ankle sprains and 6 broken toes in my lifetime. I have a horrible habit of wearing the I wrong shoes that'll lead to really awful blisters and pulled muscles in my foot. And because I'm an idiot, I basically go "Oh well," and keep on going.

Be smarter than me.

If I give you any advice on footwear you should actually take, it's this:
-No flip flops if you're walking long distances. It just won't be comfortable.
-Get insoles. The right ones can be magic.
-DO NOT WEAR NEW SHOES ON A TRIP. Make sure they're broken in and have given you all the blisters they're gonna give you.
-Carry band-aids or moleskin on your person just in case.
-There are also tubes that look like Chapstick that you can put on your feet as a second skin in the areas you usually get blisters that actually really help. The brand I use is Sole Goddess, but I've also seen them from Dr. Scholl's.
-If you're me, the ankle wrap never leaves your carryon, just in case.

Now for some stories I can tell about how I did not follow these rules and it sucked:
-I went to DC in 2010 and fell- twice- on the previous Wednesday, spraining my foot so badly I thought it was broken and I couldn't go. I went anyway. I had to walk the Mall, get through Dulles Airport, and ride a crowded Metro on my tiptoes for an hour because the only place I could fit was somewhere with the overhead rails with two wraps on my foot to keep it stable.
-When a friend came out to visit a couple years ago and we went to Disneyland, I figured my shoes were good because they were new, but hadn't given me any trouble over the last week. The day we were there, I had blisters that needed treatment within half an hour of arriving, and my the end of the day my shoes had blood all over them. I lasted eight hours in them. (And to be fair, after this they turned out to be amazing for this kind of thing.)
-I figured that a certain pair of flip flops had gotten me around downtown Chicago and I wore them to my first SDCC in 2010. I underestimated the walking involved, and somehow just in the train station the thong part had cut in between my toes and were killing my feet. Also our hotel was two miles away and our only option was to walk up and back.
-Thanks to a spill at Target I fell a few days before my cross-country move and sprained both my left ankle and right knee. I lived on the second floor and had to move everything I owned like that, plus drive for ten hours a day.

Anyway, doing anything while you're hurt sucks. It sucks more when you're somewhere new, trying to see everything you can and you have something that's taking your attention away from it. So take precautions, take care of yourself, and be better than me.

On finding cheap flights

I have a few flights to book pretty soon. SDCC needs to be gotten, and I may have another thing in the works. The only reason I haven't bought them yet is because I am being careful. Here's how:

-Tuesday and Wednesday are the cheapest days to buy. That's the day prices go down, it's the day airlines send out their deal emails.

-Tuesday and Thursday are the cheapest days to fly. If you're able to do Thursday through Tuesday, you save yourself money and possibly vacation days.

-Weekends are more expensive for everything. Figures.

-Sign up for the airlines' rewards programs. You accumulate miles and also get emails about deals.

-Use credit cards that will earn you miles. I fly American most, so I got a credit card through them that will allow me to earn more points for what I spend, plus if I spend so much in a certain amount of time I get 50,000 miles free. But for the love of God, pay it off right away.

-Take your time in choosing flights. I'm looking at one way flights, one to LA, one from San Diego. I've been watching the deals I'm sent via email and comparing it to what's showing on Priceline or the airline's websites. Right now a one way flight is about $240. According to the sales, it's consistently more like $167 one way. So I know what airline I want, and since their sales are currently booking through June, I've still got a couple weeks to wait if I want to buy at the best price. Do your research and compare.

-Look into other airports. If you're in a city with multiple airports, compare prices. When we went to New York we found it cheaper to fly into Newark and take the train into NYC. Definitely check into how to get to where you're staying from the airport, though. Some of the area airports can be up to an hour away.

-Not all airlines show up on third party sites. If you're looking through Expedia or Priceline, you won't see airlines like Jet Blue or Southwest, which could save you money. Check the airlines' sites.

