the organized life - travel tips and tricks

I am by no means a true frequent flyer, but 2016 is shaping up to be my personal Year of Travel. I've already taken eight flights and a handful of train trips equalling over 80 hours of travel time, and I've got at least four more flights before the year is over. Though I'd previously done a decent amount of traveling, this is the year I finally got smart about surviving the sometimes endless journeys. With a little pre-planning and investing in the right tools and gear, I took a huge step in making my time on a train or airplane a bit more comfortable.

* Reusable and collapsible water bottle - this collapsable water bottle is my no.1 smartest purchase of the year. While bringing an empty water bottle to the airport is a no-brainer (fill it up after security at a water fountain to save yourself some $$ and the environment from another discarded plastic bottle), the collapsible nature of my bottle means I'm no longer carrying around the weight of an empty bottle. Granted, it's not as pretty as some of the "fashion" bottles out there (because we need water to be fashionable?), but at 3oz in weight, I'll take it over your 11oz Swell bottle any day.

* Clean socks on long flights - I love taking my shoes off on long flights. I often sit cross-legged in the seat and for obvious reasons, don't like to do so with shoes on. However, my go-to transit shoes are a pair of Tom's (they're flat, comfortable, and quiet, and perfect for this 32-going-on-62-year-old) - but thanks to my smelly feet I need to wear little nude socklettes with them. The socklettes are great underneath the shoes, but not so much as stand-alone socks. Cue a fresh pair of clean, white cotton socks. I'm not sure why, but there's nothing so refreshing as putting on a pair of socks just as you're settling in for a long winter's flight. I don't necessarily do this for quick trips to Chicago, but by hour 4 of my 10-hour flight to Hawaii? So glad I added a pair of socks to my carry-on.

* Snack attack - I do not care what time it is in New York or what time it will be in California. If I'm hungry I'm hungry (and if I'm hungry I'm cranky), and the airplane is not the place for me to reset my internal clock. If you're unlike me and use the flight to get yourself on "local time" then you must be a robot and please tell me your secrets now. I've learned (the hard way) to always have a snack or three on hand. Subsequently, I've decided that I am too old and fancy to eat like I'm at an airport just because I happen to be at an airport. So remember: as long as it isn't a liquid, you can get it through security. A giant bagel with artisanal cream cheese, a Tupperware full of fresh blueberries, or a DIY cheese and cracker plate will not only sustain you beyond Delta's idea of a dinner, it'll also make you feel downright posh. 

* Wrap it up - I make sure to pack a scarf, sweater, or a Turkish towel in my carry-on, even if I'm going to Mexico in June. That flying metal tube can get mighty chilly, and even if you're not cold per se, it's sometimes nice to wrap yourself in something soft and comforting.

* Charge it - I've mentioned this before, but I recently invested in a second set of all my charging cables/plugs/cubes/doohickeys. While it's certainly not necessary, it is a tiny luxury to not have to undo my at-home charger situation every time I travel. I now have a ready-to-go baggie of all the cords I need for all my devices and have shaved at least a few minutes off that dreaded packing process.

* Go analogue - even though I do my due diligence and save PDFs of important documents and correspondence to both my Dropbox and email, it's often very helpful to have a physical printout of a few of those documents. Itineraries, contact info, and maps are all things I need to have at the ready - and I don't want to wait for my phone to turn on, recharge, or find a strong signal to access this info. And, because I'm an adult and it looks bad to use crumpled papers pulled out of the bottom of my bag, I store everything of this ilk in a slim, old-school folder. It's lightweight and doesn't take up any extra room but does wonders for my overall organization level. Also - I add an empty #10 envelope to the folder for any receipts I need to save for reimbursement purposes. The last thing I want to do is scramble to find a random $3 parking lot receipt that I know I put here somewhere but can't find so I guess I'll just eat the cost. No way.

Are you a frequent traveler? What tricks have you picked up over the years?

Cabo San Lucas

On nearly every vacation, trip or excursion I've ever taken, I am the one that plans things out. I'm the one with the map, the guidebook, the train schedule, and the annotated to-do list. It's me who carries around the giant purse laden with extra tissues, band-aids, a water bottle, two cameras, a charger, Advil, and an extra map just in case that first one flies away. I can't help this Type-A preparedness of mine. I blame it on being a Girl Scout, but it's also partly because the one with the map is the one in control (or so I tell myself).

