If I could give you only one piece of advice for traveling and trip planning it would be this: leave room for adventure.
I am a planner, through and through. I genuinely love spending hours getting lost in maps, itineraries, reels, Pinterest boards, reviews, movies, etc. I will dream up a trip 10 times over before even planning the first thing. You should see my Instagram reels folder, I have hundreds of trips planned that I may never end up going on. (Don’t worry, I’ll talk more about my process in another post.)
I’m sure it sounds simple, but it’s a bit more than just having an “open schedule”, it’s a mindset. It’s something that I genuinely practice because it means letting go of control and being open to the idea of pleasant disruptions. It requires you to live in the moment because if you don’t you might miss a giant paper airplane on the side of the road. Even when I plan, I intentionally plan to leave room for adventure.
I thought this was going to be an easy concept to talk about but the more I try to describe it the more the words evade me. It may not be a concept at all, but more a way of living. It is practicing gratitude in all things and allowing the mundane to become extraordinary. It is being so present that you become more aware of opportunities. I am the happiest when I leave room for adventure in my life.
My best travel stories are almost exclusively in the unplanned moments.
In practical terms, it means, that when I’m planning a road trip, I will plan my nightly accommodations only so far apart so I don’t feel rushed every time I want to stop. I am also going to pick an up-and-back route as opposed to a loop because despite giving myself shorter distances between stops I’m inevitably going to see something I have run out of daylight to see and will make a note to visit on the way back.
When I’m driving I have my phone give me directions but I also have an external Garmin slightly zoomed out so I can see if there are any little offshoot scenic routes I can take. It means knowing when to turn off directions and just drive. That’s how I found Otter Point Overlook. Or when I am driving and a view takes my breath away I have to stop and enjoy it, like this neighborhood in O’ahu. I don’t always take a picture, but I always take a moment.
Robert <3
Otter Point Scenic Overlook
It also means talking to people and trusting my gut to know when I should chase an adventure.
Like when I met Robert in the parking lot of Great Dunes National Recreation Park and I found out he rides the dunes with his buddies every day as a way to help him stay sober and not drink. He took me on a once-in-a-lifetime ride around the dunes that I never would have been able to do if I didn’t: 1. Decide to eat lunch at the dunes, just for fun. 2. Offer him a slice of pizza to start a conversation. 3. Be open to the idea that this would be an adventure.
I also would have never tried a mashed potato cone if I had not asked the girl in line with me at the grocery store what she was carrying in the aluminum foil that smelled so good. I would have gone my whole life without finding out my actual favorite food. I remain open to the possibility of more mashed potato cone moments.
This requires a certain level of situational awareness.
When I’m planning to visit a city I plan to visit an area and not just one spot. Of course, I am going to research the area so I have an idea of what sort of places I want to check out, but I leave lots of time to wander. This requires a certain level of situational awareness as well because if you’re going to roam around a city you do not know then you need to be aware of your surroundings and when you should turn around or keep going. Trust your gut, always.
I also don’t overly plan city visits. Instead, I choose a theme for each visit. For example, in Nashville, I did a “Munchies and Murals” visit where I just went searching for the coolest murals to take pictures with and tried all the food places my friends recommended. In New York, I might plan a “tourist trip” where I do all the things like Times Square, the Empire State Building, and the Statue of Liberty. Alternatively, I could do an “as seen in New York” visit where I search for iconic pop culture spots. I am planning my entire trip to Korea around cute cafes and K-Drama filming spots.