-Factor in other costs. Some airlines charge for checked bags, some don't. For instance, if you're finding a flight on United that's $20 cheaper than American but they have a $25 baggage fee, American's the better deal. Also be aware that Spirit does this a lot. Their flights are a good deal cheaper, but they pack on a lot of fees that depending on the circumstances, you might be paying the same that you would on a "more expensive" flight.

Now, back to obsessively searching.

Pre-tip rituals (aka this is all about packing)

I spent part of the weekend at my mom's apartment, which means that when I came home last night and unpacked from an overnight, I was able to start immediately packing for Atlanta. I used to be a last-minute packer, but as I started traveling more, the more I started doing early, or as I thought of it. So, here are some tips on getting all packed up with everything you're going to need.

-If you know what you want to wear, just put it in your suitcase or bag when it gets close. More than once I knew I wanted to wear my favorite shirt or whatever somewhere, then gone to pack the day before and realized I'd worn it already and it needed to be washed. So now when I do laundry before a trip I immediately put it in the bag so I have it when I need it.

Side note: I go shopping for one new item before every trip, even if it's just to drop $3 on a clearance shirt. Then when I wear it later, I associate it with memories of the trip. If I wear my blue striped henley I remember Times Square, or there's a yellow tank top that always reminds me of driving down to San Diego. I'm a dork, I know.

-Definitely check the weather wherever you're going, for the love of god. Also be aware that some places cool down considerably at night even if they're hot in the day, so if it's 84 where you're going and you think you're going to be able to get away with tank tops the whole time, at least bring a hoodie with you just in case. Planes get cold anyway.

-Don't overpack. When I'm packing I'll make piles: what I'm wearing Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, etc. It's not set in stone, but I know I have the right amount of stuff for however many days I'll be gone. If you're not quite sure what you're going to be doing there, eg "do I need to dress up to go out somewhere?" then bring something that's either slightly dressier that you can still wear if you're just walking around a city, or something you can dress up with some accessories. You can be fluid with your clothing, don't stress out about it too much.

Also don't overpack when it comes to bottoms. If you're gone for a week, you can get away with a pair or jeans or two, or jeans and a pair of shorts or whatever. No one will judge, I swear. Everyone else is probably doing the same thing.

-But bring an extra shirt and underwear just in case.

-Roll fold everything. It's a total space saver. Take your shirt or jeans or whatever, fold it in half, and then start rolling it up from the bottom so it looks like a little round pillow. I have no idea why this works and I don't care, but it makes everything so much more squishable and gives me more room in my bag.

-I know the "no liquids on planes" rule is annoying, but it's not as annoying as people make it out to be. It has to be in 3 ounce bottles, and a ton of companies have gotten smart about making sure their bottles and travel sizes are under that. Transferring stuff into those clear bottles isn't that time consuming or hard, and if you travel a lot, now you have a handy travel size you can keep in your bag for the next trip and you don't need to worry about it.

Definitely label those clear bottles, though. I have one that I still don't know what it is. It's either lotion or sunscreen and I know if I mix them up I'll regret it.

-I've seen some travel sites give lists of what you should pack. Just make your own. You know what you need better than they do. A few days before you go, make a list of what you use every day. (I highly recommend the app Clear, where you can make a list and then swipe to check them off.) Go through your morning routine and put down the stuff you'll need, like toothpaste, moisturizer, etc. Do it again when you're getting ready for bed. There, now you have a list of things to pack or shop for.

-Once, United sent my bag to Chicago several hours before I even got on a plane, and there was a lot of time spent at O'Hare thinking my bag was lost. So now I'm paranoid about that and prefer to do nonstop flights and try to limit myself to my carry-on. Paranoia doesn't hurt, though, so if you have another bag, make sure your carry-on has a change of clothes and anything you need in it, in case you get stranded overnight or they do lose your stuff. For me it's a toothbrush and my contacts/glasses, plus eyeliner and lipstick. Also my computer because I'm pretty sure I'd die without one.