In preparation for a work trip to Mexico last May, I did much less than my usual obsessive level of pre-departure research. Outside of flipping through one brochure I picked up at last year's NYT Travel Show, I didn't read up on the best restaurants or the must-see attractions, and I didn't endlessly scroll through Instagram trying to plan out photo ops before I even got there. A business trip is entirely different than a for-pleasure vacation, and I was to be at the ready at all times to attend to my boss' and the client's needs. Sight-seeing was not on the schedule. I simply got on a plane, sped through the airport in Mexico City in an attempt to make my connecting flight (spoiler alert: I did, but barely), and followed a vaguely-worded email to find a guy named Mush who would drive me in a sketchy white van through the backroads of the Baja Peninsula to a hotel on the ocean.

From there, I followed an equally vague daily schedule that gave me and the other production assistant ample time to wander the gardens of a renowned organic farm. We contemplated the origin of tropical fruits and vegetables (omigod mangoes grow on trees!), picked up random Spanish vocab words (muneca = doll; mantel = tablecloth), watched our lunch get cooked over a giant open roasting pit, and ate some of the best crew meals we've ever tasted. But our hours were long - early morning to well after sun down each day, and after working ten hours under the hot Mexican sun the only thing I wanted to do each night was shower and collapse into bed.

The event went extremely well. The client was pleased, my bosses were pleased, and I executed my task of monitoring a dozen mini-projectors way more smoothly than I did the previous month at a similar event in Hawaii. But there was still no down time. We needed to be back at the farm by 6am the morning after the event in order to load up the trucks and shut down our production tent and watch the empty truck get stuck coming up the dirt road and wait for a machine to come to clear the road so the truck could get unstuck and then finally for reals load up the truck and say our goodbyes and have one last delicious meal at the most captivating farm-to-table restaurant I've ever had the pleasure of patronizing.

It was around 1pm when we made it back to our hotel. We were officially off the clock and the rest of the evening was our to do as we pleased. I looked at two of my coworkers. "Should we see the arches?" I asked. "What are those?" they asked. "They're these natural stone formation in the ocean. I saw a picture. They looked cool." I said. "Sure." They said. "We can take the rental car." said David.


After a quick nap, the three of us were on our way to the end of the Baja Peninsula, or as the locals tourists call it, Land's End. But we still didn't have a plan. We weren't really sure where exactly these arches were or how to see them, but we were at least heading in the right direction (south). After a couple wrong turns down trashy and spring-break-bar laden Cabo streets, we found a parking lot with open spots. As soon as we got out of the car, a man approached us. "Want to see El Arco?" he asked. "Si!" we replied. "The boat leaves in two minutes! We must hurry!" he said.

I soon found myself once again following a strange man into a sketchy vehicle, although this one was accompanied by a $15 "boat fee" and a separate $1 "dock fee." We were granted permission to board the water taxi and immediately set sail for the choppy waters of the Cabo San Lucas Marina.

It was an utterly delightful ride. We somehow timed it out so that we were on the boat at golden hour, which is really the best time to do or see anything. The captain didn't speak any English, and when I asked him what caused the arch to form (earthquake? tetonic plate shift? global warming?) he gave a giant grin, pointed at a giant seal sunbathing on a rock and said "Si! Sello!!" and then arched his neck back and let out a eerily accurate seal bark. Our seal friend threw us a sideways glance and responded with an annoyed "arf."

45 minutes later and we were back on dry land. Then a walk around the marina, some nachos and guac, a giant margarita, and a Yelp consultation that led us to an Asian-fusion restaurant for wine and ceviche and ramen and coulis-covered sherbet. An evening full of good food and wonderful company fueled entirely by uncharacteristically spur-of-the-moment decisions. While I am in no way going to stop planning and researching and measuring distances between sights in anticipation of upcoming vacations, my evening in Cabo reminded me that spontaneity is a virtue worth having. Sometimes the unplanned moments make for the best adventures.

