out + about

Fall is upon us friends! Time for cozy sweaters, bonfires, and hikes in the woods. Keep reading for some fun things to do this fall!

• Hot Air Balloon Ride, anyone?
• Celebrate Oktoberfest with Brats and Beer.
• Head to your local state park and go for a hike.

• Go on a winery or brewery tour.
• Or how about a ghost tour?
• Check out a new-to-you coffee shop
• Hit up a vintage market.

• Perfect your chili recipe.
• Throw a fall-themed potluck.
• Cozy up around a bonfire.
• Find yourself some cider donuts.

• Watch a movie outdoors.
• Or maybe It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown?
• Hit the thrift shops and get yourself a new sweater.
• And then check out the Farmer’s Market.

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Jesse and I are heading off on a weeklong road trip in September. We are heading up to the Apostle Islands for a few days then heading across the UP of Michigan to Mackinac Island for a couple of days before heading home.

It has been a while since we have headed out on a road trip and we are pumped. And since I am a planner by nature and I tend to err on the side of over-preparedness, I am already deep into the planning of this trip.

I am going to walk you through how I plan our road trips just enough to satisfy my need for preparation without having a strict agenda. These steps, along with my tips for simplifying summer travel, will help de-stress getting out on the open road.

Step 1: PreTrip Planning

After last year’s Maine trip left us stuck at the airport for hours on end (canceled flights because of storms) Jesse requested this year we stick closer to home. We had been meaning to check out Mackinac for years, and Apostle Islands while not a National Park is part of the National Park system so we had to check it out.

After a bit of searching, I found and booked places on Airbnb. Airbnb, VRBO, and HomeAway have been our go-to for vacations for years. We have a much more relaxed experience when staying in a rental property. And let’s be honest – hotels are the worst.

If you are interested in trying out a rental for the first time, click through this link for Airbnb and get $40 off your first booking.

Step 2: Three to Four Weeks Out

As vacation time moves closer I start to a bit more research on the destination (or in the case of our upcoming trip – destinations). What touristy things to we want to do? Are there any fun restaurants/breweries/wineries that we want to check out? How about parks, hiking trails, museums, historical sites?

Yes, we are super nerdy.

I use Google Trips to keep everything all sorted and saved. I create a trip for each vacation (if you have flights and other reservations and use Gmail, Google will generate the trip for you). The app uses the power of Google Maps to help you find things to do, restaurants, and even collects discounts for you.

Step 3: Two Weeks Out

Now is a great time to get the car ready. Jesse takes it up to our mechanic, gets the oil changed, and has them check everything out. I also take this time to make sure we have all of the travel toiletries and clothing that we need for the trip.

We usually don’t end up buying much, but someone always needs a couple more pairs of socks, new walking shoes, or a hoodie that doesn’t make you look like a dirty hobo.

If I haven’t done so already I make a reservation to board our dog. I found a great place a few years back and Dru loves it. Seriously, he leaps out of the car when we get there.

Step 4: One Week Out

This is where shit starts to get real.

First up, I confirm our rentals and finish payments if necessary. I check the weather for the time of our trip and finalize our packing lists. We both have a pretty minimal wardrobe, so I need to do a final load of laundry and finish packing the night before we leave.

Since we are driving this time around, I will detail the car and pack it with its own unique set of road trip essentials. Here is that list:

Packing List for the Car

• Road Kit
• First Aid Kit
• A gallon of water
• sunglasses
• travel water bottles and coffee cups
• wet-wipes
• paper maps
• change and small bills cash for tolls/parking meters
• umbrella
• little cooler
• depending on where we are going I might throw in boots, heavy socks, coats, and heavy sweatshirts

Last, but most importantly, I plan out our road trip snacks and any other food we are going to bring. You can’t head out on the road without snacks, so that is a given. Sometimes we also bring along our own food to make at the rental. This is usually something easy like the ingredients for a quick pasta and stuff for breakfast.

Step 5: The Day (or Two) Before

Today is the day where all my pre-planning shines. I usually have a few loads of laundry to do (so we can finish packing), and I also clean up the house as much as I can.

Coming back to a clean home is the absolute best.

I like to take a few minutes to sit down and make a list of things I need to do in the morning, and then I try to relax.

Step 6: Go Day!