-If you're going to another country, check the requirements for things that need to be plugged in, in case you need to get adapters. I think I learned this from Home Alone.

-If you forget something, don't stress. Most hotels have little shops where you can pick up toothpaste or aspirin, and you can find a drug store most places if you really need. I for one have spent many a time inside Targets because someone forgot sleep clothes, to be the point where it's kind of a tradition and not annoying.

Tah dah, hope this helps.

Saving money the Natalie way

When I was first considering starting this blog, I spent some time psyching myself out by looking at other travel blogs and going "But I don't go anywhere like these people do (yet)!" But I also would check out their advice for how to travel cheaply. Unfortunately a lot of what I found was along the lines of "You can go anywhere if you're willing to stay in free hostels while working as an English teacher" with a side of "If you can't find a way to do it then travel isn't really a priority for you." And you know, I'm not knocking their advice. There's some great stuff out there, but it's mostly geared towards people who can afford to take time to work in another country, who aren't tied down with jobs and families and debt.

I know a lot of people who think if they don't have a lot of money, they can't ever go anywhere. And that's not true. You might not be able to backpack around Europe or whatever, and you might have to settle and sacrifice some, but those of us without money are frankly doing that anyway, lol siiiiiigh.

In the last year I started figuring out how to do things and go places within my means. I got a lot of comments about "How is she affording all of this?" but it really wasn't costing me much. So here are some tips on how I did it. Your case may be different, of course, but this is just guidelines to helping you figure it out.

-Prioritize. My dad drilled one major lesson into me: "If you spend money on one thing, you can't spend it on anything else." Simple, but helpful. If you're getting a new spring wardrobe, that's money you're not saving. Ask yourself if you really need to get this thing, or if a cheaper option is available, or if you can get less of it. Using the wardrobe example, rather than getting everything, limit yourself to a couple new pieces, and also shop at Target.

-Cut out what you don't need. Go through what you spend every month. Look at your bank account and consider everything. Do you stop at Starbucks every day when you have perfectly serviceable coffee at home/work? Stop that, or cut down to once a week. Do you not go to the gym but keep the membership in case you start? You can cancel it, no one will actually judge. Drink water with your lunch instead of buying a soda, make sure you actually use all of things like shampoo of foundation before opening a new one, stick to your grocery lists... You'll personalize your own ways to cut back once you know what you're spending.

Also, protip: if you call your cable company to cancel services, oftentimes they will give you a deal to keep you. Just remember to note when it changes so you're not surprised when it jumps up again.

-Actually save, GDI. Start a separate savings account. Set it up so as little as $25 a month automatically transfers from your checking. In a year that $25 is $300. Or better, all the money you saved in the above step? If it gets taken automatically out of your account, have that amount transfer every month. If you've been spending that every month, you literally won't miss that money.

Also, the savings jar trick works. Fill a jar with the spare change and dollars you end up with. If someone gives you money as a gift, put it straight in there, or in the savings account.

-Use credit cards to your advantage. I had a lot of credit card debt so this made me nervous, but fact was I needed to rebuild my credit. So since I tend to fly American the most, I got a card that would earn me airline miles. And if you spend $3,000 in the first three months, you get 50,000 miles free. So now I treat my credit card like my debit card, never spending what I don't have and can't pay off immediately. Butting my bills on the credit card and then never ever touching my checking account except to pay off the card, voila, free round trip flight.

-Coupons! I suck at couponing, I really do. If you can clip coupons and keep up on sales, great. But for those of us who do suck, certain places make it easier. Target had Cartwheel, and my old grocery chain had something like it too. I could attach coupons to my card or app, adding things I knew I'd need of things I regularly bought, and then when I bought from there, I'd show my app or card and save without actually realizing I was doing it. It's great when you're not good at keeping up on stuff.