Work and relaxation on the Big Island of Hawaii

As a stage manager/production assistant/event worker in a usually chilly and always crowded New York City, I find myself more often than not in the back of a conference room, the corner of a darkened theater, or a window-less rehearsal space. It's an unglamorous existence, but I do it because I love the work, not the views. It does get a little old and tiresome however - my Vitamin D levels have been on the low side for quite some time, and it's no accident that I choose sunny and slow-moving tropical locations for the majority of my vacation destinations. But a few months ago, I got the phone call I've been waiting my whole life to get - an invitation to work as a production assistant on a giant event in Hawaii. Naturally, I jumped at the chance (no really - I literally spent the whole phone call quietly leaping all over my living room, hoping the woman on the other end of the call couldn't tell how stupidly excited I was). Four months, two flights, and one minivan car rental later, I found myself on the Kona (west) coast of Hawaii's Big Island - and one of the most gorgeous places I've ever been.

There isn't much to say about the work or the event itself - regardless if you're in Paradise or Paramus, an event is always going to need schedules and walkies, water stations and fire extinguishers. But tracking these things down while surrounded by perfect palm trees sure made the days a whole lot more fun and doable. Also, I was officially released from work on Sunday evening, but my flight wasn't until the following Monday evening - and I didn't have to return the rental car until right before my flight. Obviously, that meant getting up as early as I possibly could to drive straight to the tip of the island and then slowly making my way up and down twisty roads with stunning overlooks. I unfortunately hit multiple patches of rain and wind throughout the day (the Big Island has 11 of the 13 different climate zones, and I'm pretty sure I hit all 11 in that one drive) which prevented me from hiking into a photogenic valley like the guide books told me to do, but it was nonetheless a ridiculously fun and picturesque roam through the inner island.

 

If you go:

*The event was held on the grounds of the luxurious Fairmont Orchid on the Big Island of Hawaii. While I can't report on the hotel as a guest, I did interact with the staff, wander the bowels of the kitchen in search of serving platters, and spend an obscene amount of time driving a golf card around the property - and it was all wonderful and beautiful and perfect. If I had the money, I'd stay there in a heartbeat.

*We were given accommodations at the (slightly) more affordable Islands at Mauna Lanai, two-bedroom condos that came with private lanais, secure gated access, shared use of a well-maintained beachfront and pool/gym, and a small shopping center on the property. If you're planning to stay for any length of time but still want a semi-luxury atmosphere, a condo rental is the way to go.

*A rental car is a necessity if you want to go anywhere off the property, regardless where you're staying. The majority of Hawaii's beauty lies inland - so once you've had your beach day, it's imperative that you see what else the island has to offer. From forest hikes to volcano sightings to coffee plantation tours, the list is endless, but requires a vehicle to get from one sight to another. I went with Enterprise and was more than happy with the service, range of available vehicles, and the quality of my sweet sweet minivan ride. 

#tbt - traveling though the heart of Japan

In the fall of 2009, I joined two of my college besties on a trip through Japan. It was, for all practical purposes, a trip that shouldn't have happened in the first place - I had JUST moved to New York about two weeks beforehand, I had basically no money due to having recently written two giant checks to both my new landlord and my broker who found me the apartment I couldn't really afford in the first place, and my next gig wasn't going to start for another month, leaving me completely unemployed for my first full month of living in one of the most expensive cities in the country. But, give me any sort of recognizable free time and even the slightest suggestion of the possibility of a trip, and you can bet I'll be on the first flight out of town. Which brings me back to Japan - Brian was spending the year teaching English about two hours south of Tokyo, Rachel was looking to clear her mind of a recent death in the family, the three of us hadn't seen each other in a while, and why not catch up over some really good sake? What resulted was one of the best and most memorable 9 days of my life - fish markets and imperial gardens in Tokyo, conveyor-belt sushi and a soak in the local onsen in Shizuoka, a bullet train past Mt. Fuji, and a long weekend of bike riding and temple viewing in Kyoto. We laughed, we reminisced, we caught up on each other's lives, and we remembered that travel is good, but travel with friends is great.

I didn't have this blog back then. Heck, my first iPhone wouldn't show up on my doorstep for another two full years. But I did recently find an old jump drive containing the (gazillion) pictures I took on my old and trusty Sony Cyber Shot, and realized that this trip down memory lane would be even more fun if I were able to share it with you all - I hope you enjoy it!

women shopping / chef searching / students training / photo making / window gazing / bike riding / temple viewing / maiko sighting / ramen cooking / ladies walking / sumo wrestling / architecture  recognizing / bullet training / mountain toping / prayer scrolling / sun protecting / leaf peeping / funicular driving / pachinko playing