First Road Trip Alone Tips

(I don't have any sponsors or anything, the links in this post don't make me any money, they're just there for you if you want them.)



My first road trip all by myself was in 2015, it was about 9 hours one way. I was going to meet friends and my trip had a couple different phases, but the first phase was one very long drive. I was so excited that I woke up at 5am that day to start my trip, and got to see the sunrise while i was driving which was surprisingly pleasant since it was on my left side, and not directly in front of my face. I was wired on adrenaline, I must have been because the week prior I had not slept hardly at all, between working and hanging out with friends, drinking and dying my hair. I had a friend put my hair in french braids because I know that if I leave it down or in any hairstyle where I can play with it I'll be too distracted while I drive. lol.
   
ANYWAY

Here are some tips I think are really important for anyone, not just women, who are considering a long road trip on their own:

Check out your insurance.
Make sure you have some. Make sure theres a copy in your car. See if you have roadside assistance and if not, see what it'd cost you to call AAA if you need it. Just good to know before you find yourself on the side of the road having a panic attack.

Do you have a spare tire? Can you change it?
Seriously. Actually do it, if you've never done it before. It seems silly, but if you have a spare tire, and a tire iron, great! But what if you have no jack? Or what if you're missing something else you had no idea you would need? Try it before you hit the road. Roadside assistance can do this for you but you'll lose minimum 3 hours of your day. Depending on your location, possibly much longer.

Do you have jumper cables, and have you ever jump started your car before?
Again, this seems silly, until you need it. All it takes is forgetting to turn off your headlights because it stopped raining while you were driving, and having your car be dead when you come out from dinner. Its such an easy fix, if you have the right tools. Any car can jump you, but if you don't have cables, do you want to just hope that someone else does? I wouldn't. Not by myself, anyway.

Tire pressure. 
This is pretty harmless on the daily, but when it comes to road trips, if you start losing tire pressure and you don't notice, it can lead to warping and a blowout, which can give you much bigger problems, even a wreck. A tire pressure gauge is like $6 at an Autozone, grab one when you get those jumper cables and make sure you know how much pressure your tires are supposed to have. Some cars have different needs for the front and the back tires.

Tech. 
I think most people are pretty used to the idea that they need to keep their phones charged nowadays, but just keep in mind that road trips can be a much faster wear on your battery depending on how you intend to use your phone. GPS, bluetooth connection, audio books, streaming or playing downloaded music, etc can all use up battery if you're trying to do it 10 hours straight, even if you're not touching your phone. I'd definitely recommend a car charger as well as a power bank, just in case you end up stranded for some reason and your car cant charge your phone. I bought that little power bank a couple years ago, it charges my phone about 70%, which is wayyyy more than i usually ever need it for, and it'll charge up pretty quickly as well. Or you can get a better one that'll charge your phone all the way.  also, Aux cord if you need it. I also recommend downloading maps like Google maps of your destination area and/or your route if you're not a physical map type of person, because you never know when your phone signal is going to go haywire. You may also want to download an app like Hotwire for hotels, to find yourself someplace inexpensive to stay when youre tired, you can see the guest recommendations and make sure not to stay in a bad neighborhood but still get a great price. I've been using Hotwire Hot Rates for almost 10 years now and I've never had a bad experience when i use their guest recommendations.

Make sure you know how to keep yourself awake! For me, its singing. I usually bring CDs with me on road trips but now I'm more invested in Spotify so I typically download my playlists to play offline. Singing keeps me stimulated and awake no matter how tired I am from lack of sleep and crazy shenanigans! Other people like audiobooks, podcasts, or skimming local radio stations every hour or two. Just be careful you're not too distracted trying to switch up your entertainment.

And in general, every time you stop, make sure you take care of the big 3: go to the bathroom, fill up with gas, and grab something to eat. Typically this will last you 2.5-3 hours before you have to stop again, unless you have to stop more frequently to go to the bathroom or for gas.

Have fun, enjoy the experience, and if you've got comments to add, go ahead and pop em in the comments :)

Minimalist Packing: Long Autumn Weekend in Dallas TX

So while I was living in Florida I pretty much purged my life of most of the things I owned. I got a job, and got an apartment first thing. Some may have considered it prematurely, considering my lack of car... or internet... or other such luxuries, but I made it work. I became very married to my backpack, hence the name of my blog. Typically, regardless of the length of trip or the destination, if it didnt fit in my backpack, it just didn't come with me. I got this backpack as a souvenir from Disney World, it was not a large backpack.

So, it was my only luggage visiting my friend in New York in October and it was my only luggage visiting my family in Dallas in November. I am by no means anyone's definition of a fashionista, in fact, its amazing that I managed to attract anyone, but I did manage to stay clean and dry and in clothes that I love. So here's what I had:



In my backpack, one pair of shorts, three comfortable t-shirts, one dress, underwear, socks, and flip flops.
Toiletries consisted of shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, toothbrush, toothpaste, and razor. Also included no matter where i am going, ponytail holders, tweezers, nail file and/or nail clippers, a bobby pin, and a safety pin or two.
I also made sure the backpack had room for my book and my water bottle, but i wore my headphones around my neck on my travel days.
I carry that very small purse simply for my phone, my wallet, and my powerbank and/or phone charger.