-Look for deals. Groupon has some pretty sweet travel deals, some including airfare and hotel. Sign up for alerts on special offers from airlines. See if a travel agent can get you some savings. Or you can do a deep dive in research. I was able to go to Catalina by doing some Google-fu and funding out that you basically get to go free on your birthday. Put in some time to see what you can find either deal-wise, or in case you can find a better time to go.

Look for stuff in your area.. I used LAist a lot in LA to see what was going on around me, which led to fun trips like heading to an animal refuge in the desert. Nick found a thing in Chicago that got us a day trip to Racine to look at Frank Lloyd Wright buildings for free. You don't need to go far to find something awesome, in a lot of places.

Split the cost. The more people you can comfortably cram into a hotel room, the cheaper it is for everyone. Same goes if you take turns paying for gas or ordering bigger meals that you can share.

Don't stay IN the city you're visiting. It's always more expensive. If you have a car available, try going about half an hour out to reduce costs.

Don't dismiss cheaper hotels. if it's at least two stars and doesn't have the word "bedbugs" anywhere in the reviews (for the love of God, read the reviews), it's probably good enough for a night if you're me. Note: I've gotten some truly awful hotels with this thinking, but also some great stories.

Hopefully that's enough to get you started!

Travel buddies

Real talk: I have very little experience in traveling alone. Part of the "problem" is that I have friends in a lot of different states, so "I'm coming to your area, want to get together" ends in them either inviting me to stay, or us going "Do you want to do this thing and that thing and also this other thing together?" and then I can't say I did it alone. Maybe one of these days I'll say I'm doing research for my blog and pick somewhere random and cheap to go alone, just for the experience.

Also real talk: I haven't flown with anyone since I flew from LA to Chicago with my mom in 1999. I'll go on trips with people, but it's usually involved me meeting them there. I have a System, and when I have to fly with someone later this year I have no idea how I will handle it. Which is part of the reason for this post.

I've yet to have a bad experience going on a trip with someone, which is part luck, and part me having awesome people around. I've heard horror stories from others. They'd go on a trip with someone and the other person would be in such a bad mood that it ruined the trip, or everything went wrong and they couldn't bounce back from it, things like that. And hey, things can and will go wrong. Holy hell will you hear about things going wrong when I get to talking about my most recent move, and when I tell people about it they assume it was a terrible trip. It wasn't, and a lot of that is because I made the trip with Nick. He and I have a solid system, and a lifetime of knowing each other means we know when the other one is getting too stressed and they should just leave something alone, and we can almost always laugh the bad things off in time. It's the bonus to having a sibling you can get along with for extended amounts of time. My Chicago to LA trip was stressful sometimes, because I was moving and it was sad and stressful and there were times when we all weren't jiving right, but I also can't say it's a bad trip.

You can't always guarantee that you have a good travel buddy. It's like any other relationship you choose to be in, really: you need someone you can get along with, that you can handle problems with. For the time you're on the trip, it's you guys together, and the problems that pop up are things you're going to have to deal with together. If you're going with a friend who can annoy you, it might not suck to make sure it's a shorter trip, or to build in something where you can get a break from each other if you need it. "I need to get coffee, want anything?" and then fake that there was a long line at the hotel Starbucks or whatever if you need to. I've got a friend that I love like crazy, but she and I are just similar enough that when one of us gets annoyed we set each other off and then we're both annoyed, so we take time off from each other or try to hang out in larger groups. You don't need to do everything together. In fact, feeling like you can change your plan and/or aren't shoehorned into doing everything together or everything the other person wants to do can help a lot. It's a bit harder if you're trapped in a small space like a car together for a long time, but then you might want to bring some icebreakers along: books on tape, comedy podcasts, a playlist of songs you can dance it out to or play too loudly to talk over.

