Are you ready for adventure?
“Just can’t wait to get on the road again.”
With thanks to singer-songwriter Willy Nelson, my ever-present wanderlust, and my vaccine series now completed, this month I want to share some tips to bring safe, Essential Travel back into your life.
Maybe “Essential” is a strong word implying necessary, required, critical. Well, for me it is!
I want to share some specific ideas to help you explore the world around you with open eyes and a healthy curiosity for what’s out there waiting to be discovered. It’s been over a year since I’ve been on an airplane vs multiple flights monthly before that. So I’ll be sharing some of our past year’s safe travel experiences during Covid so you can get a bit creative on where the road will take you!
My first big travel adventures started when I was about 6.
We had moved to a new neighborhood. I tagged along with my big brother and sister as we made our way through the wild strawberry bushes and into the nearby “Enchanted Forest.” That was the name it was given by all the neighborhood explorers. As you followed the beaten path through the fields and pine trees, you came upon a big clearing surrounded by more big pines. Up a series of 2 x 4” steps was a platform nailed into a pine tree called the “First Enchanted.” Getting to this platform was one’s first step in bravery and true adventure!
Master that and you went on to the further on/higher up “Second Enchanted” —typically reserved for the 8+ year-old boys. This was my next adventure that I absolutely had to explore a year or two later.
Beyond the “Second Enchanted” was a place we were warned about. The older kids told us that it wasn’t safe. That area beyond was inhabited by a mean old man with a gun who “shot kids who went on his property.” While there weren’t any real stories about who had been shot, we all knew to avoid that “boogie man” who lived beyond the forest world we knew. Of course we were always curious, but not until my early teen years did my girlfriends and I sneak around to try to catch a glimpse of “him.” Never saw him, but our hearts sure were beating hard between our teeny-bopper giggles.
Like the steps into the Enchanted Forest of my youth, let me encourage your Essential Travel to move at your own comfort level of exploration. Read on through my suggestions based on where I’ve been this past year, and what I have my eyes on for 2021 and beyond!
Get Curious
How much do you know about the adventure possibilities closer to home?
If and when you go somewhere – what would you want to experience as you travel?
For me, traveling during the pandemic has been about finding places within a six-hour drive of my home where we could get to familiar medical care if needed. It had to be a place where my husband and I could explore new places in nature, pretty much alone.
Our travel plans involved getting a US map and literally drawing a ring around the geography we could reach that met those qualifiers. Then we had to think about more remote experiences we’d really enjoy, like hikes, site seeing, and outdoor adventures where we could travel with our own food, water, and in some cases—bed & bath!
You may be tempted to Google search instead. We did some of that too. But I LOVE reading paper maps for context and find that a detailed map can suddenly show me a place I can investigate more fully online.
Travel Partners MAKE The Experience
Who tops your Travel Buddy list? Your spouse or partner? Sibling? Relative? Friends? Or you someone who’d rather meet all new folks on an adventure?
What are you waiting for? Ask them to join you!
This past year, my husband and I traveled together. Jim is the perfect travel buddy for me because he TAKES HIS TIME and pulls into every little turn off on the highway. Yes that can drive me nuts sometimes. Yet, I’ve loved the scenic overlooks, historic marker highlights, and other little quirky roadside attractions he’s helped me discover along the way.
We are super compatible travelers 85% of the time this past year on our driving trips. We’ve learned to create space for each other’s changing moods on the road, and to take turns with my desire to see it all and his to spend more time on a few key things.
It’s essential to choose the right partner(s) when you travel. Having traveled solo for business, I believe shared travel experiences are honestly so much more fun.
I have so many special memories of trips with my husband, with my siblings, my parents, cousins, extended family, best girlfriends, colleagues, and total strangers who’ve become lifelong pals after we met on a group tour.
Expectation setting with your travel pals is key. Are you compatible from the start? Here are the Top 10 Signs You’re Not Compatible with Your Travel Partner by Carolyn Morse Teel. Take a look and then chat them up with your travel pal…seek agreement on the trip plans will result in a whole lot more fun!
Stay Safe to Start
This couldn’t be a more important message right now. We’ve all learned a LOT about “safety” which is not only the “Be Prepared” motto, but in this pandemic era, here’s what that’s meant to me:
It’s natural to travel with a “health kit” – prevention is always the best medicine. My TOP TOP TOP recommendation is to stock up with this wholesale kit I put together of the doTERRA OnGuard Protective Blend products. It includes: the On Guard Hand Sanitizing Spray, Foaming Handwash and Hand Wipes; Beadlets, Throat Lozenges, Toothpaste and Softgels for internal use; the OnGuard blend to add to the Pilot Diffuser; the On Guard TOUCH roller-bottle to put on the bottom of your feet morning and night. Staying well means avoiding unnecessary interaction, washing your hands frequently and squirting them with an effective hand sanitizer when you’re not near soap & water, and keeping those masks over your nose and mouth when you’re in big groups. HEY, it works people! I’ve been traveling internationally with people coughing and sneezing all over me for years, and I promise you…this is the answer! You can order it right now when you click here. Learn even more detail about the health benefits of the doTERRA On Guard blend in my recent blog post: Natural Tools for Travel Trepidation.