We (mostly me) are early risers, so we are up are ready to go early. We shower and dress while the coffee is brewing, the last few items are packed (mainly Jesse’s CPAP machine) we load up the car with our bags and snacks and head out the door.

Whew, That’s it! These 6 steps are how I plan for road trips. How do you plan for a trip?

I am a reader.  I cannot express how much I love books.  Books are in my DNA.

And in the summertime, I read books about food and travel.  Well, first I read The Great Gatsby (I read that one every Memorial Day weekend). Then I read books about food and travel — bonus points for books that are about both.

It is hard for a reader to pick her favorite books and I took quite some time to sit down and think about what travel memoirs I like the most.

My criteria?  I remember them.  The ho-hum books I forget what they are about soon after finishing.  These books have stuck with me for years.

An Age of License by Lucy Knisley

Lucy is a cartoonist and illustrator, and this graphic memoir is of her time touring Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, and Iceland.  It has a kind of 20s angst vibe she is trying to figure out how to do her art while making an actual living.  And of course, there is some boy drama, but no 20’s era memoir is without partner drama.   It is fun and charming.

My Life in France by Julia Child

This book is a lovely combo of food and travel memoir.  Before she was the Julia Child that we all know and love, Julia and her husband Paul moved to Paris for Paul’s job at the foreign service.  She knew no one and did not speak the language, but that didn’t stop her.

She leaned in, learned the language, made friends and took cooking classes.  All of that lead to her cookbook and TV show.   This book is delightful, and Julia is a national treasure!

Wild by Cheryl Strayed

I am sure you have heard about this book or at least watched the movie.  But have you read the book?  You should.  Cheryl decides after blowing up her marriage and losing her mother to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.  Alone.  Without much backpacking experience.

It is a part adventure and part go-out-and-find-yourself story.

I read it first in the months after my mom died and it stuck with me.  I reread it around the time the movie was coming out. Even though I was far enough away from the pain of my mom death (and not to mention well out of my angsty 20’s) to look at the story through different eyes, I still enjoyed the adventure.

Any story of the time that changed someone’s life for the better is worth telling.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

I am fascinated by the story of Chris McCandless.  For those of you that aren’t familiar, he graduated from college, gave all his money away and hitchhiked around the country before settling in the Alaskan wilderness.  Where he, spoiler alert, died alone.

Chris, or Alexander Supertramp as he liked to be called, wanted to live life on his terms without money, responsibility, and belongings to drag him down.  He was idealistic in the way that 20-somethings are sometimes and he was also wholly unprepared and irresponsible.  That combination is what makes this story so compelling.

Are you a reader?  What are your favorite travel memoirs?

PS If you are wondering why I read Gatsby every Memorial Day weekend, I am not sure either.  It is a ritual that I have been doing since I bought a used copy at a flea market while living in Iowa.

Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. That means if you click through a link and buy something, I get a small commission and it doesn’t cost you any extra. Awesome, right?!

Not long after we got married, Jesse and I vowed to take a trip each year. It is kind of an anniversary present to ourselves. We had done lots of overnight or long weekend road trips, but we wanted to get a little more further afield.

We spent one long weekend in the Black Hills of South Dakota and ventured up the Superior coast to Duluth.  The year after that we jumped in with both feet when Jesse tagged along on a work trip to Arizona.  Then a few months later we hopped a plain to California.

An expert traveler I am not, there are whole blogs written by those people.  But I am practical and I like to plan. I have learned a few things that make trip prep and the trip itself run smooth.  Or as smooth as any trip can.

Rethink the amount of clothing that you bring.

This one is hard.  Especially for all of the planners out there, like myself, who think through every type of contingency and weather pattern.  But let’s be real here for a minute.  You know damn well that you don’t need 5 shirts for an overnight trip. Or that cute dress when you are camping.

I am not going to tell you what to bring, but check the weather of your destination and think, practically, about what you will wear on this trip.  I know that I will keep grabbing for those awesome pair of skinny jeans that have a bit of stretch and I will wear yoga pants on the long days in the car.  So I really just need to pack them, with some t-shirts, a hoodie and I am all set.

Keep in mind that you can wash clothes while you are gone.  I bring along one of these on all trips, just in case.

Keep your toiletry bag stocked.