Compromise is key. If you can get along the whole time and you have all the same interests, that's great. But just in case, be prepared to give up on something here and there. If one person really wants to do something that the other doesn't, see if it can be less than a whole day thing. Alternately, if say you get to listen to something the other person hates for a while, let them choose the next thing you play. Try to make it as much of a 50/50 split as you can (or 33.3%, or 1/4, or however many of you there are), so no one's taking over and no one's slinking into the background. Let me put it simply: everyone should just try not to be a douchebag. Remember that trips can be stressful, and everyone can get tired and annoyed (and annoying), and if you're feeling it, your travel buddies probably can too. And hey, if you have a terrible time and you know you can't travel with someone, there's no shame in not going with them again. Or in suggesting that you bring other people along to make it easier on yourself.

And you know what's awesome? When you get surprised. I had a friend visit me in LA and I was a little nervous at how we'd get along for days alone together, because of that group she's probably the one I knew the least. And as it turns out, we have very similar interests and think the same way when it comes to this stuff, so we're both easygoing but can still come to a decision on what to do. So now when I think of a trip she's one of the people I want to convince to go with me, because I know we can handle it.

Come to think of it I think a goal in life might be to amass a whole group of people I can travel with always. As goals go, I think it's a great one. I am going to get right on that.

Planning post: Disney, part 1

Planning for Disney World is an experience in itself.

I'm going with some friends in October, and it can be overwhelming. When you say you're going to Disney, people are all too happy to dish out advice and tips and point you towards websites and podcasts that will help. It's actually really cool: even if they're not going, people tend to be excited that you're going. The fun thing is that of my friend group here, all five of my besties and I are going within a year. My roommate just came back, another friend is going in April, I'm going with another in October, and the last is going over Thanksgiving. This means we can give each other tips and share what we find out between ourselves. I'm not what you'd call a Disney person. I have movies I like, and I've been to Disneyland a bunch of times, but I haven't been to Disney World since I was seven and I wasn't really in a rush to do so. And then everyone else started going, and they had so much fun talking about it that I started wanting to have fun too.

And so I'm going to pass on some of what I've learned so far to you.

Resources:
MouseSavers is a great site that gives tips on how to save money at the park, and before you get to the park. It's updated super frequently, so you get good current information.
WDW Info is good for more general info, or if you're looking to try the cruise or Disneyland.
Mad Chatters is a podcast that's basically a couple guys who talk about Disney all the time. I haven't listened to a ton of it yet, but the ones I have listened to are actually really helpful.
WDW Radio is a more of a deep dive podcast, with reviews of places and background info.

And one thing I'm doing to save money is something people keep telling me is a great idea and I feel like someone would have said by now if it was stupid: There are Disney gift cards. Not the Disney Store, but Disney gift cards, which can be used at the parks and hotels. I've had this issue with having emergencies spring up and sucking away money I'd been saving, so to bypass that, once a month I'm getting a gift card. Even if it's only a denomination of $25, that's still $250 by October that will be used specifically for Disney. You can consolidate them online, so that by the end you're only using one instead of juggling a bunch of cards. You can even get discounts at places like Sam's Club and Costco, supposedly. I've read about Costco, but there aren't any at mine. They are at Sam's Club, but by me it's only three-packs. Be aware.

We're waiting on someone to confirm dates and other stuff, but we've narrowed it down to three hotels (Port Orleans, Caribbean Beach Resort, and Art of Animation if we need to go cheaper) and know our dates, and there are a couple of us who absolutely know the sorts of things we want to do AND OUR THIRD NEEDS TO GET BACK TO US ALREADY. We're having debates about whether Memory Maker is worth it and if we really want to do the dining plans, and I'm sending at least a couple emails per week to my own personal Disney Goddess who seems to know everything. It's really easy to get sucked into all of it.

Literally as I type this, my roommate just told me she taped a few shows off the Travel Channel about Disney for me. See what I mean?

If you have tips and tricks of your own, or references you'd like to share, go ahead and drop them in the comments! Every little bit helps, right?