Hello, friends! I hope you’re soaking in every bit of the summer, like me! Not sure what I‘m going to do this time next August, when I’m no longer a student preparing for another fall semester. I’ve really enjoyed reminiscing on my recent trip to the Pacific Northwest, so I decided to put together a post about how to make the most of your next trip, wherever it may be!
1. Orient yourself in the area
I cannot stress this enough—LEARN. TO. READ. A. MAP. I am preaching to the choir here, y‘all. Maps 101 wasn’t a class that my high school offered—probably because it seems like common sense. But it isn’t! I am a bit, embarrassingly, directionally-challenged and far too reliant on Google Maps to get me where I need to be. I was too intimidated to purchase a paper map in one of the thousand bookstores and tourist traps we stopped at because I was afraid I wouldn’t know how to read it, but I really wish I had, at least to familiarize myself with the surrounding area.
2. Write down the name of every café, store, etc. that you stumble across
This sounds tedious, but I promise you, this trick will save you heartache in the future! Because I planned to write travel blogs based on my trip, I made detailed lists of the shops, roadside stops, coffee spots, and restaurants we visited so I could refer to my notes later on during my writing process. I think this is a fabulous idea for anyone to try, though, bloggers and non-bloggers alike, because you can whip out those recommendations at the drop of a hat when a friend tells you they are visiting somewhere you recently visited. I also believe recording your stops makes you a more present, informed traveler.
3. Buy a guidebook in the area
I am a big fan of guidebooks—find me at the travel section at Barnes & Noble on Saturdays! Sure, we have the Internet, and my travel board on Pinterest is full of ideas for my upcoming travels. However, being the English nerd and wannabe author I am, I recognize how cutthroat the publishing world can be. Getting a book deal is incredibly difficult—nowadays, if you want to publish your own book, you need to be famous, have a solid social media following, have your M.F.A., or know someone in the business to land you that contract. Even then, the publishing process takes at least a year (not including the time it takes for you to actually write the book) and a ridiculous number of book sales to actually turn a profit that goes into your pocket.
All that to say, support your local travel writers! I purchased the book, Pacific Coasting by Danielle Kroll in Powell’s City of Books in Portland. Not only did I support a new author, but I also was able to support a local bookstore. Not to mention, we literally used this book so much on our trip! It was way handier than navigating a Pinterest post (and required far less data).
4. Talk to locals
Flying to Seattle back in June was the first time I had ever flown by myself. I was excited, but I also got turned around more times than I’d like to admit trying to navigate the airports. By a stroke of Divine intervention, I found myself seated beside a Washington-state native on the plane from Nashville to Seattle. We struck up a conversation, and he gave me several coffee recommendations and places to see while I was in the area.
Talking to strangers is not my strong suit. Speaking up at any public event requires a large amount of caffeine and an even larger amount of courage. This trip helped me grow exponetionally in my confidence talking to people I don’t know. Making conversations with locals is a necessity while you’re traveling, especially if you’re traveling in foreign country for an extended period of time (like I will be doing, come January 2022!). Not only is it kind to speak to strangers (within reason), but it’s also a great way to find the places the locals frequent.
5. Do your research
This one is an extension of #1–buy a map, learn it, recite it, live it. I got lucky on my trip to the PNW because I was traveling with my friend Victoria, a Washingtonian. However, I wish I had done more research myself in preparation for the trip. I’m not just talking about places to visit, but how to get to those places. This includes transportation, parking (and fees), and how much walking is necessary. I cannot tell you how many incredible-sounding coffee shops and stores we found online that were near-impossible to reach based on where we were in large cities.
6. Pack layers
This one is especially for the PNW, but no doubt applies universally. It is always going to be colder or warmer than you anticipate in a given destination, so pack a flexible wardrobe. This is where I suggest brushing up on your Pinterest capsule wardrobe blogs and destination/season-specific travel advisories. I visited the PNW at the beginning of June, when it was hitting 80-90 degrees everyday in Tennessee, and I was surprised to discover how windy, rainy, and chilly it was, especially on the Oregon coast. My most prized clothing article on that trip was my lightweight rain jacket, which I wore nearly every day. I didn’t pack enough jeans or sweatshirts, and I left with more added weight in my suitcase because of the shopping I had to do there to keep up with the weather. The great outdoors is so unpredictable, though—the very week after I returned home, Washington suffered from a major heat wave reaching into the 100s. You never really know!
7. Leave room for spontaneity
The truth is, you can plan to the very last minute and your itinerary will still change. Odds are, the restaurant you want to eat at will be booked solid, the exhibit will be sold out, and you’ll have to explore a little to fill your time. I am a fairly big planner, but when I go on trips, I prefer keeping my schedule open for surprises along the way.
For example, when we were getting ready to drive back to Yakima after visiting the redwoods in Northern California, we opted to take the scenic route along Highway 101, with the picturesque Oregon coast to our left. A one-day road trip turned into a two-day road trip, and virtually none of our stops were planned. It was one of best road trips, undoubtedly, that I will ever go on.
8. Buy a cute postcard or piece of street art from the area instead of useless trinkets
The first time I visited another country, I began collecting postcards. To this day, I have a gallery wall in my bedroom full of postcards and small prints I've collected from places and street artists. It’s so much lighter than toting around that breakable coffee mug in your suitcase! I brought back stickers for my friends, which was also way easier to carry around.
9. Eat at hole-in-the-wall eateries
I will never forget the Hukilau in Florence, Oregon. Picture a colorful, loud, Hawaiian fusion restaurant literally on the side of the road. I had this pineapple-teriyaki chicken dish with rice and macaroni and cheese—mmmm. It was delicious, fresh, and the waitstaff was so friendly. The energy in that place is the kind that can only be found in original, one-of-kind of places. We found the Hukilau on Google at the very last minute, but I would recommend not only researching a little en route but also talking to locals to get their recommendations.
10. Take a lot of photos, but not too many that you forget to be present in the moment
I grew up believing I had to document every moment of my life (thanks, Mom). I’m so glad my mother raised me to photograph the big and small moments—I credit my passion to further my photography hobby completely to her. However, I also grew up on the cusp of social media’s blossoming, where everyone my age posts their entire lives on the Internet for all to see. In fact, you’re kind of considered an anomaly if you opt not to post 24/7. Social media is a subject I have wrestled with immensely in the past few years, bouncing between both extremes of posting every detail and deleting it altogether.
Recently, as I’ve begun dipping my toes in the travel-writing world, I’ve learned the importance of documenting all the details so you can accurately convey your experience to readers. But that doesn’t necessarily mean my personal life is all out on Instagram for everyone to see. You didn’t need all of that explanation, but hopefully you‘re beginning to see my point.
Take those photos for you, not Instagram. And once you get that shot, put your phone and camera away and take a mental image. Hold onto it for as long as possible. In my experience, the images you take with your eyes tell a bigger story than the ones you take with your iPhone.
I hoped you enjoyed reading! Do you have any tips or tricks about your past travels to share? Drop them in the comments below!
xoxo,
Hannah Rose Rob
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