Look for the exit – once you are there, if you get sick and need help, do you know where to find help? Not a bad idea to double check your game plan for medical care en route.
Be flexible – traveling is never 100% what we plan. Set your expectations that some places and plans may change last minute. You may arrive and the place is closed/sold out/out of business. Your outdoor plans may get rained out. Keep laughing and looking for other options.
Keep the phone charged – whether for picture taking or videos of the journey, using GPS mapping, or finding a restaurant that’s open, we’ve all come to rely on our phone for everything under the sun. Have a few backup battery packs charged up to assist if needed.
Filler up buttercup – don’t pass up a chance to fill up the gas tank when you’re driving in rural areas. Not everyone is open on Sundays or evenings, or holidays or whenever you need them.
Plan for Further Adventure
It’s time to start up the travel dream machine! Whether or not you’re ready to actually travel this month, do know that Essential Travel requires a bit more planning these days. Start collecting your plans and ideas on where you want to go. One of my favorite ways to do this is to watch YouTube travel videos on destinations on my list. Like this one that’s on my future travel list – The Top 10 Beautiful Places to Visit in Sweden
Podcasts about travel can give you loads of fun ideas too – so find some that fuel your future travel passions! I found The Travel Squad Podcast is easy listening and full of active adventure ideas.
I’ve bought and read (or find them at the local library) some great books about travel, including one of my FAVORITES inspirational travel books from Mike and Anne Howard of HoneyTrek.com – the world’s longest honeymoon whose book Comfortably Wild gave me hours of travel dream-time and discovery of super cool glamping spots to explore. We’ve actually made it to 2 of their recommendations over the last year, and gifted the glamping safari trip to my brother & his wife for a special birthyear!
Know Your Limits for Now
Maybe you’re OK with hotels and indoor dining. Maybe planes are on your list. Disney lines? Or maybe you’re easing back in with some local staycations and nearby site-seeing road trips. Whatever boundary feels good – stick with that for now. We are all adjusting to life with other humans and strangers again these days. It’s essential that travel is relaxing and fun. A year of constant fear and stress have put many in a place where they WANT a break but aren’t sure if they are ready. While you won’t know until you give it a try…start small with something nearby. Once you get your travel mojo back with some pre-planning and healthy tools in hand, you’ll be ready for more.
Decide When You’ll Explore Beyond the Safety Zone
Sometimes committing to a long-awaited trip is exactly what one needs to extend beyond the “safety zone.” Yet some are more comfortable with the familiar – the family cottage on the lake, a return visit to a fun resort where past experiences have been so fantastic. Essential travel is going where you want to go, so crank up this ‘80’s classic…”Roam” by the B52’s, and put your plans together!
My Pandemic-Friendly Land Excursions 2020 – 2021
We returned from what was to become our last airline flight from Maui, Hawaii in January 2020. And then the great nothing. Nothing isn’t really true. We stayed home and explored all sorts of hiking trails we’d never tried and photographed each new spot for future reference. We invested in stand-up paddleboards and loved our time on nearby reservoirs. We picnicked at social distances with friends outdoors.
Wanderlust took over! I decided to use my Certified Travel Agent training and plan some “safe” excursions for us.
We had a blast with Glamping, RVs and Staycations. Plus, we stayed 100% healthy using the tips I’ve shared in this blog along with other good health choices. If you want details, check out my Essential Earth Explorations Facebook page for photos, descriptions and videos about these fun adventures!
- June 2020 – Conestoga Ranch Glamping Trip – Utah
- July 2020 – Wyoming & South Dakota National and State Park exploration with Cruise America RV rental
- September 2020 – Sundance Resort Staycation – Utah
- October 2020 – Glamping Roadtrip & National Park exploration
- January & March 2021 – Wasatch Mountain State Park Hygge Night cabin rental
- March 2021 – Crystal Hot Springs, Spiral Jetty, Golden Spike National Park, Snowbasin Ski Resort & Dome Home stay in Utah
- COMING UP THIS MONTH of April 2021 – Southern Utah, Sedona & Phoenix, AZ National and State Park in an RV rental
- FIRST TIME BACK ON AN AIRPLANE!! – May 2021 – Ohio & New York – family visit!
2021 Plans for my Essential Earth Explorations Travel Company!
Travel is in my blood. I’ve been the president of an international ski travel company, a tour leader, a Certified Travel Agent and happy wanderer since I got out of college. When I started my travel company, Essential Earth Explorations in 2015, I was determined to provide the highest-quality experiences when planning my extraordinary Essential Earth Exploration trips. I strongly believe that your travel comfort and safety are just as important as the group experiences I’ve uniquely crafted for you from the USA to the other side of the world. Traveling together also gives me an opportunity to share my passions for natural, holistic health approaches, essential oils, personal development and self-discovery that pair so beautifully with travel adventures around the globe. To learn more about my Essential Earth Explorations company and the retreats and trips I have planned for 2021 and beyond, click here: https://www.essentialearthexplorations.com
With the right plans, a sense of adventure, even a small budget, and time to roam, Essential Travel can be a fantastic way to stretch your mind and open your heart to the beauty and wonder around us. I hope you’ll try out some of my safe travel ideas and connect with me for ways to make this year on the road again, one to remember!
Have fun with your Essential Travels this year!