10 Things starting a travel blog taught me :

                             

 

 

It was done.

I sent the money to him directly so I couldn't back out, and we had a rough itinerary.

It was the first time I had been away from my stepson for longer than five days in an entire decade. 2020 had gotten to me even more than I ever expected it to. Seclusion was not something I thrived on.

I wanted a trip and figured this would be the only opportunity I would get to have one.

Tony would fly into Texas, and we would make our epic trip to New Mexico to find the aliens...which we never found, much to his dismay.

I did find an amazing travel partner and a best friend I never knew I already had.

At the very end of the trip, we decided we were going to start a travel blog.

This travel blog is nowhere near where I would like it to be, but that is also my fault. I am finally moved into a new location, have more time to breathe, and am ready to look back so that we can move forward.

Hopefully, if you've found this, some of the things I've learned will help you if—or when—you decide to create your own travel blog.

 

 k



 

  1. Breathe

    New chapters are exciting and also terrifying.

    Leaving my kid for so long was unheard of before 2021. The mama bear in me is very stubborn. Every night at 8 p.m., a video chat is supposed to happen with him.

    I forgot that usually means you need data service.

    The first two trips were the most nerve-wracking. When you can't figure out how to calm those nerves and you're feeling guilty because you couldn't make that phone call because you're somewhere between mountains, you need to recenter yourself and breathe.

    The anxiety will pass.

    It's time for an adventure.

    Getting lost in the "Danger Zone" is worth it sometimes, and it helps you disconnect from whatever chaos is going on back home

     



















 

2. People are important. Keep in touch with your friends.

Without the amazing tour guides and friends we've decided to meet along the way, it would have only been Tony and me.

As much as I enjoy his company, knowing we had people in many of the places we traveled made things just that much more entertaining.

We didn't always have to go out and do something. Many nights, we just had a game night with friends.

We've hung out in a park in Iowa, a backyard in Nebraska, a front lawn in Tennessee, and even a casino in Oklahoma.

We've been fortunate enough to have friends in many of the regions we've traveled to who took time out of their lives to spend it with us.

I will always be grateful and feel blessed by how connected I can feel to people who live so far away.




 

3. Bring a charger

One thing I am very good at is remembering to take pictures.

Something I'm not so good at is charging my phone.

I remember when we're in the vehicle or before going to bed, but while camping or hiking, I always seem to forget my battery pack.

If you're a lover of photography—or need your mama call every night at 8 p.m.—it helps when you have a charged phone.



 

4. Not everything should be at my feet

I am very guilty of wanting everything accessible.

To me, that means being able to just lean forward and grab it.

However, when you have no room to put your feet on the floorboard, it may be time to admit you have a problem.

We made many road trips this past year, and what started as a simple, "I just want my purse nearby," eventually turned into, "How do you find anything down there?"

Eventually, you become a slave to your surroundings.

 

 

5. Things break

People. Phones. Chargers.

You can't be certain things will always be fine.

Tony broke his phone in Iowa in the middle of the night on a long road trip by leaving it on top of the car.

It happens.

A charger going out is usually a given no matter what. I'm not quite sure why that is.

And I fell off a ravine and ended up in the hospital.

Always be prepared.

Hopefully with insurance, and definitely with a first-aid kit.

6. Plans change

I think I may have learned that plans change the hard way.

I remember sitting in a hospital bed waiting for X-rays while Tony had gone to get us something to eat.

This was a state I had just started to visit, and our entire plan had been to hike so many places, visit state parks, and do some Hipcamping.

After fracturing a hip, that kind of couldn't happen anymore.

The disappointment was real.

We actually have plans to go back again this year. However, I wasn't going home, and Tony was amazing at changing our plans to accommodate me.

Life happens.

It wasn't our first mishap, either. We had earlier planned on going to the Four Corners, only to find that the monument was still closed due to the world shutting down in 2020.

Sometimes the plan you made just isn't the adventure you're going to get.

 

7. Always have paper and a pen

No matter how many times I think I have this part down, I'm constantly reminded how important this is.

We'll stop at a location I want to look up, or I'll break my phone and can't get into my Google Docs.

Nothing beats paper and a pen when all else fails.

We can't always rely on our electronics.


 

8. Always have music downloaded

Remember when I said it's important to always have a charged phone?

If music is as important to you as it is to me, you should always make sure you have some music saved to your phone, laptop, tablet...whichever device you choose.

Many times, using Pandora offline suffices.

But if you're like me and never remember to save songs, it won't do you any good.



 

 

 

9. Be brave

 

 

 

Every time I sit in this seat writing, it terrifies me what kind of response I'm going to get from posting one of these.

Most people I know take a trip once or twice a year. I go monthly, and some days I can go a week only seeing my child through a webcam.

It's scary thinking about what can go wrong.

What if my plane crashes?

What if we get in a wreck?

What if we don't understand how customs work?

You can talk yourself out of doing some of the most amazing things and having the best experiences.

You can't see anything but the TV if you never leave the couch.

10. Anything is possible

If you had told me that I would travel to over 10 states in under 10 months, I would have looked at you as though you were insane.

If you had told me I would move back to my hometown so I could grab onto that family bond, even though I would lose out on meeting new people, I would have thought the same thing.

You never know where life will take you.

My life is currently the best it has been in years.

We're going into a new normal. A new routine. Hopefully, a bigger and better one.

Tony and I have another trip planned to Nebraska this August, with Dresdyn this time.

He's finally getting to experience what I wanted him to experience since the very first time we decided to homeschool.

Life is what you make it.

It may take years to get where you want to go, but if you want it and you work hard enough, you can get there.