That's it! Thats all I bring. I never carry much with me anywhere, I buy food wherever I am (I used to live super close to a small airport and EVERYTHING had a connecting flight in Atlanta, so I became very accustomed to getting Popeyes in terminal B) and I just enjoy where I'm going when I get there. I'm no professional blogger or anything, so I just take pictures with my cell phone for now.  Maybe I'll upgrade if I start getting feedback.

Here's all packed up and my airplane outfit:



I also had a denim jacket, not pictured. I think I honestly ended up wearing those boots the whole time, I didn't even need the flip flops I brought! Figures, even an ultralight packer like me can manage to waste space. Was a great trip though! Took tons of pictures catching up with people I hadn't seen in over a year. Those are some of my favorites.

Royal Caribbean Dining

So I haven't been on a cruise in a long time, because I remember being disappointed thinking that everything on board was included and ended up not having enough money. That was like 4 years ago, and now my husband wants to take a cruise, so I looked into it again, and I found that the newer ships on Royal Caribbean actually have a pretty decent variety included, as well as some specialty restaurants on board that are not included. Here's what I found.

Royal Caribbean's  Harmony of the Seas - sailing out of Orlando

Included Dining
Park Cafe - B/L - Prix Fixe (Deli)
Vitality Cafe - B/L - Cafe (Healthy)
Coastal Kitchen - B/L/D - A La Carte (Mediterranean fusion)
Windjammer - B/L/D - Buffet (Global)
Mini Bites - L - Deli Cafe
Sorrento's Pizza - L/D - Pizza
Dog House - L/D - Burgers and snacks
Main Dining room?

Other Dining
Room Service - $ 24hr - A La Carte (American)
Starbucks - $ - Coffee
Johnny Rockets - $ L/D - 50s Diner
Sabor - $$ L/D - Prix Fixe (Mexican)
Jamie's Italian - $$ L/D - Prix Fixe (Italian)
Solarium Bistro Restaurant - $$ D - Buffet (Healthy)
Izumi - $$ L/D - A La Carte (Japanese)
Chops Grille - $$ L/D - Prix Fixe (Steakhouse)
Wonderland - $$$ D - Prix Fixe (Imaginative)
150 Central Park - $$$ D - Prix Fixe (Modern)
Chef's Table - $$$$ D - Prix Fixe (Gourmet)

On the Oasis of the Seas, the only differences are the addition of:
Giovanni's Table - $$ L/D - Prix Fixe Italian
and there is no Wonderland or Jamie's Italian Restaurant, and no Mini Bites.

I was actually super impressed when I started looking into the inclusions of the Harmony and Oasis ships, I could easily spend a week on those ships, never leave, and spend money only on maybe one very nice dinner with my husband, inevitably, and tips for like everyone. But other than that, the inclusions are magnificent. Everything from dance lessons and broadway shows and comedy shows to exercise and roller skating or ice skating and acrobats. Its pretty amazing. not to mention, the ship itself is incredible. Central park, royal promenade, etc. Check it out at the links above if you haven't yet. Again, be wary of things that aren't included, like purchasing formal photos, or shore excursions, or certain things on board like cooking classes. And they're always trying to sell you duty free alcohol, jewelry, perfume, etc. I'm not there to shop, personally, but hey, that's up to you. Enjoy!

Blog Intro

Okay so I am officially beginning this blog because I want to focus on my three main obsessions, Travel, minimalist possessions, and including my family. I got married this year and I am super excited to start having children with my husband and begin traveling as a family and blogging about that. Especially since he wants three, and I grew up as an only child! lol. I've been able to find a few blogs with information about that but I think that there's not a huge wealth of information available so I'd like to contribute. I don't necessarily think that anyone will want to use my blog but I want to format it so that it will be available if anyone does. 

The main thing that has held me back til now is that I do a lot more theoretical traveling than actual, but recently I've realized that's just because I love planning trips. In reality, I actually travel quite a bit. I go someplace new a few times a year, and I travel very minimally every single time, and I travel by many different methods and with different intentions. I think if I can blog about traveling minimally for different intents and work out sort of an all-encompassing minimalist item list with a plug-and-play for different needs (summer vs winter travel, car camping vs backpacking, hotel vs hostel vs staying with family, traveling alone vs with an adult vs with children, travelling for fun vs needing to conduct business) then that would be a good purpose for this blog. I want to organize the knowledge I have from my own personal experiences and I want to prioritize my findings from other bloggers and see what recommendations are worth the hype versus which are just sponsored. I like to  be organized so that I can pack and unpack quickly for any trip and that I can have the perfect sized bag for the trip, so that I don't have extra space because I know I'll fill it with stuff I don't need. 

This also goes for my home in general. I don't want to have extra space, really, because I know that people tend to fill space when they have it. I'd rather spend the time organizing and getting rid of things we don't need and spend the money traveling than spend the money on stuff to fill the space. 

I want to include my children on the planning of family vacations. I want them to help us pick where we are going to go, or at least feel like they have a say, so that they can feel more empowered about the smaller space that we live in. I also have the theory that it helps kids learn to share with each other and tolerate a need for privacy. That's all my theories though, I'm not a parent yet. My husband wants all our kids to have their own rooms. I'm not really opposed to it, I'm just thinking about the size implications on the price of the home. I'm also cool with staying in an apartment for quite a while. I just want to make sure we always have the best tools for the job. 

So in essence, this blog is the start of my married life, the organization of my obsession for traveling and my aversion to having too much stuff, compromising now with settling down with a family and making sure life is well taken care of. If anyone else finds information they need here, great. :)