While prepping for the work trip to Arizona, I stocked up on all of the essential in 3 oz or less packaging and since most of the items came in multi-packs I kept all of the extras in a large bin in our closet.   When we returned home of the trip, I wiped down any spills on the bottles, ran our soap container through the dishwasher and packed everything back up in the clear plastic bags and put everything in the bin.

When I am starting to pack for another trip.  I can pull the bags out and they are ready to go.  There is no searching around for a little shampoo and toothpaste container.  It is one thing from the pre-trip checklist that I don’t have to worry about.

Have spare power cords for all of the things.

I have a cord for every electronic we bring on a trip in a bag, ready to go.  In a little pouch that goes in my carry on I have a cord for both our phones and my laptop.  I also have at least two pairs of headphones and a rechargeable battery pack.

This is the only way I make sure that we have all of the cords before we leave.  There is not climbing behind the nightstand to unplug a charger, or buying a cord at a kiosk in the terminal.

The key is to make sure they all get back in the bag when you get back from your last trip.

Get yourself some nice luggage or duffels.

Before we went on that Arizona trip I did some research (lots and lots of research) and bought Jesse and I each a convertible bag that is carry on size.  Jesse has the eBags Mother Lode Weekender and I have the Tom Bihn Aeronaut 45.

They are both amazing.

The hold everything we need for a 5-day trip (probably longer too, we just haven’t tried it yet).  The fit in all overhead bins (and probably under the seat) of planes.  The even fit in the overheads of those little regional gets that we end up on for the last leg of our flights.

My favorite part is the back pocket that holds straps that can be clipped in place to use the bag as a backpack.  When we are moving through the airport, we wear them as backpacks can easily move through even super crowded airports.  Then when we get to our gate, we unclip the straps and slide them back in the pockets and then the bags slide into the overhead bins like a dream.

These bags (especially mine) was not cheap.   But they have gone through security, shoved in overhead bins, thrown in the corner of AirBnBs, and used as both footrest and pillows in airports.  And they still look as good as the day they came out of the box.

Travel is stressful, but it is supposed to be fun.  Right?!  When you keep your clothing to the basics, keep your toiletries and power cords stocked and invest in some nice gear these will be fewer things for you to stress about.

You read my tips, what are ours?

PS. When we are doing a road trip, staying somewhere overnight, or going camping throw all of our clothes in a weekender bag.  I don’t take the time to pack everything in pouches, but I still use our toiletry and cord bags.  I got my second hand a few years ago, but this one is similar.

Happy almost Memorial Day to my US-based friends!  Do you have fun weekend plans?  A family or neighborhood potluck?  Or maybe a camping trip?

Or maybe you are like me and rolled up on this weekend without making any plans whatsoever?

Do not fear, here are some cheap and fun things to do over the next three days!

Take a Staycation

Homebodies rejoice!!  Use your three day weekend to say home and veg.  Have a movie marathon and eat pizza on the living room floor.   Have a bonfire in your backyard and roast marshmallows.  Then sleep under the stars.

If you are feeling a bit more ambitious KonMari your pantry or garage.  Repaint your bathroom or plant a garden. 

Learn something new

This may not be the cool thing to say but these three days are the perfect time to learn something new (or at least start the journey) or polish an existing skill.  Check out Udemy, Open Culture, and Coursera for cheap and free classes.  LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) and The Great Courses offer subscription-based classes.

Pro-tip: Many libraries offer free access to LinkedIn Learning as part of their services when you have a library card.  So get thee to the library!

Be a tourist in your own town.

I think I originally got this idea from Gretchen Rubin and I am shocked at how much it can change the perspective on your community, no matter the size.  Check out that new store or restaurant.  Bonus points for going to a community event that you have never checked to before.

Take a road trip.

There is probably a little known state, national park or a strange roadside attraction of some kind within reasonable driving distance of where you live.  Pack a picnic lunch and grab your overnight bag and check it out.

Over the years Jesse and I have checked out The House on the Rock (It is really something special and if you are in the neighborhood you should check it out) and Effigy Mounds National Monument (and it is now one of my favorite places) and took a family trip to Niagara Cave.

Not sure where to go?  Use the Google to find your state’s parks (chances are there are a bunch you have not heard of) or head to the National Park Service site to search by state.  If you are looking for something a bit more on the strange side Roadside American and Atlas Obscura may be able to help.